"My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys" is the third track from American singer and songwriter Taylor Swift's eleventh studio album, The Tortured Poets Department, released on April 19, 2024 through Republic Records.
Composition[]
"My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys" is a dark, midtempo electropop song built over powerful, sputtering trap-influenced electronic drums. The song is in the key of A Minor and has a tempo of 97 BPM.
Lyrics[]
[Verse 1]
Oh, here we again
The voices in his head
Called the rain to end our days of wild
The sickest army doll
Purchased at the mall
Rivulets descend my plastic smile
[Pre-Chorus]
But you should've seen him when he first got me
[Chorus]
My boy only breaks his favorite toys, toys, oh-oh-oh-oh-oh
I'm queen of sand castles he destroys, oh, oh-oh-oh-oh-oh
'Cause it fit too right, puzzle pieces in the dead of night
I should've known it was a matter of time, oh, oh-oh-oh-oh-oh
My boy only breaks his favorite toys, oh, oh-oh-oh
[Verse 2]
There was a litany of reasons why
We could've playеd for keeps this time
I know I'm just repeating mysеlf
Put me back on my shelf
But first, pull the string
And I'll tell you that he runs
Because he loves me (He loves me)
[Pre-Chorus]
'Cause you should've seen him when he first saw me
[Chorus]
My boy only breaks his favorite toys, toys, oh-oh-oh-oh-oh
I'm queen of sand castles he destroys, oh, oh-oh-oh-oh-oh
'Cause I knew too much, there was danger in the heat of my touch
He saw forever so he smashed it up, oh, oh-oh-oh-oh-oh
My boy (My boy), only breaks his favorite toys, oh, oh-oh-oh
[Bridge]
(Oh-oh-oh, oh-oh-oh)
Once I fix me (Oh-oh-oh, oh-oh-oh)
He's gonna miss me (Oh-oh-oh, oh-oh-oh)
Once I fix me (Oh-oh-oh, oh-oh-oh)
He's gonna miss me
[Outro]
Just say when, I'd play again
He was my best friend
Down at the sandlot
I felt more when we played pretend
Than with all the Kens
'Cause he took me out of my box (Oh-oh, oh-oh)
Stole my tortured heart (Oh-oh, oh-oh)
Left all these broken parts (Oh-oh)
Told me I'm better off
But I'm not
I'm not, I'm not
Note: Lyrical changes between versions have been italicized.
[Spoken intro]
Hey, so, umm, this is kind of an abnormal structure
But I think it could be really cool this way
And, just, it sounds sad, 'cause it's on piano, umm and I'm sad in general
But umm, it's gotta have, like, a driving synth beat, or whatever
[Verse 1]
Oh, here we go again
The voices in his head
Ring out louder than our midnight sighs
The sickest army doll
Purchased at the mall
Rivulets descend my plastic smile
[Pre-Chorus]
But you should've seen him when he first got me
[Chorus]
My boy only breaks his favorite toys, toys, oh
I'm queen of sand castles he destroys, oh, oh
'Cause it fit too right, puzzle pieces in the dead of night
Should'vе known it was a matter of time, oh, oh
My boy only breaks his favorite toys, oh
[Verse 2]
There was a litany of reasons why
It could've been different this time
I know I'm just repeating myself
Put me back on my shelf
But first, pull the string
I'll tell you that he runs
Because he loves me
[Pre-Chorus]
'Cause you should've seen him when he first saw me
[Chorus]
My boy only breaks his favorite toys, toys, oh
I'm queen of the kingdoms he destroys, oh, oh
'Cause I knew too much, there was danger in the heat of my touch
Said forever, then he blew it up, oh, oh
My boy only breaks his favorite toys, toys
[Outro]
Just say when, I'd play again
He was my best friend
And that was the worst part
I felt more then in brief moments
Than with all the Kens
'Cause he took me out of my box
Left all these broken parts
And kept my tortured heart
And told me I'm better off
But I'm not
[Spoken outro]
And I think you can just end it like that
Audio[]
Live performances[]
"My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys" was performed three times as a surprise song on The Eras Tour: on May 10, 2024 in Paris, on August 17, 2024 in London, England mashed-up with "coney island", and on November 14, 2024 in Toronto, Canada mashed-up with "This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things".
| THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT | ||
|---|---|---|
| "Fortnight" • "The Tortured Poets Department" • "My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys" • "Down Bad" • "So Long, London" • "But Daddy I Love Him" • "Fresh Out The Slammer" • "Florida!!!" • "Guilty as Sin?" • "Who's Afraid of Little Old Me?" • "I Can Fix Him (No Really I Can)" • "loml" • "I Can Do It With a Broken Heart" • "The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived" • "The Alchemy" • "Clara Bow" | ||
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