"The Black Dog" (originally titled "Old Habits Die Screaming"[1]) is the seventeenth track from The Anthology edition of American singer and songwriter Taylor Swift's eleventh studio album, The Tortured Poets Department, released on April 19, 2024 through Republic Records. "The Black Dog" is also a deluxe track from "The Black Dog" edition of the album.[2]
Background[]
"The Black Dog" is a track exclusive to the Anthology edition of The Tortured Poets Department. Along with the other Anthology edition tracks, the song was surprise-released at 2:00 AM EST on April 19.
Lyrics[]
[Verse 1]
I am someone who until recent events
You shared your secrets with
And your location, you forgot to turn it off
And so I watch as you walk
Into some bar called The Black Dog
And pierce new holes in my heart
You forgot to turn it off
[Pre-Chorus]
And it hits me
I just don't understand
[Chorus]
How you don't miss me
In The Black Dog, when someone plays The Starting Line
And you jump up, but she's too young to know this song
That was intertwined in the magic fabric of our dreaming
Old habits die screaming
[Verse 2]
I move through the world with a heart broken
My longing state unspoken
And I may never open up the way I did for you
And all of thosе best late plans
You said I needed a bravе man
Then proceeded to play him
Until I believed it too
[Pre-Chorus]
And it kills me
I just don't understand
[Chorus]
How you don't miss me
In the shower and remember how my rain-soaked body
Was shaking, do you hate me?
Was it hazing, for a cruel fraternity?
I pledged and I still mean it
Old habits die screaming
[Bridge]
Six weeks of breathing clean air
I still miss the smoke
Were you making fun of me?
With some esoteric joke?
Now I wanna sell my house
And set fire to all my clothes
And hire a priest to come and exorcise my demons
[Chorus]
Even if I die screaming-ing
And I hope you hear it-it-it
And I hope it's shitty in The Black Dog
When someone plays The Starting Line and you jump up
But she's too young to know this song
That was intertwined in the tragic fabric of my dreaming
This tail between your legs, you're leaving
[Outro]
I still can't believe it
'Cause old habits die screaming
Note: Lyrical changes between versions have been italicized.
[Spoken intro]
Hey, so this is called, umm, "Old Habits Die Screaming"
[Verse 1]
I am someone who until recent events
You shared your secrets with
And your location, you forgot to turn it off
And so I watch as you walk
Into some bar called The Black Dog
And pierce new holes in my heart
You forgot to turn it off
[Pre-Chorus]
And it hits me
I just don't understand
[Chorus]
How you don't miss me
In The Black Dog, when someone plays The Starting Line
And you jump up, but she's too young to know this song
That was intertwined in the magic fabric of our dreaming
Old habits die screaming
[Verse 2]
I move through the world with the heartbroken
My longings stay unspokеn
And I may never open up thе way I did for you
And all of those best laid plans
You said I needed a brave man
Then proceeded to play him
Until I believed it too
[Pre-Chorus]
It kills me
I just don't understand
[Chorus]
How you don't miss me in the shower
When remember how my rain-soaked body
Was shaking, do you hate me?
Was it hazing? For a cruel fraternity
I pledged and I still mean it
Old habits die screaming
[Bridge]
Weeks of breathing clean air
I still miss the smoke
Are you making fun of me
With some esoteric joke?
Now I wanna sell my house
And set fire to all my clothes
And hire a priest to come and exorcise my demons
[Pre-Chorus]
Even if I die screaming
I hope you hear it
[Chorus]
And I hope it's shitty
In The Black Dog, when someone plays The Starting Line
And you jump up, but she's too young to know this song
That was intertwined in the magic fabric of our dreaming
But tail between your legs, you're leavin'
[Outro]
I still can't believe it
But old habits die screaming
Audio[]
Live performances[]
"The Black Dog" was performed as a surprise song three times on The Eras Tour: on June 21, 2024 in London, England mashed-up with "Come Back...Be Here" and "Maroon", on August 3, 2024 in Warsaw, Poland mashed-up with "exile", and on October 25, 2024 in New Orleans, Louisiana mashed-up with "Haunted".
Trivia[]
- "The Black Dog" is the only song from the four deluxe editions to get leaked.
- Of all the bonus tracks, "The Black Dog" is the only one to have its back cover lyric in its respective bonus track.
- "The Manuscript" edition's back cover lyric, "I love you, it's ruining my life", is sung in "Fortnight".
- "The Bolter" edition's back cover lyric, "you don't get to tell me about sad", is sung in "Who's Afraid of Little Old Me?".
- "The Albatross" edition's back cover lyric, "am I allowed to cry?", is sung in "Guilty as Sin?".
- The Black Dog is a pub in London[3] and is suspected to have been where Joe Alwyn and Swift's first date took place.
- "The Black Dog" is hinted in the music video for “Fortnight"; with a black dog appearing in one of the scenes.[4]
- Swift revealead that in the "First Draft Phone Memo" version is that the original title of "The Black Dog" was "Old Habits Die Screaming".[1]
- In the lyric booklet for "The Black Dog" edition of the album, the first line of the bridge, "Six weeks of breathing clean air", is misspelled as, "Siz weeks of breathing clean air". [5]
References[]
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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