"The Manuscript" is the thirty-first 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 Manuscript" is also a deluxe track from "The Manuscript" edition of the album.
Background[]
"The Manuscript" 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.
The song is rumored to be about either John Mayer or Jake Gyllenhaal.[1]
Lyrics[]
[Verse 1]
Now and then she re-reads the manuscript of the entire torrid affair
They compared their licenses
He said, “I’m not a donor but I’d give you my heart if you needed it”
She rolled her eyes and said, “You’re a professional”
He said, “No, just a good samaritan”
He said that if the sex was half as good as the conversation was
Soon they’d be pushing strollers
But soon it was over
[Verse 2]
In the age of him, she wished she was thirty
And made coffee every morning in a French press
Afterward she only ate kids’ cereal
And couldn’t sleep unless it was in her mother’s bed
Then she dated boys who were her own age
With dartboards on the backs of their boards
She thought about how he said since she was so beyond her years,
Everything had been above board
She wasn’t sure
[Bridge]
And the years passed like scenes of a show
The professor said to write what you know
Looking backwards might be the only way to move forward
Then the actors were hitting their marks
And the slow dance was alight with the sparks
And the tears fell in synchronicity with the score
And at last, she knew what the agony had been for
[Outro]
The only thing that’s left is the manuscript
One last souvenir from my trip to your shores
Now and then I re-read the manuscript
But the story isn’t mine anymore
Audio[]
Live performances[]
"The Manuscript" was performed as a surprise song on The Eras Tour on June 15, 2024 in Liverpool, England, mashed-up with "Red". It was performed as a surprise song on the closing night of the Eras Tour on December 8, 2024, in Vancouver, Canada, as part of a mashup with "Long Live" and "New Year's Day" on the piano.
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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