"Loml"
Song by Taylor Swift
from the album The Tortured Poets Department
ReleasedApril 19, 2024 (2024-04-19)
GenrePiano ballad
Length4:37
LabelRepublic Records
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Swift
  • Dessner

"Loml" (stylized in lowercase) is a song by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift from her eleventh studio album, The Tortured Poets Department (2024). The song was written and produced by Swift and longtime collaborator Aaron Dessner.

Background and lyrics

edit
 
Joe Alwyn (pictured) was theorized to be the subject of the song.

Swift revealed The Tortured Poets Department at the Grammy Awards on February 4, 2024, while accepting the award for Best Pop Vocal Album for Midnights (2022).[1] Swift revealed she worked on the album in secret through 2022 and 2023.[2]

"Loml" is a piano ballad that mourns a long-lasting love that is lost.[3] Although the acronym "Loml" commonly means "love of my life",[4][5] the phrase is not explicitly clarified, leading to fans speculating a different phrase.[6] At the end of the song, it's revealed that "Loml" means "loss of my life".[7][4] The song speaks of a short-lived relationship.[8] Swift chasities her ex-lover for cowardice and abandonment, feeling that she sacrificed her romance and wish for a stable relationship. Swift also describe getting blinded by the promise of a fruitful relationship.[9]

Swift opens up "Loml" by introducing a relationship that was supposed to be a fruitful one, before explaining how it went downhill. The male character in the relationship promises a fake "Heaven" for Swift's character, which she describes as being sent down to Hell.[10]

Release and critical reception

edit

Republic Records released it on April 19, 2024; "Loml" is twelfth on the track list.[11] During the first show in Paris, "Loml" made its live debut in the Eras Tour along with a new The Tortured Poets Department set in the setlist, albeit as a surprise song.[12] A variant containing this performance was released on May 24, 2024, alongside variants containing acoustic performances of "My Boy Only Breaks His Favourite Toys" and a mashup of "The Alchemy" and "Treacherous".[13]

Lian Brooks of Glamour described "Loml" as a song that "really has [everyone] bawling".[14] Several critics connected the song to Taylor's previous relationship with American actor Joe Alwyn,[14] while Jessica Sager of Parade connected it to Matty Healy instead.[15] Callie Alghrim of Business Insider connected the song to several of Swift's songs from Folklore (2020), while also describing the song as a spiritual successor of "The 1".[16] Alex Hopper of American Songwriter compared it to fellow Folklore track "Invisible String" and "Hits Different" (2022) instead.[10] Teen Vogue applauded the song for being "way more storytelling, less rhythmically constrained".[17]

Personnel

edit

Credits adapted from the liner notes of The Tortured Poets Department.[18]

  • Taylor Swift – lead vocals, songwriter, producer
  • Aaron Dessner – producer, songwriter, piano, synthesizers, keyboards
  • Glenn Kotche — drums, percussion
  • Laura Smith — vocal engineering
  • Christopher Rowe — vocal engineering
  • Michael Riddleberger – recording
  • Serban Ghenea – mixing
  • Bryce Bordone – mix engineering
  • Randy Merrill – mastering
  • Ryan Smith – vinyl mastering

Charts

edit
Chart performance for "Loml"
Chart (2024) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[19] 15
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[20] 17
Global 200 (Billboard)[21] 16
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[22] 16
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[23] 97
US Billboard Hot 100[24] 12

References

edit
  1. ^ West, Bryan (21 April 2024). "Taylor Swift makes Grammys history with fourth album of the year win for 'Midnights'". USA Today. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  2. ^ Puckett-Pope, Lauren; Gonzales, Erica (19 April 2024). "Is Taylor Swift's 'The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived' About Matty Healy?". Elle. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  3. ^ "'Loml' (2024)". Rolling Stone Australia. 2024-04-26. Retrieved 2024-06-28.
  4. ^ a b Schwedel, Heather (2024-04-20). "Every Proper Noun on Taylor Swift's Tortured Poets Department, Charted and Annotated". Slate. ISSN 1091-2339. Retrieved 2024-05-03.
  5. ^ Eley, Amy (19 April 2024). "Everything Taylor Swift has revealed about her new album track list". Today. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
  6. ^ Bonner, Mehera (11 April 2024). "Taylor Swift's New Song "loml" Has a More Complicated Meaning Than Everyone Initially Thought". Cosmopolitan. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
  7. ^ "Taylor Swift's 'LOML' Lyrics Offer a Devastating Look at Her Joe Alwyn Breakup". ELLE. 2024-04-19. Retrieved 2024-04-29.
  8. ^ "What Taylor Swift seemingly reveals about relationship with Matty Healy on 'The Tortured Poets Department'". Today. 2024-04-22. Retrieved 2024-04-30.
  9. ^ Willman, Chris (2024-04-19). "Taylor Swift's Best 'Tortured Poets Department' Lyrics: 'So Long, London,' 'The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived,' 'LOML,' 'The Black Dog' and More". Variety. Retrieved 2024-04-30.
  10. ^ a b Hopper, Alex (2024-05-29). "Behind the Meaning of Taylor Swift's Post-Mortem of a Relationship, "loml"". American Songwriter. Retrieved 2024-06-28.
  11. ^ "As The Tortured Poets Department drops, here's all Taylor Swift's albums ranked by sales". Music Week. April 19, 2024. Archived from the original on April 19, 2024. Retrieved 2024-04-19.
  12. ^ "Taylor Swift Debuted 'The Tortured Poets Department' Songs Live In Paris: Watch". Stereogum. 2024-05-09. Retrieved 2024-06-28.
  13. ^ "Taylor Swift Is Selling Live Versions of 3 'Tortured Poets Department' Surprise Songs for a Very Limited Time". Peoplemag. Retrieved 2024-06-28.
  14. ^ a b Nast, Condé (2024-04-19). "Are Taylor Swift's loml lyrics about Joe Alwyn? It seems like it". Glamour UK. Retrieved 2024-04-29.
  15. ^ Sager, Jessica (2024-04-19). "Taylor Swift 'Tortured Poets Department' Song Meanings and Easter Eggs". Parade. Retrieved 2024-06-28.
  16. ^ Ahlgrim, Callie. "Taylor Swift's new album 'The Tortured Poets Department' is packed with references and Easter eggs. Here are the key details you may have missed". Business Insider. Retrieved 2024-05-03.
  17. ^ Chan, P. Claire Dodson, Catherine Mhloyi,Shauna Beni-Haynes,Cristina Sada,Mi-Anne (2024-04-19). "Taylor Swift's 'Tortured Poets Department' Broke Our Group Chat". Teen Vogue. Retrieved 2024-06-28.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  18. ^ The Tortured Poets Department (The Manuscript edition vinyl liner notes). Taylor Swift. Republic Records. 2024. 602458933314.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  19. ^ "Taylor Swift – Loml". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved May 2, 2024.
  20. ^ "Taylor Swift Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved May 2, 2024.
  21. ^ "Taylor Swift Chart History (Global 200)". Billboard. Retrieved May 2, 2024.
  22. ^ "Taylor Swift – Loml". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved May 2, 2024.
  23. ^ "Taylor Swift – Loml" Canciones Top 50. Retrieved May 2, 2024.
  24. ^ "Taylor Swift Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved May 2, 2024.