Singing Between the Lyrics - Taylor Swift's "I Can Do It With A Broken Heart"

If you’re here, you probably love Taylor Swift as much as we do! If you’ve followed along with her discography, you already know Swift has quite the lineup totalling with currently 11 records and 4 rerecords. We could talk all day about the timeline and why it’s important, but we’ll save that for a different day! 

Today, we’ll be diving into the singer songwriter’s popular hit song “I Can Do It With a Broken Heart” and why it is such a pivotal song. As the thirteenth song on Swift’s eleventh studio album, The Tortured Poets Department, this song tells a crucial part of Swift’s story, keying us in on her internal monologue during a show.

“I Can Do It With a Broken Heart” explores Swift’s struggle with media perception and her more personal internal struggles with mental health. She expertly illustrates for her audience the overwhelming feelings of heartbrokenness as she was busy putting on a three and a half hour international stage show. 

Right from the beginning of the song, Taylor lets us know that she believes she knows what her fans and loved ones are thinking, that she’s “having the time of her life” on stage. And while Swift has discussed in a multitude of interviews that she loves her job and loves being on stage, it is clear that every detail of her life is consistently on display. She feels as though she must fool her audience, not letting them know that she is struggling. She talks about her ability to dazzle and distract and even have the crowd demanding encores and more songs, all while she is battling her own mind. While the themes of this song easily present themselves, we can also look into the lyrics and stylistic choices that Swift made in order to better understand just why this song is such a crucial part of the album. 

Taylor uses her lyrics to tell a story and explain to her audience how she is feeling. “I can show you lies” is a short but important line. She is telling us here that behind all the glittery outfits and elaborate stage shows, she is a person too, and it is easy to see how constantly being put under a microscope can begin to weigh on a person. 

Following this line, a male voice counting “1, 2, 3…” can be heard in the background. This is a unique stylistic choice Swift made to show her audiences what can be heard in her ear monitor prior to a show. This is incredibly important because not only is he counting down the pre chorus bridge, Swift is using this as an opportunity to demonstrate how she is so good at what she does, she fools us even though the lyrics are right in front of our eyes. This exhibits her ability to put her emotions and feelings aside to perform, making her a true star. 

Throughout the pre-chorus, Taylor takes the time to switch up the tempo, and listeners can hear her taking deep breaths between the lyrics, almost mimicking hyperventilation. We hear her gasping for air, almost as if she is crying; this is most prevalent in the line “he said breath he’d love breath me all breath his life.”

This line is quick, but tells us all we need to know, as Swift goes on to describe feelings of deep sadness, but feeling the pressure to perform and entertain regardless. We even hear her demonstrate this in the chorus with the line “the crowd was chanting more.” This is an excellent example of the pressure that artists feel from their fans and society to continue creating, even when they are going through something. 

Taylor Swift does a phenomenal job in “I Can Do It With a Broken Heart” by giving us a look into what is going on in her mind and in her personal life behind stage. She puts immense pressure on herself to perform and create beautiful music, and perhaps feels this way because of the pressures that society and the music industry continuously put on artists. However, even in the depths of battles with grief and sadness, it’s no wonder why Swift is as successful as she is; not only is she talented and has a great stage presence, she is willing to go to great lengths to continue to write and create new music, even doing so when she feels as though her personal world is falling apart. Many of us can agree that Taylor Swift’s music has gotten us through many difficult times in our lives, and perhaps this is partially due to her ornate ability to demonstrate her own struggles and bring them to life through music in a way that many of us can personally relate to. Perseverance is a prominent theme in this song, one that many of us can also relate to. 

Oftentimes, we feel as though we’ve become so important and so relied upon at work, it becomes impossible for us to take a break and put ourselves first. While it can be difficult (yet incredibly important) to enforce personal boundaries, sometimes, we have no choice but to hang on through a tough time. Whether that is dealing with problems at work, at home, or greater issues causing us grief, this song is one many of us can relate to, as we continue to persevere through difficult times. 

All in all, “I Can Do It With a Broken Heart” is an upbeat song with transparent lyrics, and for many of us, when we hear it, it’s almost as if Taylor is reading our minds. In a sense, it can be seen as an anthem for the heartbroken who still put on a brave face every day and still continue with their daily lives. Swift includes themes of perseverance and sheds light on her own personal thoughts regarding both her media presence as well as her own struggles with grief following the end of a relationship. 

We love this song, along with many of TS’s other songs. Be sure to check out our other blog posts where we continue to dive into the lyrics and discuss themes and deeper meanings. You can find “I Can Do It With a Broken Heart” along with many other TTPD songs on our All Things Taylor playlist on Spotify. Check it out!