This morning (February 16), Taylor Swift started her run of Eras Tour concerts in Melbourne, Australia. She made opening night one to remember: During the show, Swift announced a new version of her upcoming album The Tortured Poets Department, which features a bonus track called “The Bolter.”
Swift then announced it on social media, sharing a poetic snippet that reads, “You don’t get to tell me about sad.”
Taylor Reveals title of new song “The Bolter” from her new album to Melbourne. #taylorswift #THETORTUEDPOETSDEPARTMENT #Melbourne #MelbourneTSTheErasTour #erastour pic.twitter.com/U734Vnb59P
— Leon Sjogren (Fifi, Fev & Nick – Fox FM) (@Leonsjogren) February 16, 2024
The new edition of the album is currently available for pre-order on Swift’s website (on vinyl, cassette, and CD), but given the excitement around the release, who knows how long supplies will last.
Some fans have made a connection between the song title and the 2008 Frances Osborne book The Bolter: The Story Of Idina Sackville, Who Ran Away To Become The Chief Seductress Of Kenya’s Scandalous “Happy Valley Set”. A publisher’s summary of the book reads:
“In an age of bolters — women who broke the rules and fled their marriages — Idina Sackville was the most celebrated of them all. Her relentless affairs, wild sex parties, and brazen flaunting of convention shocked high society and inspired countless writers and artists, from Nancy Mitford to Greta Garbo. But Idina’s compelling charm masked the pain of betrayal and heartbreak.
Now Frances Osborne explores the life of Idina, her enigmatic great-grandmother, using letters, diaries, and family legend, following her from Edwardian London to the hills of Kenya, where she reigned over the scandalous antics of the ‘Happy Valley Set.’ Dazzlingly chic yet warmly intimate, The Bolter is a fascinating look at a woman whose energy still burns bright almost a century later.”
Beyond that, there’s also just a lot of general elation among the Swifties. Check out some reactions to the news below.
YALL KNOW DAMN WELL THIS IS THE BOLTER SHES REFERRING TO! OH ITS BAD FOR HIM YALL. IM KINDA SCARED! #TSTTPD pic.twitter.com/TncW33UEMl
— GINA 🌙✨ (@whatamind13) February 16, 2024
Taylor announced Bolter and said "you don't get to tell me about sad" and then played YOU'RE LOSING ME to let us know exactly what sad feels like pic.twitter.com/PtutUxM9sW
— αяуα ιѕ α тσятυяє∂ ρσєт🤍 (@thelakesunclean) February 16, 2024
Something about saying The bolter(which yield results the fall of this flapper who ran away) and not just saying bolter(an outsider) signifies that she may focus on the flapper but could also focus on her being an outsider to her own seclusion that she created with a relationship https://t.co/tpMLqCnUW3 pic.twitter.com/6XOPnT847d
— K. (@special_kxb) February 16, 2024
The Tortured Poets Department is out 4/19 via Republic. Find more information here.