“Did you have to beam me up?” Today’s Summer School episode has us revisiting Episode 13: Metaphors (Spotify | Apple). There’s no shortage of metaphors across "The Tortured Poets Department," from alien abduction and a city to prison and high school. We unpack some of the metaphors woven through the lyrics to better understand the songs and the album as a whole.

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Mentioned in this episode:

Episode 13: Metaphors (Spotify | Apple)

Episode 14: Deep Dive - Getaway Car (Spotify | Apple)

Samuel Taylor Coleridge, “Rime of the Ancient Mariner”

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Mean Girls

Catcher in the Rye

The Aeneid, Virgil

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Episode Highlights:

[00:56] Introducing Metaphors

[01:55] Down Bad “Did you have to beam me up”

[09:10] So Long, London “So long, London, You'll find someone”

[15:01] Fresh Out The Slammer “Handcuffed to the spell I was under”

[20:08] The Albatross “I’m the Albatross”

[24:28] So High School “Bittersweet sixteen suddenly”

[33:33] Cassandra “I was in my tower weaving nightmares”

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This podcast is neither related to nor endorsed by Taylor Swift, her companies, or record labels. All opinions are our own. Intro music produced by Scott Zadig aka Scotty Z.