Who are Dylan Thomas and Patti Smith? Learn about the poets mentioned by Taylor Swift on TTPD
Poets Dylan Thomas and Patti Smith are mentioned in Taylor Swift’s upcoming 11th studio album, “Tortured Poets Oath.”
After the album was released on April 19, 2024, the lyrics of some of the “Cruel Summer” singer’s songs caught the attention of her beloved Swifty.
In the title track, “Tortured Poets Oath,” Swift names famous poets when she sings, “And who’ll hold you like me?/And who’ll love you if not me?”
“I laughed in your face and said, ‘You ain’t Dylan Thomas, I ain’t Patti Smith’ / This ain’t the Chelsea Hotel / We’re modern idiots.”
The Grammy winner adds: “Who’s going to hold you like me? / no one. There is no royal body. no one.”
Keep scrolling to learn more about Smith and Thomas.
Who is Dylan Thomas?
During his short life, Thomas was a Welsh poet and writer, completing a novel and hundreds of poems and short stories.
Some of Thomas’s most famous poems include “And Death Shall Have Sovereignty,” “Fern Hill” and “Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night.”
He also wrote stories and radio programs such as A Child’s Christmas in Wales and A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Dog.
Dylan shares three children – Llewellyn, Ironwy and Colm Garran – with his wife Caitlin Thomas.
The father-of-three had a reputation as a “loud, drunken and ill-fated poet”, according to the Welsh Academy’s Encyclopedia of Wales, and was widely popular until his death in November 1953 at the age of 39 from pneumonia, brain swelling and fat. Liver disease.
In May 2023, Arthur Nash, a longtime tenant of the Chelsea Hotel, filed a lawsuit over physical possession of Dylan’s final home and writing studio amid the renovation of the hotel, which Swift also mentions in the title track.
Who is Patti Smith?
Smith is an American singer, songwriter, poet, painter, and author.
Her 1975 debut album, “Horses,” made her an influential member of the New York City-based punk rock movement.
In 1978, Smith’s most famous song, “Because the Night”, co-written with Bruce Springsteen, reached No. 13 on the Billboard Hot 100.
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Smith has received numerous honors throughout her career, including induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2007 and being ranked No. 47 on Rolling Stone’s list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time in 2010.
Outside of her music career, Smith is a feminist fighting the climate crisis and has been outspoken about her disdain for former President George W. Bush and the Iraq War.
In December 2023, Smith – who suffered from a lifelong bronchial disease – was discharged from a hospital in Italy after falling suddenly ill.
Patty gave birth to her first child in April 1967, but put her up for adoption.
She also shares son Jackson and daughter Jessie with her late husband, Fred Smith, who died after suffering a heart attack in November 1994.