Destin’s tourism department just hit a huge jackpot.
While Florida got a huge shoutout on Taylor Swift “The Tortured Poet’s Department” album, the Northwest Florida city got an extra special nod in the song.
In her 11th studio album, Swift sings about escaping to the Sunshine State, with Florence + The Machine by her side. Together, they both detail the sunny paradise in a haunting, brutal way that only Floridians know.
In the song “Florida!!!” with Florence + the Machine, Swift sings the lyrics:
“Little did you know your home’s really only; A town you’re just a guest in; So you work your life away just to pay; For a time-share down in Destin.”
Destin is a city located along the Gulf of Mexico in Okaloosa County, right in the state’s panhandle region. According to USA Today, the area is known as a tourist destination because of the gulf beaches, fishing and resorts.
There is no direct connection to Destin for the popstar but Swift does have some ties to the state as a whole.
For starters, her father Scott Swift lives in a $4 million home in Pinellas County. Back in 2020, it was reported he fought a burglar who broke into the St. Pete penthouse.
Swift has also toured in Florida throughout her career, ever since her Fearless World Tour. That’s not even counting the festivals she’s played at early in her career, such as the Florida Strawberry Festival and Lehigh Spring Fest.
Taylor Swift & Travis Kelce?Nah. Florida, Eras Tour singer make one enchanted love story
So it’s clear Swift loves Florida but do we love her? A report from sports betting website Betway last year revealed that Florida houses the most Swifties. According to Betway, Florida makes 5.5 million yearly searches about Taylor Swift, making it the No. 1 state in the U.S. That’s roughly 81,910 searches per 10,000 residents.
In “Florida!!!”, Swift and Florence offer up a suspense-filled track that highlights the beauty and brutality of the state, with lyrics aimed at escaping, washing away with hurricanes and bodies (metaphorically) sinking away in the swamp.
But what is the song actually about? Well, no one but Swift, her collaborators and closest confidants will know the answer but that doesn’t stop Swifties from sleuthing. However, Swift did tell iHeart Radio that after getting inspiration from crime shows, she thought of where she’d go if she needed to reinvent herself.
“I think I was coming up with this idea of ‘what happens when your life doesn’t fit’ or ‘the choices you’ve made catch up with you’ and you’re surrounded by these harsh consequences and judgement,” Swift said. “And circumstances did not lead you to where you thought you’d be.”
Fans previously speculated the album was about Swift’s six-year relationship with English actor Joe Alwyn and their breakup. Many theorize that “Florida!!!” is about her Eras Tour shows at Tampa’s Raymond James Stadium from April 13-15, 2023 — which would have been when details of Swift’s and Alwyn’s breakup were made public.
The theory seems to be confirmed when Florence sings, “So you pack your life away just to wait out/The sh—storm back in Texas.” According to Elle, Houston was the next tour stop after Tampa.
Ever since the track list was revealed, fans looked back at moments from the Tampa shows and noticed the popstar seemed upset when performing songs about her past relationship.
Yes! In “Fortnight,” a collaboration with Post Malone and the lead single on the album about a suburban housewife’s fling with a married man, she sings at the end:
“‘Nother fortnight lost in America; Move to Florida, buy the car you want; But it won’t start up ’til you touch, touch, touch me”
You can purchase it on her website. There are several versions of the album available, including a CD, cassette, vinyl and digital album.
These retailers are selling the album starting Friday, April 19:
