Patti Smith is a proud member of Taylor Swift’s “Tortured Poets Department.”
The poet and singer thanked Swift on Instagram after being named-dropped on the “Cruel Summer” pop star’s latest album. On the titular track from “The Tortured Poets Department,” Swift sings, “You’re not Dylan Thomas. I’m not Patti Smith. This ain’t the Chelsea Hotel. We’re modern idiots.”
“I was moved to be mentioned in the company of the great Welsh poet Dylan Thomas,” Smith wrote on Instagram Friday, sharing photos of herself reading Thomas’ book “Portrait of the Artist as a Young Dog.”
“Thank you Taylor,” she added.
Smith has been nominated for four Grammy Awards and released her debut studio album, “Horses,” in 1975. Thomas, meanwhile, was a Welsh poet and author of “Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night.” Harvard professor Stephanie Burt, who teaches a class on Swift, told USA TODAY that Smith is “who you invoke if you want to talk about a woman onstage who is absolutely magnetic and a poet with a capital ‘P.'”
Smith wasn’t the only star thrilled by a name-drop on Swift’s new album. On Instagram, “American Pie” actress Alyson Hannigan reacted to her 1999 comedy being referenced on Swift’s song “So High School,” which includes the lyric, “I’m watching ‘American Pie’ with you on a Saturday night.'”
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After sharing a text showing that she was already excited for the album to drop, Hannigan told fans that she could “barely function yesterday in the very best way.” The song is believed to be about Swift’s relationship with Travis Kelce, and Hannigan joked that “it’s like I’m basically on their date with them, right?” In response to a fan suggesting the lyric was a nod to her, the “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” star also wrote, “That’s what I’m always going to tell myself.”
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Still yet to weigh in on their name drop is Charlie Puth, who received a plug on the title track “The Tortured Poets Department” when Swift sings, “We declared Charlie Puth should be a bigger artist.”
Other names mentioned on the album include the late silent film star Clara Bow, who gets an entire song named after her. Swift also drops the first names Lucy and Jack on the song “The Tortured Poets Department,” which fans have speculated refer to Boygenius member Lucy Dacus and Swift’s frequent collaborator Jack Antonoff. And while Swift does not directly mention Kim Kardashian, the song “thanK you aIMee” is heavily implied to be about her, with the title even spelling out Kardashian’s first name in capital letters.
Contributing: Bryan West
