Anticipating Taylor Swift’s "The Tortured Poets Department": A Look Back at Swiftie-Themed Study Tips

As I eagerly await the release of Taylor Swift's new album, "The Tortured Poets Department," at Friday midnight, I can't help but reflect on how her music has intertwined with my legal musings. Whether you're a seasoned Swiftie or a casual listener, her songs have a knack for resonating on a deeper level.

In a series of blog posts, I've tried to link Taylor's music to legal concepts, aiming to provide educational insights for law students and bar examinees in a fun, relatable, and memorable way.

As I gear up for another lyrical journey with the release of "The Tortured Poets Department," I wanted to revisit these posts to see how her songs might be applied to studying for the bar exam.

From “I Admit It: ‘I May Be a Swiftie’” (Jan. 21, 2023):

1. “no body, no crime”: Criminal Law—Homicide

2. “Vigilante Shit”: Criminal Procedure—Use of informants

3. “Message in a Bottle”: Contracts and Sales—Communication of Offers

4. “Anti-Hero”: Wills—Slayer statutes

5. “Bad Blood”: Torts—Abnormally dangerous activity

6. “Shake It Off”: Test-taking strategy

7. “Fifteen”: Constitutional Law—Fifteenth Amendment

8. “All Too Well”: Evidence—Prior statement of identification

9. “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together”: Family Law—“No -fault” divorce

10. “Getaway Car”: Criminal Law—Conspiracy

11. “Snow on the Beach”: Contracts and Sales—Concurrent conditions and Criminal Law—Concurrence of actus reusand mens rea

12. “I Knew You Were Trouble”: Torts—Defamation

13. “Karma”: Torts—Proximate causation

14. “Mastermind”: Constitutional Law—Equal Protection Clause

15. “Maroon”: Criminal Law—Intoxication

From “’Fifteen’ + ‘Seven’ = ‘22’": Learning More from T-Swift's Songs (July 1, 2023)

16. “Me!”: Evidence—Excited utterance

17. “Daylight”: Criminal Law—Burglary

18. “Death by a Thousand Cuts”: Criminal Law—First-degree murder

19. “False God”: Constitutional Law—Free Exercise Clause

20. “I Did Something Bad”: Evidence—Statement by an opposing party

21. “Innocent”: Criminal Procedure—Presumption of innocence

22. “Sparks Fly”: Torts—Abnormally dangerous activity

From “(Tommy's Version): Connecting the Vault Tracks on ‘1989 (Taylor's Version)’ to Legal Concepts” (Nov. 4, 2023):

23. "’Slut!’ (Taylor's Version) (From The Vault)"

Torts—Slander per se

24. "Say Don’t Go (Taylor's Version) (From The Vault)": Criminal Law and Torts—Consent defendant to kidnapping and false imprisonment

25. "Suburban Legends (Taylor's Version) (From The Vault)": Constitutional Law—Obscenity

26. "Now That We Don't Talk (Taylor's Version) (From The Vault)": Criminal Procedure—Fifth Amendment

27. "Is It Over Now? (Taylor's Version) (From The Vault)": Civil Procedure—Final judgment rule