Pub, or Hellhound? “The Black Dog” Song Meaning, Explained

The Black Dog is Taylor Swift’s first track of her extended The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology. 

It’s a ruminating, heartbreaking ode to a lost love, whom the narrator imagines is out having the time of his life without Taylor. 

What does the central metaphor of “the black dog” mean, and what is Taylor really saying in this track? 

Here’s my complete English teacher analysis of The Black Dog song meaning, line by line.

The Black Dog by Taylor Swift

  • Title: The Black Dog
  • Written by: Taylor Swift
  • Track: 17, The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology
  • Pen: Quill 
  • Lyrics from Genius

The Black Dog Narrative Summary

  • Setting: Heartbroken after a breakup, cyberstalking her ex. 
  • Characters: Narrator (Taylor), Subject (ex-lover, “you”), subject’s new flame (“her”). 
  • Mood: Devastated, angry, grieving. 
  • Conflict: They’ve broken up, but Taylor’s not over it. 
  • Inciting Incident: “you walk / Into some bar called The Black Dog.” She watches her ex’s location move to a bar, and imagines he’s with his new girlfriend. 
  • Quest: Tell him how much he hurt her. 
  • Symbols & Metaphors: “The Black Dog,” “recent events,” “your location,” “you forgot to turn it off,” “new holes in my heart,” “The Starting Line,” “she’s too young,” “intertwined in the magic fabric of our dreaming,” “old habits die screaming,” “the world with the heartbroken,” “longings stay unspoken,” “I may never open up,” “best laid plans,” “brave man,” “play him until I believed it,” “kills me,” “my rain-soaked body was shakin,” “was it hazing for a cruel fraternity,” “I pledged,” “breathin’ clean air, I still miss the smoke,” “esoteric joke,” “sell my house and set fire to all my clothes,” “exorcize my demons,” “I die screaming,” “I hope you hear it,” “I hope it’s shitty,” “tail between your legs, you’re leavin,” “I still can’t believe it.” 
  • Lesson: “Old habits die screaming.” 

What is The Black Dog About? 

The Black Dog is about not being over a breakup, and sees Taylor using several metaphors for her heartbreak. 

The central metaphor of “the black dog” is a spectral, demonic hellhound who wreaks havoc and haunts the countryside. But it’s also a bar, which her ex Joe Alwyn was known to frequent. 

Who is The Black Dog About? 

Taylor has never explicitly revealed who The Black Dog may have been inspired by. 

Most fans assume that it’s either about her ex Joe Alwyn, or her ex Matty Healy of The 1975. The timeline of both breakups makes sense in the context of the TTPD release, but we may never know who this song was inspired by unless Taylor tells us. 

Black Dog Symbolism: The Black Dog Pub vs. “Black Dog” Metaphor

The Black Dog pub is a real location here in London, and they’ve received a lot of publicity since the album was released. 

It came to light that Taylor’s ex, Joe Alwyn, used to be a regular of the pub (though Alwyn denied this, the pub owner has said otherwise). Now that it’s swarmed with Switfites daily, it’s not likely that it’s his local anymore. 

As Taylor says, “old habits die screaming,” and she essentially – whether she intended to or not – killed his “old habit” of having a pint there. 

But Taylor isn’t just referring to a pub here. In English and Scottish folklore, the black dog is the legend of a spectral hellhound who roams the moors. 

It’s said that if you meet the black dog once, it’ll bring good luck. If you meet the black dog twice, it’ll only bring sorrow. And if you meet the black dog three times, it’ll bring death.

Taylor says “Black Dog” three times in this track. She’s comparing her ex to a bad omen that haunted – and still haunts – her life, and nearly killed her.

The Black Dog Lyrical Analysis: Line by Line

Annotated lyrics to Taylor Swift's "The Black Dog." Red editor's pen denotes hidden meanings, alternative interpretations, analyzes use of literary devices, and translates tricky lyrics. The first verse reads: "I am someone who until recent events You shared your secrets with And your location, you forgot to turn it off And so I watch as you walk Into some bar called The Black Dog And pierce new holes in my heart You forgot to turn it off And it hits me"

The first verse gives us a candid look at our narrator’s state of mind. 

“I am someone who until recent events,” she says, alluding to a breakup, “You shared your secrets with / And your location, you forgot to turn it off.” Until just now, she used to be his trusted person. He shared everything with her, including his iPhone location. 

“You forgot to turn it off” means both his GPS and their trusted camaraderie. He “forgot to turn it off,” this trust and love that they shared. She’s left baffled. 

“And so I watch as you walk,” she says, eyes glued to a tracking map, “Into some bar called The Black Dog.” She’s down bad, missing him and doing the thing you should never do: cyberstalk your ex. 

“The Black Dog” in the first verse is simply the name of a pub, and it’s a real pub here in London. But the name stems from English folklore: the black dog that stalks the moors, haunting the villagers with its glowing eyes and hellhound silhouette. This double meaning will become important later in the lyrics. 

As she watches him walk into a bar, he’ll “pierce new holes in my heart.” She’s doing this to herself: watching his location dot slowly move across a screen. But her imagination gets the better of her. He’s likely going into the pub with another girl, she surmises. 

“You forgot to turn it off,” she says both of his location sharing, and her heart. Her heart can’t simply turn off like GPS sharing. It’s still “turned on” for him, and she is baffled that he can just move on while she can’t. 

“And it hits me,” she says, realizing it’s finally over. He’s moving on, but she’s stuck. 

1st Chorus: “The Magic Fabric Of Our Dreaming”

Annotated lyrics to Taylor Swift's "The Black Dog." Red editor's pen denotes hidden meanings, alternative interpretations, analyzes use of literary devices, and translates tricky lyrics. The first chorus reads: "I just don't understand How you don't miss me in The Black Dog When someone plays "The Starting Line" And you jump up, but she's too young to know this song That was intertwined in the magic fabric of our dreaming Old habits die screaming"

“I just don’t understand,” she says in the chorus, “How you don’t miss me in The Black Dog.” How has he moved on so easily, going out drinking, while she’s burrowed in a hole of rumination and grief? 

“When someone plays ‘The Starting Line’,” she imagines, “And you jump up, but she’s too young to know this song.” She pictures their song playing in the pub, and imagines that he gets excited over it while his date doesn’t get it. 

“She’s too young” means he’s with someone lesser than Taylor. They had this magic connection – this song, these secrets shared – and he’s thrown it away to be with someone naive. 

The Starting Line song Best of Me “was intertwined in the magic fabric of our dreaming.” This soundtrack was important to their relationship, but now he shares the magic music with someone else. It kills her. 

Best of Me is a 2002 emo/punk song that narrates the protagonist’s efforts to win back his lover. “You can have the best of me,” the singer says, “We never grew out of this feeling that we won’t give up.” 

The sentiment of the song is what Taylor is getting at here. She wants him back, and can’t ‘grow out of’ her love for him. How has he moved on so easily? 

“Old habits die screaming,” she says, closing out the chorus. Like the common phrase “old habits die hard,” what they used to do habitually will now come back to bite them.

The “old habits” that now kill her are checking his location, listening to the song, and yearning for him. 

Verse 2: “I May Never Open Up The Way I Did For You”

Annotated lyrics to Taylor Swift's "The Black Dog." Red editor's pen denotes hidden meanings, alternative interpretations, analyzes use of literary devices, and translates tricky lyrics. the second verse reads: "I move through the world with the heartbroken My longings stay unspoken And I may never open up thе way I did for you And all of those best laid plans You said I needed a bravе man Then proceeded to play him Until I believed it too And it kills me"

The second verse narrates Taylor’s world now that he’s gone. 

“I move through the world with the heartbroken,” she says, “My longings stay unspoken.” She’s living in a different world than he is. She’s not out partying with a date; she’s entirely encompassed by heartbreak. 

She keeps these feelings locked away (maybe “in lowercase inside a vault”?), and doesn’t say a word to anyone about how heartbroken she is. 

🪶🤍 Are you a tortured poet? Find out with my TTPD Lyrics Quiz! 🤍🪶

“And I may never open up thе way I did for you,” she says to him. He had the magic key that unlocked her vast vault of emotion and passion. She muses that another person will not have the key, and she’ll remain alone in her vault with no one to talk to. 

“And all of those best laid plans,” she says, ruminating over what could have been. This echoes a similar sentiment from hoax: “my best laid plans / your sleight of hand.” He ruined her future with his tricks, just like in hoax. 

“You said I needed a bravе man,” she says to him, “Then proceeded to play him / Until I believed it too.” She wonders if it was all an act. Was he only pretending to be the man she needed, like in hoax and My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys? 

“And it kills me,” she says, looking back on his ruse. He has no idea how harshly his behavior has devastated her. 

2nd Chorus: “Was it Hazing? For a Cruel Fraternity”?

Annotated lyrics to Taylor Swift's "The Black Dog." Red editor's pen denotes hidden meanings, alternative interpretations, analyzes use of literary devices, and translates tricky lyrics. The second chorus reads: "I just don't understand How you don't miss me in the shower And remember how my rain-soaked body Was shakin', do you hate me? Was it hazing? For a cruel fraternity I pledged and I still mean it Old habits die screaming"

“I just don’t understand,” she says in the second chorus, “How you don’t miss me in the shower.” The “shower” could describe an intimate moment, but it could also mean a rain storm. 

“The shower” could have been the ultimate romantic moment: “kissing in the rain.” How can he have this moment with anyone else? 

“And remember how my rain-soaked body,” she says, “Was shakin’, do you hate me?” Like in So Long, London, she’s “wet through my clothes, weary bones caught the chill.” 

What was once either an intimate moment at home, or a romantic epic in the rain, makes her wonder if it was all a cruel prank. Did he really love her, or did he hate her? 

“Was it hazing?” she prods, “For a cruel fraternity”? Was this all an elaborate ruse, forcing on her a series of tests? 

“I pledged and I still mean it,” she says, joining his “cruel fraternity” no matter the cost. She’d do it all over again if she could, even now that she knows the consequences. 

“Old habits die screaming,” she repeats. This time, the “old habits” are “pledging” his “fraternity.” She’d martyr herself if she could have one more day with him, even now.

Bridge: “Six Weeks of Breathin’ Clean Air / I Still Miss The Smoke”

Annotated lyrics to Taylor Swift's "The Black Dog." Red editor's pen denotes hidden meanings, alternative interpretations, analyzes use of literary devices, and translates tricky lyrics. The bridge reads: "Six weeks of breathin' clean air I still miss the smoke Were you makin' fun of me With some esoteric joke? Now I wanna sell my house And set fire to all my clothes And hire a priest to come and exorcize my demons Even if I die screaming And I hope you hear it"

“Six weeks of breathin’ clean air,” she says, six weeks after their breakup, but “I still miss the smoke.” She’s free and clear of him physically, but like a bad drug, she craves his “smoke” that clouded her vision and her mind. 

Is this the same smoke cloud that “billows out his mouth like a freight train through a small town”? Or is it smoke from “my bed sheets are ablaze”? Or is it simply that he was a smoker?

Either way, she misses the thing that was bad for her. 

“Were you makin’ fun of me,” she asks him, “With some esoteric joke?” Like the fraternity hazing, was she the butt of an inside joke? Was it all a cruel prank? 

“Now I wanna sell my house,” she says, “And set fire to all my clothes.” Like in Florida!!!, Fresh Out The Slammer, and Fortnight, she wants to escape this tortuous place that only reminds her of him. 

Though she’s metaphorically trying to “burn all the files” of their time together, “set fire to all my clothes” could reference a very specific piece of clothing: cardigan. “You put me on and said I was your favorite,” the cardigan reminds her. She wants to burn out the memory of how he made her feel. 

She wants to “hire a priest to come and exorcize my demons,” she says, “Even if I die screaming.” She’s been possessed by him (or maybe abducted, like the UFO of Down Bad?), and muses that only a priest can get her out of this hopeless place. 

The religious motifs in TTPD are prominent, and though most of the songs are anti-religion, this lyric welcomes a figure of faith into her life. She’d pray to any god that could help her forget this traumatic breakup. 

But here’s where the second meaning of “the black dog” comes into play: he’s the demonic hellhound that has possessed her. She surmises that only a priest can help get rid of his memory. 

“And I hope you hear it,” she says of her torturous, screaming death. She hopes he can hear the consequences and suffering of what he’s done to her. 

She can still hear his “black dog” roaming her moors, howling her name. She wants him to hear her haunting cries, too.

Final Chorus: “Tail Between Your Legs, You’re Leavin'”

Annotated lyrics to Taylor Swift's "The Black Dog." Red editor's pen denotes hidden meanings, alternative interpretations, analyzes use of literary devices, and translates tricky lyrics. The final chorus and outro read: "And I hope it's shitty in The Black Dog When someone plays "The Starting Line" And you jump up, but she's too young to know this song That was intertwined in the tragic fabric of our dreaming 'Cause tail between your legs, you're leavin' I still can't believe it 'Cause old habits die screaming"

“And I hope it’s shitty in The Black Dog,” she says, throwing the only punch she can when her lover is long gone. She doesn’t wish him well, she wishes him hell. 

She hopes it’s terrible “When someone plays “The Starting Line” / And you jump up, but she’s too young to know this song.” 

The song was “intertwined in the tragic fabric of our dreaming,” she now says, replacing “magic fabric” with “tragic fabric.” They weren’t a Love Story; they were a tragedy. All their dreams crumpled, and now the song symbolizes what was lost. 

🪶🤍 Are you a tortured poet? Find out with my TTPD Lyrics Quiz! 🤍🪶

“’Cause tail between your legs, you’re leavin’,” she says of his shameful departure. Like the black dog hellhound that he is, she’s slinking away, calmly departing the shitstorm that he caused. 

“I still can’t believe it,” she says, still baffled by his sudden departure, “’Cause old habits die screaming.” 

The “old habit” here is hope: he was always a “what if” in her mind, and now that old habit of holding out for his love is crushed. 

All that’s left of him are “old habits” and “screaming,” leaving Taylor staring at a screen, watching him slowly depart her life. 

The Black Dog Song Meaning: Final Thoughts

This track is absolutely tragic once you dig into every metaphor and every symbol. 

“The Black Dog” comes to be so much more than a pub: it’s a metaphor for his spectral, demonic possession of her life. He blows in like a hellhound in a cloud of smoke, and leaves with his tail between his legs (maybe “a valiant roar” and a “bland goodbye”?). 

But what’s most devastating is “you forgot to turn it off.” It’s almost like he forgot to tell her that it was over, and just ghosted her. He leaves her in a puddle of bafflement and confusion, trying to pick apart the pieces of what they had. 

Was any of it real? Or was it all a pre-planned, calculated attack on her soul? She doesn’t know, and she’ll wonder forevermore. 

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