Taylor Swift just released her latest album The Tortured Poets Department, and her highly-anticipated “track 5” is a farewell to her love life in the United Kingdom, “So Long, London.”
The song is believed to be about her English ex Joe Alwyn, or exes if we include Matty Healy of The 1975. It’s a somber ballad detailing the collapse of their romance, underlined by a pulsating beat with writing help from Aaron Dessner of The National fame.
Taylor Swift is known for designating the fifth track on her LPs for the most emotional or personal songs. Fans have speculated for years about this so-called theory, and although the trend may have started as a coincidence, Swift has played into it with her more recent albums. The first record where she acknowledged the theory was her 2019 full-length Lover.
“So Long, London” has piqued our interest for a different reason, however. The melody presented in the chorus of this song is awfully similar to that of “So Long Soldier” by Baltimore pop punk band All Time Low, which was released twelve years prior in 2012 on their album Don’t Panic.
The similarities between the two melodies typically wouldn’t be enough to warrant raised eyebrows. But it’s not just the melody. Both choruses begin with the words “so long,” and that coupled with the melody is what seems so damning.
Are we claiming Taylor Swift ripped off All Time Low? No. But it sure does seem a little too close for comfort. Coincidentally, “So Long Soldier” also mentions London. The first verse details how frontman Alex Gaskarth emigrated from the UK to the United States: “Back in ’95 / A little boy from just outside of London / Took a fated trip across the ocean.”
It is worth mentioning that the two tunes in question are written in separate albeit both major keys, but even the tempo is close. A quick 160 beats-per-minute in “So Long, London” rivals an even brisker yet nearby 190 beats-per-minute in “So Long Soldier.”
What do you think? If I were on Swift’s legal team, I might go ahead and start penning a defense…
