Music
This Taylor Swift Theory About “The Bolter” Points To A Scandalous Woman
The song may have been named after a book about Lady Idina Sackville.
Taylor Swift raised a few questions after announcing a new bonus track on her upcoming album, The Tortured Poets Department, during her Feb. 16 Eras Tour show in Melbourne. A Reddit theory about the song “The Bolter” points to an unexpected historical figure.
Fans think “The Bolter” could be inspired by the life of Lady Idina Sackville. She was a part of the Happy Valley set, a group of British aristocrats who settled in colonial Kenya in the 1930s and became notorious for their drinking and sexual promiscuity.
The OG Bolter
According to the New York Times, Sackville first “shocked Britain” by leaving her husband, named “the most eligible bachelor of her generation,” and running off with another man to Kenya. She got married and divorced five times in her lifetime, earning her the “Bolter” title.
In 2008, Sackville’s great-granddaughter Frances Osborne wrote a book named The Bolter, telling the story of her ancestor using letters, diaries, and their family history.
While there are no obvious connections between Swift and Sackville, some fans think that the singer may draw some parallels between the Lady’s history and her own public reputation.
An (Invisible) String Of Historical Connections
This wouldn’t be the first time that Swift wrote about historically significant women who became meaningful to her, with this penchant going as far back as her 2012 album Red. Fans have long speculated that “The Lucky One,” which tells the story of a popular musician who disappears from public view, was inspired by either Joni Mitchell or Lisa Matassa.
On “The Last Great American Dynasty,” from her 2020 album Folklore, Swift tells the story of composer and philanthropist Rebekah Harkness, who inherited her late husband’s fortune. In a twist ending, Swift reveals that she bought the historic Rhode Island home that Harkness once wreaked havoc in.
If this theory pans out, “The Bolter” won’t even be the only song on The Tortured Poets Department focused on a famous woman. Most fans think the album’s final track, “Clara Bow,” is about the late actor of the same name. Bow rose to fame in the 1920s as a silent film star and was one of the first women to earn the title of “It Girl” before retiring from acting in 1933.
Given the popular theory that Tortured Poets will be a breakup album about the end of her six-year relationship with Joe Alwyn, Swifties have already linked “The Bolter” back to him, citing a clip of the exes “bolting” from a VMAs afterparty to avoid paparazzi. But the evidence suggests that the bonus track just might form a quartet of Swift songs about complex women.
