"The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived" is a song by the American singer-songwriterTaylor Swift from her eleventh studio album,The Tortured Poets Department (2024). She wrote and produced it withAaron Dessner. Described as abreakup song and adiss track, it begins as a simplistic pianoballad that features blinkingprogramming before assuming arock sound withdistorted vocals in thebridge. The lyrics describe a man who flaunts the narrator thenghosts her and attempts to buy drugs from her acquaintance.
Music critics lauded "The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived" for its intense lyricism; several picked the song as a highlight from the album and one of the best songs inSwift's discography. It reached number 18 on theBillboard Global 200 and the top 20 on the national charts of Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, and the United States. The song receivedcertifications in Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. Swift included it in the revamped set list for the 2024 shows ofthe Eras Tour (2023–2024).
Taylor Swift announced her eleventh studio album,The Tortured Poets Department, at the66th Annual Grammy Awards on February 4, 2024.[1] She began conceiving it immediately after submitting her previous album,Midnights (2022), and continued working on the record throughout 2023.[2] She described it as a "lifeline" for her and an album that she felt was important to make.[3] "The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived" is the fourteenth track onThe Tortured Poets Department, which was released byRepublic Records on April 19, 2024.[4][5]
Swift included "The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived" in the revamped set list of her sixth concert tour,the Eras Tour (2023–2024), starting with the May 2024 shows in Paris. During the performance, she donned a white military jacket and performed a synchronizedmarch across the stage for the song'sbridge, with her backup dancers as adrumline.[6][7][8] Swift ended the performance by collapsing on the floor along with themarching band.[8][9]
Swift wrote and produced "The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived" withAaron Dessner, who recorded it inBiarritz, France, and played bass guitar, electric guitar, piano, and synthesizers. The track was additionally recorded by Bella Blasko at Long Pond Studio in theHudson Valley, and by Beau Sorenson at Tiny Telephone Studio inOakland, California, while Laura Sisk recorded Swift's vocals. It wasmixed bySerban Ghenea at Mixstar Studios inVirginia Beach, Virginia, andmastered byRandy Merrill atSterling Sound Studios inEdgewater, New Jersey; Bryce Bordone worked as themixing engineer. Rob Moose played violin and viola; James McAlister played drums, electric guitar, percussion, and synthesizers; and Jason Slota played percussion.[5]
"The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived" is four minutes and five seconds long,[10] built on atime signature of7/4 in the verses and chorus before switching to a4/4 time signature in the bridge.[11][12] Music journalists identified it as abreakup song and a provocativediss track addressed to an unnamed ex-lover.[13][14] "The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived" is divided into two distinct parts; the first part is an understatedsentimental ballad built around piano and blinkingprogramming,[15] and the second part is a provocative one-chord bridge that features arock–inspiredklang.[14][16] Swift audibly sighs several times during the song,[17] sings in the bottom range of heralto in the verses,[11] and her voicedistorts upon entering the bridge.[18]
The lyrics describe a man in a "Jehovah's Witness suit", who shows the narrator off thenghosts her and attempts to buy drugs from her distant friend.[19][20] She bombards the subject with a series of questions in the bridge: "Were you sent by someone who wanted me dead?/ Did you sleep with a gun underneath our bed?/ Were you writing a book?/ Were you a sleeper cell spy?/ In 50 years will all this be declassified and you'll confess why you did it?"[21] The bridge employs several references toespionage, ultimately concluding that "it wasn't sexy once it wasn't forbidden".[5][22]
Several music journalists, along with some ofSwift's fans, speculated that the song was written about the singer-songwriterMatty Healy, with whom Swift had a publicized romantic relationship in 2023. This was due to perceptions of his height, reported history ofsubstance abuse, and a signaturesuit and tie he often donned during his performances.[a] Ludovic Hunter-Tilney of theFinancial Times argued such speculation "miss[ed] the point" of Swift's work.[30] Healy's aunt, Debbie Dedes, reportedly acknowledged that he was the subject of the song and "he will not be surprised" by it.[13]
Several music critics picked "The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived" as a highlight fromThe Tortured Poets Department and one of the best songs inSwift's discography. Jason Lipshutz fromBillboard named it the best song on the album and its centerpiece track,[16] and Ryan Fish fromThe Hollywood Reporter deemed it a standout track and "the cruelest and most direct Swift has ever been".[27] Mary Siroky ofConsequence and Callie Ahlgrim ofBusiness Insider both similarly considered the song a highlight fromThe Tortured Poets Department.[31][32] Caroline Darney fromUSA Today selected it as the sixth-best track on the album and opined that the bridge was the best in Swift's discography.[33] Nate Jones ofVulture considered it the 30th best song in her discography in 2024; he and Lindsay Zoladz ofThe New York Times both named it her best breakup song since "All Too Well" (2012).[22][34]
Other critics highlighted the song's intense lyrics and delivery. Chris Willman ofVariety placed "The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived" at number 25 in his 2024 ranking of the 75 best songs by Swift, considering it her most scarring song since "Dear John" (2010) and praising its "epic" bridge.[15]Rob Sheffield ofRolling Stone opined that the song could be retitled "The Angriest Song I'll Ever Write" for its heated interrogation-style questions and considered it a new perspective of her previous work.[21] Hunter-Tilney lauded the song as a "quietly venomous piano assassination".[30]The Nation'sStephanie Burt similarly deemed it "the harshest, most dismissive, most condemnatory song that Swift has ever written".[11] Lauren Webb fromClash praised the track's "unrestrained bitterness",[35] and Will Harris fromQ described it as a "vulnerable attack to the heartstrings".[24] Alex Hopper ofAmerican Songwriter regarded the lyric"'Cause it wasn't sexy once it wasn't forbidden" as a standout onThe Tortured Poets Department.[36]
"The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived" reached number 18 on theBillboard Global 200 chart dated May 4, 2024.[37] It debuted at number 14 in the United States, making Swift the first artist to monopolize the top 14 of theBillboard Hot 100 chart.[38][39] In the United Kingdom, the track peaked at number 17 on theAudio Streaming chart and number 76 on theSingles Downloads chart.[40][41] "The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived" additionally reached the national charts of Australia (16),[42] New Zealand (17),[43] Canada (18),[44] Ireland (19),[45] Greece (28),[46] Portugal (31),[47] and Sweden (60).[48] The track wascertified platinum in Australia,[49] gold in New Zealand,[50] and silver in the United Kingdom.[51]
^"Top Singles (Week 16, 2024)" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique.Archived from the original on May 31, 2021. RetrievedApril 29, 2024.
^"ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Singles Digital Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic.Note: Select 17. týden 2024 in the date selector. Retrieved April 29, 2024.
