The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived

"The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift from her eleventh studio album, The Tortured Poets Department (2024). The song was written and produced by Swift and longtime collaborator Aaron Dessner. It peaked at number 18 on the Billboard Global 200 and charted within the top 20 in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, and the United States.

Background

Swift revealed The Tortured Poets Department at the Grammy Awards on February 4, 2024, while accepting the award for Best Pop Vocal Album for Midnights (2022). Swift revealed she worked on the album in secret through 2022 and 2023. Upon its release on April 19, 2024, fans and the media speculated that the album's songs discussed her relationships in that time frame with the English actor Joe Alwyn, the English singer-songwriter Matty Healy, and the American football player Travis Kelce.

Music and lyrics

"The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived" was described as a breakup song and a provocative "diss track" about an unnamed ex-lover. Swift's lyrics discuss a man in a "Jehovah's Witness suit", accusing him of ghosting her and attempting to buy drugs from her distant friend. Sonically, the track is mostly built around piano and "blinking programming".

Critical reception

In a ranking of all 31 songs from The Anthology edition of The Tortured Poets Department, Billboard ranked "The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived" in first place, with writer Jason Lipshutz considering the song "another Taylor Swift post-breakup takedown for the ages." Kaitlyn Huamani of the Los Angeles Times wrote, "The bridge is one of the best on the album, with haunting lyrics and stellar production."

Commercial performance

When The Tortured Poets Department was released, tracks from the album occupied the top 14 of the US Billboard Hot 100; "The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived" opened at its peak at the last spot and made Swift the first artist to monopolize the top 14 of the chart. In Australia, it reached number 16 on the ARIA Singles Chart and made her the artist with the most entries in a single week with 29. Elsewhere, the song debuted and peaked at number 18 on the Billboard Global 200 and charted within the top 20 in New Zealand (17), Canada (18), and Ireland (19).

Personnel

• Taylor Swift – vocals, songwriter, producer
• Aaron Dessner – producer, songwriter, recording engineer, bass guitar, drum programming, electric guitar, piano, synthesizer
• Serban Ghenea – mixing
• Bryce Bordone – engineer for mix
• Bella Blasko – recording engineer
• Beau Sorenson – additional engineer
• Rob Moose – arranger, violin, viola
• James McAlister – drums, electric guitar, percussion, synthesizer
• Laura Sisk – vocal engineer
• Randy Merrill – mastering
• Jason Slota – percussion

Charts

References

1. Sleeper agent
2. The Tortured Poets Department
3. List of songs by Taylor Swift
4. The Eras Tour
5. Florida!!!
6. Aaron Dessner
7. 2024 in American music
8. I Bet You Think About Me
9. Chandra Bahadur Dangi
10. A Gift of Dragons
11. You Belong with Me
12. Love Story (Taylor Swift song)
13. Taylor Swift singles discography
14. Oldest people
15. All Too Well
16. I Knew You Were Trouble
17. Blank Space
18. Beau Sorenson
19. Beautiful Ghosts
20. Sultan Kösen