I Can Fix Him (No Really I Can)

Album: The Tortured Poets Department (2024)
Charted: 20
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Songfacts®:

  • "I Can Fix Him (No Really I Can)" finds Taylor Swift in the classic role of the woman determined to turn her rogue boyfriend into a reliable chap, a kind of Mary Poppins for ne'er-do-wells. But beneath the playful facade, a sliver of doubt creeps in at the end. The chorus, initially a confident declaration of her taming abilities ("I can fix him, no really I can"), takes a hesitant turn at the end when she finally admits: "Whoa, maybe I can't." Perhaps, just perhaps, this particular stallion might be a bit too much to handle.
  • They shake their heads saying, 'God help her'
    When I tell 'em he's my man
    But your good Lord doesn't need to lift a finger
    I can fix him, no, really, I can


    Swift acknowledges the scandal of being with her bad boy but believes she can put him on the righteous path. The song contains similar religious imagery to another The Tortured Poets Department track, "But Daddy I Love Him," when she says:

    I'll tell you something right now
    You ain't gotta pray for me
  • Fans believe that this song is about Swift's brief fling in the summer of 2023 with Matty Healy, the British lead singer of The 1975. Healy has a bit of a reputation for making questionable choices. His past is littered with controversial behavior that left fans scratching their heads. But hey, love is blind, or at least wears rose-colored glasses, and apparently Swift believed she could be his redemption song.

    There are a couple of clues in the first verse.

    Clue One: The smoke cloud billows out his mouth
    Like a freight train through a small town


    Healy's a known smoker, puffing away even during performances.

    Clue Two: The jokes that he told across the bar were revolting and far too loud

    This seems like a thinly veiled reference to Healy's unfiltered sense of humor. His irreverent appearance on The Adam Friedland Show, for instance, convinced many Swifties that Healy wasn't exactly perfect boyfriend material.

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