Patti Smith Reacts to Taylor Swift Name-Dropping Her on 'The Tortured Poets Department'

The punk rock icon is referenced alongside Welsh poet Dylan Thomas on Taylor Swift's new title track.

Patti Smith is reciprocating the love to Taylor Swift after she was name dropped in the title track of Swift's The Tortured Poets Department

On "The Tortured Poets Department," Swift pokes fun at herself and a lover by cutting through any airs of pretentiousness, paying respects to both Smith and the Welsch poet Dylan Thomas. 

"And who's gonna hold you like me? / And who's gonna know you, if not me?" she begins the chorus. "I laughed in your face and said / 'You're not Dylan Thomas, I'm not Patti Smith / This ain't the Chelsea hotel, we're modern idiots.'" 

She continues, "And who's gonna hold you like me? / Nobody / No f**king body / Nobody." 

The 77-year-old singer-songwriter and punk rock legend offered her gratitude for the recognition by sharing photos of herself reading a copy of Thomas' collection of short stories, Portrait of the Artist as a Young Dog, in a social media post tagging Swift. 

"This is saying I was moved to be mentioned in the company of the great Welsh poet Dylan Thomas," she wrote, breaking the text up in the appropriately poetic form of several lines. "Thank you Taylor."

New York City's famed Hotel Chelsea also celebrated its honorable mention by sharing a throwback image of Smith inside her room at the hotel. Smith even wrote a bestselling book about her and artist Robert Mapplethorpe's time at the hotel called Just Kids.

Smith and Thomas, who died in in 1953 at the age of 39, have each held residence at the historic venue -- alongside a laundry list of other historical figures including Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen, Jack Kerouac, Stanley Kubrick, and Madonna, to name just a few. 

Regarding their connection, Smith has performed a number of times at Thomas' old boathouse on Laugharne in Carmarthenshire, United Kingdom, in recent years. 

Studio portrait of Patti Smith wearing a US air force shirt, Amsterdam, Netherlands, 9th October 1976. - Gijsbert Hanekroot/Redferns
Wales/UK: Dylan Thomas, Welsh poet and writer (1914-1953) at the BBC in November, 1948. - Pictures from History/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

As The Tortured Poets Department continues to break records, a source told ET that Swift "is so excited" about the release.

"She has put her heart and soul into the music, just like with everything she does," the source said, "and can't wait for her fans to listen to it and to share it with them."

Swift's 11th studio offering -- which turned out to be a surprise double album -- was released to much fanfare on Friday, April 19. The 31-track collection features a hefty helping of heartbreak songs following her splits from Joe Alwyn and Matty Healy, as well as a few sweet love songs amid her current relationship with Travis Kelce

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