Taylor Swift and Dylan Thomas: What do they have in common?

Welsh poet Dylan Thomas gets a mention on Taylor Swift's new album Credit: Press Association/PA Images

Whether or not you are a fan of Taylor Swift's music, news of her latest album will be hard to avoid.

Fans across the globe woke up this morning to the release of the much anticipated 'The Tortured Poets Department', Swift's eleventh studio album.

But what has a Welsh poet born 110 years ago - and known as much for his heavy drinking as his heavenly verse - got to do with it?

On new track 'The Tortured Poet's Department', Swift can be heard singing the following lyrics: "You’re not Dylan Thomas. I’m not Patti Smith. This ain’t the Chelsea Hotel. We’re modern idiots."

Dylan Thomas (centre) gets a mention on pop sensation Taylor Swift's new album Credit: PA

But who is Dylan Thomas, what is the Chelsea Hotel, and why is he mentioned in Swift's song?

Dylan Thomas stands as perhaps one of the most renowned Welsh writer and poet, notably recognised for his celebrated radio drama, Under Milk Wood.

Born in 1914, Thomas spent his childhood honing his craft in his home town of Swansea, he city he later described as an "ugly, lovely town."

Among his most renowned works are poems such as "Do not go gentle into that good night," "Fern Hill," and "And death shall have no dominion."

His career coincided with the rise of radio and audio recordings, and he set a trend by crossing the Atlantic and playing to an American audience, where he became a popular figure.

His life away from writing undoubtedly added to the mystique, with his heavy drinking and tempestuous relationship with wife Caitlin Macnamara the stuff of folklore.

Dylan Thomas' childhood home in Swansea Credit: PA

In 1953, while in the midst of a third American speaking tour and beset by ill health, Thomas collapsed while staying at the Chelsea Hotel in New York's Manhattan, and later died.

The Welshman was by no means the first - or last - famous literary figure to grace the hotel's halls.

The writers Arthur Miller and Arthur C Clarke once stayed there, while Jack Kerouac - the famous 50s 'beat' writer - is said to have written 'On the Road' while in residence.

Johnny Depp visited Dylan Thomas' childhood home last year Credit: Dylan Thomas Birthplace

Later the singers Bob Dylan - who borrowed his surname from Dylan Thomas - and Patti Smith were among the hotel's guests, while Sid Vicious of the Sex Pistols was staying there when he was arrested for the murder of Nancy Spungen.

Apart from the aforementioned Dylan, Bob, Swift is not the first star to have shown an admiration for the works of Wales' premier poet.

Last July the film star Johnny Depp visited Thomas' childhood home in Uplands, Swansea, later saying that he was "still floating a little, having been in the room where Under Milk Wood began."

This year - with Swift due to perform at Cardiff's Principality Stadium as part of her "Eras" tour in on June 18th - hopes will be high of another superstar visitor to 5, Cwmdonkin Drive.


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