The Worst Taylor Swift Song on Each Album
Okay, before we begin, let me make a disclaimer – this is in no way to be a hater. I am a HUGE Swiftie. I grew up on Taylor Swift and she has been my favorite artist for literally my entire life. I considered writing an article about my *favorite* song on each album, but there’s no fun in that – I am nothing if not a haver of hot takes! Anyways, it may be a misnomer to say that these are the “worst” songs, but these are my personal least favorite on each, with some reasoning behind them. Let me know your thoughts!
- Taylor Swift (Debut) – “A Place in this World”
This song is alright. That is the word I would use to describe it. It has the country twang that originally made Taylor popular, but in my opinion, didn’t match the image that I feel like she was going for at the time. Taylor Swift was up and coming as Americas Sweetheart and I feel like the angsty energy does not fit on such a sweet nostalgic album (with the caveat of “Picture to Burn” which did bring that energy, but in a more girl boss way, directed towards an ex who did her wrong, which would develop into a common theme of hers).
- Fearless – “Superstar”
Fearless, in my opinion, is a near perfect coming-of-age album. Each song I think contributes something different to build onto her relatable repertoire of high school and teenage songs. That being said, SuperStar is a bit tired, it doesn’t stick out between all of the similar, but more upbeat and more lyrically intriguing songs. The song is sweet, but to me is usually a skip.
- Speak Now – “Mean”
This song simply does not do it for me. I always appreciate Taylor sticking up for herself when random irrelevant men treat her poorly of course, but that being said, the elementary level lyricism on this track just makes it feel immature. It is a good anthem for those of us who have been done wrong, but when put on an album with songs with the depth of “Dear John”, “Enchanted” and “Last Kiss”, it just does not feel like it fits. I particularly despise the line where she says that all that this man is is “a liar/and pathetic/and alone in life/and mean, and mean, and mean, and mean”. Now I KNOW that Ms. Taylor Swift can come up with adjectives and synonyms and meaningful lyrics like nobody’s business, and found this continuous and non-strategic repetition to just be lazy.
- Red – “The Moment I Knew”
Nobody can replicate the extreme and deep-rooted feelings of being a teenage girl than Taylor Swift, including some of the dramatics that can come with that. That being said, when I listen to “The Moment I Knew”, all I can really think is I am sorry that he did not show up to your birthday party but girl…people are dying – you know? It just feels hard to empathize with, though I do love a heartbreak banger. (I know that many people may argue for the lighter “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” for being the worst song on this album, but to me, that song serves its purpose. It was made to be a light and funny break-up song, and is almost satirical in its dramatics, which I enjoy).
- 1989 – “I Know Places”
This may be one of my hotter takes in this article, but this song really is not pleasing to my ears. It feels out of place on the fun and upbeat 1989 album (perhaps I would enjoy it more if it were featured on “reputation”…) and just doesn’t fit Taylor’s usual style. Being placed between the beautiful “This Love” and “Clean” it just feels abrasive and offputting.
- reputation – “Look What You Made Me Do”
Though LWYMMD is one of my least favorite songs of Taylor’s whole discography, I completely understand why she wrote it and why she released it at the time she did, as well as the intention behind it. From a marketing standpoint, it was a cool way to transition into her darker “reputation era”, and the music video was absolutely phenomenal/one of my favorites of all time. That being said, the song itself is a bit much, the combination of the beat and the spite in her voice and lyrics do not make it enjoyable to listen to, in my personal opinion, and I think that it really turned some people off from giving the album (which is actually one of my favorites) a chance.
- Lover – “Soon You’ll Get Better” (featuring The Chicks)
I truly feel bad putting this song as my least favorite, as it is about something so deeply personal to Taylor and I do believe that it is a beautiful tribute to her mother and her illness. That being said, I don’t personally enjoy listening to it, as the way that it is set up isn’t super engaging and the lyrics feel a bit scattered – an intentional choice, I am sure, as dealing with the sickness of a loved one can have you all over the place. I really love this song as a homage to her mother, but it just really doesn’t fit on the Lover album and should have been a separate single or just kept for her and her family personally, in my opinion.
- folklore – “mad woman”
When I first listened to folklore, there were multiple songs that did not super catch my attention and that I found “boring”, but as time went on and I continued to listen (and ESPECIALLY after watching the Folklore Long Pond Studio Sessions documentary on Disney+), I gained a new appreciation for almost all of them (notably “hoax” and “epiphany” which very much grew on me). For some reason though, “mad woman” still does not do it for me. Similar to others, I appreciate the message behind it, but it doesn’t feel empowering at all, it just feels spiteful and stagnant, and the melody feels like it drags and repeats itself to me.
- evermore – “coney island” (featuring The National)
This song is probably one of my favorites on this list personally, as I believe evermore is a fantastic album and it was hard to pick a least favorite. That being said, this song drags a bit more than some of the others and could be more concise. I love its calming nature and beautiful metaphors, but I think that so many of the tracks on this album have those features as well, and more that differentiate them, in a way that this track just does not, causing it to not stand out. (That being said, it does have one of my favorite bridges of the album, I love the way that she pays homage to many of her iconic past relationships and songs through the coded lyrics “we’re standing, in the hallway, with a big cake, happy birthday, did I paint your bluest skies the darkest grey? / And when I got into the accident, the sight that flashed before me was your face / And when I got up to the podium I think that I forgot to say your name”, all of these lines referencing people and moments that her loyal fanbase knows, almost like easter eggs).
So that is my comprehensive list of my least favorite song on each Taylor Swift album! Again, I really do like a lot of these songs, but they just aren’t my go-to’s in comparison to some of Taylor’s other bops and masterpieces. With a discography of 200+ songs it makes sense that even as a “super fan” that there would be a few that do not completely appeal to me, but that being said, Taylor Swift is still “Forever and Always” my favorite artist.
PS – Stream “Red (Taylor’s Version)” on November 19th! #fscooterbraun