Taylor Swift has a colossal discography. She started at 16 years old and is now 32. That is 16 years spent building an empire. Years full of heartbreaks, awards, a genre change, and plenty of record breaking. When most people think of Swift they think of her radio hits such as âYou Belong With Meâ or âBlank Spaceâ. These songs are fun and catchy but I think a big reason Swift gets a rep for being âpeppyâ is because her sad songs donât usually make it as big. While I do love a peppy Taylor, the songs that have gut wrenching lyrics will always be my favorites. These are the songs from Swift’s career that I consider to be underrated.
âCold As Youâ
To kick it off we are going all the way back to 2006 with Swiftâs self-titled debut album. Back in those days Blondie still had those giant curls and that southern twang that mysteriously disappeared when she transitioned to pop. The fifth track âCold as Youâ has remained an amazing song even as she has matured and grown as an artist. When 16 year old Swift sings âSo Iâll start a fight cause I need to feel something/And you do what you want/Cause Iâm not what you wantedâ, it did not matter that I was 6 years old, I understood the complexities of having an apathetic lover. The song is rounded out with a strong ending: âEvery smile you fake/Is so condescending/Counting all the scars you make/And now that Iâm sitting here thinking it through/I’ve never been anywhere cold as you.â
âYouâre Not Sorryâ
âYouâre Not Sorryâ comes from Swift’s Fearless album. The song tells the story of a person who has given up believing in a lover after forgiving them time and time again. Swift sings âLooking so innocent I might believe you if I didnât know/Couldâve loved you all my life if you hadnât left me waiting in the cold/And you got your share of secrets and Iâm tired of being last to know/And now youâre asking me to listen cause itâs worked each time before.â A strength I think Swift possesses even this early in her career is creating songs that feel personal but have universal struggles that are easy to relate to. I think most people have had someone, whether it be a family member, friend, or romantic partner, that they have given one too many chances to and who they had to accept at a certain point would just never change.
âThe Story of Usâ
Speak Now is a masterpiece from start to finish. Now, if it came out today would I connect with it the way I did in 2010? Of course not. I have grown up with Swifts music and it has matured as I have. I mean there is no way I would have enjoyed Folklore as a preteen. At the time this came out, however, I was 10 years old and freshly done with the Harry Potter series. Do those things correlate? I am leaning towards yes. Anyways this song has one of my favorite Swift lyrics of the entire album: âIâd tell you I miss you but I donât know how/I never heard silence quite this loud.â The song as a whole is about having a falling out with a romantic partner and seeing them in a public setting and it being very tense. âNow weâre standing alone in a crowded room/And weâre not speaking/And Iâm dying to know is it killing you/Like itâs killing me.â Swift sadly states that âThe story of us is looking a lot like a tragedy now.â
âIf This Was a Movieâ
âIf This Was a Movieâ is a bonus track on the Speak Now deluxe album. Ask any Swiftie and they will tell you all the bonus tracks on this album are winners. This one in particular though I really like because it has a darker undertone compared to her other music at this time. It kind of feels like Hauntedâs slightly less emo cousin. It is a heartbreaking song where a person is hanging on to the last strands of hope that their love will be saved but who is coming to the realization that it wonât because âif this was a movie youâd be here by now.â
âSad Beautiful Tragicâ
The title âSad, Beautiful, Tragicâ is the perfect explanation for this song. It about accepting the death of a relationship. It perfectly embodies the grief that one goes through while going through a breakup. The whole song is amazing but the bridge in this song is in my top 10 Swift bridges and as we know, miss girl can write a bridge. âIn dreams I meet you in warm conversation/ and we both wake in lonely beds/ in different cities/ and time is taking its sweet time erasing you/ and you got your demons and darling they all look like me.â Chills.
âYou Are in Loveâ
Wow, a song that isnât completely depressing making the list? Iâm just as shocked as you are. âYou Are in Loveâ is on the deluxe version of 1989 and doesnât have any particular lyrics that I am crazy about but the chorus is to die for. It sounds different from other tracks on the album, it is more breathy and soft. I also think it describes perfectly her falling in love with Joe Awlyn years before it even happens which is very sweet.
âCleanâ
Swift is an incredibly talented lyricist and âCleanâ is a very good example of that. Many of her songs explore the way emotions overlap and contradict each other and itâs not easy to get that into words. In âCleanâ, Swift is reflecting on a break up that happened almost a year before. The particular breakup seems to have been a bit messy as Swift sings âThe drought was the very worst/As the flowers that we’d grown together died of thirst/It was months and months of back and forth/ Youâre still all over me like a wine stained dress I canât wear anymore.â It is obvious that there is still quite a bit of pain felt about the split but like many people who have had that amount of time to reflect on a failed relationship, a lot has become clear. Swift writes â10 months sober I must admit/Just because youâre clean donât mean you donât miss it/10 months older, I wonât give in/ Now that Iâm clean Iâm never gonna risk it.â Comparing an ex to a drug that you know is bad for you but who you find yourself ârelapsingâ with-thatâs powerful. It almost makes you feel bad for judging your friend who keeps going back to their loser ex, almost.
âEnd Gameâ
Like I said, I am guilty of preferring Taylorâs sad songs over her more âfunâ songs but âEnd Gameâ is definitely an exception. It would take far too long to describe everything that her album Reputation means (future article idea?) but a major theme is Taylor addressing her reputation of being a âsnake.â My favorite lyrics of this song and possibly of the entire album are:
âI bury hatchets but I keep maps of where I put âem
Reputation precedes me
They told you Iâm Crazy
I swear I donât love the drama
It loves me!â
She just sounds so proud of herself for owning this narrative that has been created for her by other celebrities and the media. She doesnât see herself as a âsnakeâ but she is tired of defending herself and takes away peopleâs power by saying, “Yep, Iâm a drama queen, and?â
âDeath By a Thousand Cutsâ
Lover is full of mushy gushy love songs but this track certainly does not follow suit. âDeath by a Thousand Cuts” is about how hard it is to accept the end of an important relationship. During the track Swift sings about âlooking through the windows of this love/Even though we boarded them upâ and admits that she still has a glimmer of hope symbolized by âchandeliers flickering.â What makes the entire song is the bridge;
“My heart. My hips. My Body. My Love.
Tryna find a part of me that you didnât touch.
Gave up on me like I was a bad drug.
Now Iâm searching for signs in a haunted club.
Our songs. Our films. United we stand.
Our country, guess it was a lawless land.
Quiet my fears with the touch of your hand.
Paper cut stings from my paper thin plans.
My time. My wine. My spirit. My trust
Tryna find a part of me you didnât take up.
Gave you too much but it wasnât enough.
But Iâll be alright, it’s just a thousand cuts.”
I mean, are you KIDDING me?! Just incredible. *chefs kiss*
âFalse Godâ
I donât know, I just really like the horn intro and how she articulates on this Lover track.
âthis is me tryingâ
One of my favorite songs of all time. The 9th track on Folklore, âthis is me tryingâ is my go-to song on a rough day. I sometimes have to remind myself that even if I am not doing the best I can at all times itâs okay because as Swift writes âAt least Iâm trying.â
âHoaxâ
Hoax sounds like poetry and the bridge is what makes the entire song for me, the tempo picks up with a guitar as Swift wrables;
“You know I left a part of me back in New York.
You knew the hero died, so whatâs the movie for?
You knew it still hurts underneath my scars from when they pulled me apart.
You knew the password, so I let you in the door.
You knew you won so whatâs the point of keeping score?
You knew it still hurt underneath my scars from when they pulled me apart,
but what you did was just as dark.
Darling this was just as hard.”
The Entirety Evermore
Blondie, if you are reading this, I have a bone to pick with you. WHY donât you treat this album the way you treat Folklore. Itâs like Folklore is your biological child and Evermore is your stepchild with behavioral problems. You didnât even celebrate its birthday! I think itâs just as strong of an album. Folklore as a whole is better, Iâll admit that. However, there are some tracks on this album that are better than any on Folklore. My favorites are âconey islandâ and âgold rushâ but so many others on this album, especially the bonus tracks, are so good.