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This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Akron chapter.

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 “You Belong With Me” or “Blank Space”. These songs are fun and catchy but I think a big reason Swift gets a rep for being “peppy” is because her sad songs don’t 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.

“Cold As You”

To kick it off we are going all the way back to 2006 with Swift’s 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 “Cold as You” has remained an amazing song even as she has matured and grown as an artist. When 16 year old Swift sings “So I’ll start a fight cause I need to feel something/And you do what you want/Cause I’m not what you wanted”, 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: “Every smile you fake/Is so condescending/Counting all the scars you make/And now that I’m sitting here thinking it through/I’ve never been anywhere cold as you.”

“You’re Not Sorry”

“You’re Not Sorry” 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 “Looking so innocent I might believe you if I didn’t know/Could’ve loved you all my life if you hadn’t left me waiting in the cold/And you got your share of secrets and I’m tired of being last to know/And now you’re asking me to listen cause it’s worked each time before.” 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.

“The Story of Us”

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: “I’d tell you I miss you but I don’t know how/I never heard silence quite this loud.” 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. “Now we’re standing alone in a crowded room/And we’re not speaking/And I’m dying to know is it killing you/Like it’s killing me.” Swift sadly states that “The story of us is looking a lot like a tragedy now.”

“If This Was a Movie”

“If This Was a Movie” 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 Haunted’s 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 won’t because “if this was a movie you’d be here by now.”

“Sad Beautiful Tragic”

The title “Sad, Beautiful, Tragic” 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. “In 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.” Chills.

“You Are in Love”

Wow, a song that isn’t completely depressing making the list? I’m just as shocked as you are. “You Are in Love” is on the deluxe version of 1989 and doesn’t 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.

“Clean”

Swift is an incredibly talented lyricist and “Clean” is a very good example of that. Many of her songs explore the way emotions overlap and contradict each other and it’s not easy to get that into words. In “Clean”, 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 “The 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/ You’re still all over me like a wine stained dress I can’t wear anymore.” 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 “10 months sober I must admit/Just because you’re clean don’t mean you don’t miss it/10 months older, I won’t give in/ Now that I’m clean I’m never gonna risk it.” Comparing an ex to a drug that you know is bad for you but who you find yourself “relapsing” with-that’s powerful. It almost makes you feel bad for judging your friend who keeps going back to their loser ex, almost.

“End Game”

Like I said, I am guilty of preferring Taylor’s sad songs over her more “fun” songs but “End Game” 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 “snake.” My favorite lyrics of this song and possibly of the entire album are:

“I bury hatchets but I keep maps of where I put ‘em

Reputation precedes me

They told you I’m Crazy

I swear I don’t love the drama

It loves me!”

She just sounds so proud of herself for owning this narrative that has been created for her by other celebrities and the media. She doesn’t see herself as a “snake” but she is tired of defending herself and takes away people’s power by saying, “Yep, I’m a drama queen, and?”

“Death By a Thousand Cuts”

Lover is full of mushy gushy love songs but this track certainly does not follow suit. “Death by a Thousand Cuts” is about how hard it is to accept the end of an important relationship. During the track Swift sings about “looking through the windows of this love/Even though we boarded them up” and admits that she still has a glimmer of hope symbolized by “chandeliers flickering.” What makes the entire song is the bridge;

“My heart. My hips. My Body. My Love.

Tryna find a part of me that you didn’t touch.

Gave up on me like I was a bad drug.

Now I’m 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 didn’t take up.

Gave you too much but it wasn’t enough.

But I’ll be alright, it’s just a thousand cuts.”

I mean, are you KIDDING me?! Just incredible. *chefs kiss*

“False God”

I don’t know, I just really like the horn intro and how she articulates on this Lover track.

“this is me trying”

One of my favorite songs of all time. The 9th track on Folklore, “this is me trying” 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 it’s okay because as Swift writes “At least I’m trying.”

“Hoax”

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 what’s 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 what’s 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 don’t you treat this album the way you treat Folklore. It’s like Folklore is your biological child and Evermore is your stepchild with behavioral problems. You didn’t even celebrate its birthday! I think it’s just as strong of an album. Folklore as a whole is better, I’ll admit that. However, there are some tracks on this album that are better than any on Folklore. My favorites are “coney island” and “gold rush” but so many others on this album, especially the bonus tracks, are so good.