I am a lifelong, die hard Swiftie. Taylor Swift has been a staple in my life for over ten years. Her music has been the soundtrack to my life from my first day of high school, to my first love, my first major heartbreak, and to the freedom of my early twenties. I couldn’t have chosen a better role model as a child. All of this means I have a lot of strong opinions in regards to her music and I absolutely know which songs have been robbed and criminally underrated. Swift artfully describes emotional manipulation and abuse with wisdom well beyond her years, the difficulty of breaking toxic behavioral patterns, and the importance of crafting a narrative to cope with trauma recovery.
10. “Sad Beautiful Tragic” is a song that exemplifies why “Red” should have won that Grammy. Though “Red” is an overwhelmingly sad album, it also appreciates the beauty in a relationship that has ended and reflects on what made it worth the hurt. In three words,“Sad Beautiful Tragic.” The song starts with a sound effect that mimics a train whistle and carries on the motif of a train, symbolizing the relationship, throughout. The narrator of the song stands by train tracks with a letter they never sent while reminiscing on lost love. Lines like “Time is taking its sweet time erasing you/and you’ve got your demons and darling they all look like me,” and “distance, timing, breakdown, fighting/silence, the train runs off its tracks/kiss me, try to fix it, could you just try to listen?” mark how bittersweet nostalgia and heart-wrenching patience are so crucial in processing a loss.
9. “The Way I Loved You” is a song from “Fearless” that is buried in time, yet remains timeless and relatable. Most people have been in relationships that are so toxic and addictive that a healthy relationship feels dull in comparison and therefore are often sucked into cycles of dysfunction and emotional trauma. Lyrics such as, “You’re so in love that you act insane…I never knew I could feel that much” juxtaposed next to “He respects my space and never makes me wait…he’s charming and endearing and I’m comfortable,” exemplify that relationships that self-destruct and burn out leave a deeper scar than healthy ones. It also shows how toxic relationship patterns start; when one gets used to tumultuous relationships, they are more likely to stay in them than fight for themselves.
8. “Haunted” similarly talks about the way emotional trauma leaves a permanent stigma on our souls, as though we are literally haunted by our past. Though this song is speculated to be about a romantic partner, it can be applied to many great losses. The lyric that is most impactful is “holding my breath, won’t lose you again/something’s made your eyes go cold/come on, come on, don’t leave me like this.” The subject of this song is unpredictable emotionally, which leaves Swift feeling uneasy and anxious, resorting to begging to make the subject stay. Eyes going cold could very well be a reference to the sudden and major allegiance shifts of the subject, which is a hallmark symbol of emotional abuse. Even when Swift and the subject have ended their relationship, she repeats these mantras as they were what held her together through hardship.
7. “Come in With the Rain” is a song that shows deep emotional maturity and letting go though Swift released this song at age nineteen. Though toxicity and codependency are exciting and addictive, they do not provide any peace or heal your soul in the long run.
6. “Treacherous”
5. “Dancing With Our Hands Tied”
4. “New Romantics”
3. “Holy Ground”
2. “State of Grace”
1. “illicit affairs” shows the depth and writing prowess with lines such as, “ take the words for what they are: a dwindling mercurial high/a drug that only worked the first few hundred times,” and “you showed me colors you know I can’t see with anyone else.” Though a relationship may be wrong or toxic, it can bring out emotions you never knew you were capable of. This song brings out the best from Swift’s storytelling style of songwriting. It exemplifies her use of excruciating detail which in fact makes her work more meaningful and relatable. In the whole of “folklore,” I love seeing her writing songs that are not autobiographical and explore topics outside of her comfort zone. This is some of her best work ever and has received little to no critical acclaim.