Within the past few weeks, the summer sun has slowly faded away, and with it, the wind, rain and cold have crept their way into the daily weather reports. It’s official: fall has officially arrived.
Fall has always been one of my most beloved seasons. I love being able to enjoy the chilly sweater weather, without turning into a popsicle. In addition, I also love apple picking, watching the colors on the leaves change, pumpkin spice and of course, listening to music that feels like fall.
As a fan of Taylor Swift, her music is one I always enjoy listening to, regardless of the season. However, walking around the chilly Penn State campus with a hot latte in hand while listening to her more “fall-like” songs is one of my favorite hobbies in the autumn.
Swift who enjoys the fall season herself, has a myriad of songs that give off the perfect fall vibe. Most notably, Swift’s album “Red (Taylor’s Version)” is widely considered to be the perfect Fall album.
I do agree with the fact that “Red (Taylor’s Version)” is a great fall listen. However, often times I think Swift’s surprise albums “folklore” and “evermore” which were both released in 2020, don’t get the recognition they deserve for being great fall listens.
This is most likely because “folklore” was released in the summer, while its sister album “evermore” was released in late fall, and is more closely associated with winter as a result.
However, I seriously believe that both the aforementioned albums are the perfect fall listen.
Swift’s “folklore (deluxe version)” contains 17 songs that I argue all contain a fall vibe.
The slow tempo of the songs, in addition to the sad lyrics that often reference pain, heartbreak, and change seriously relate to fall.
The emotions in Swift’s eighth studio-released album go hand in hand with the emotions one often goes through when fall begins.
Seriously, listen to “exile (feat. Bon Iver)” and it will explain why “folklore” deserves to be considered a fall album.
Swift’s ninth studio album “evermore” pairs perfectly with “folklore.” It is no surprise that the two sister albums go hand in hand. This is why it is important that “evermore” must not be overlooked when it comes to albums that give off a perfect fall vibe.
Swift’s “evermore” arguably contains more heartbreaking songs than “folklore.” And as I closely associate sad songs with the fall, I find “evermore” to be the perfect fall listen.
This is not to say that “evermore” and “folklore” cannot be enjoyed in the summer, spring, or winter. It is simply to say that they hit different in the fall because of the way they often reflect stereotypical aspects of the fall.
This can be perfectly explained in songs such as “the 1” in which themes of change and moving on pretty closely reflect the change that occurs outdoors with the coming of fall. In addition, the imagery that Swift provides in “willow” emphasizes a fall vibe.
I seriously recommend listening to Swift’s “evermore” and “folklore” the next time you feel like listening to music that gives off a great fall vibe.