We all know Taylor Swift is a poet and a master lyricist. In my prep for the Eras Tour, I started from the beginning and worked my way till the end of her discography including all of the live versions and singles she released. As you can imagine, it took me a long time to compile the perfect playlist of all my favorite deep cuts, pop hits, and country melodies. These are some of the lines that scratched that itch deep in my brain to express emotions too complex for regular words. Full disclosure, this is my best attempt at creating a concise list, due to the enormity of her songwriting, but you can comment other lines that hit deep for you!
“I’ve never been a natural, all I do is try, try, try” – mirrorball
I truly cannot listen to “mirrorball” without having an early-20s crisis, which is what I imagine Taylor is trying to convey with this song. This song is all about how we are mirrorballs; we are all broken pieces of glass trying to keep it all together, so we sparkle when the attention is put on us. Never in my life have I been the most athletic, the prettiest, the smartest, or the funniest so all I do is work harder, try harder, and evolve faster which is exhausting. As you can imagine, a mirrorball is exhausted being tethered up all the time, only noticed when the party starts and not when the pieces are shattered.
“I search the party of better bodies just to learn that my dreams aren’t rare” – You’re On Your Own Kid
I mean Taylor… she hit way too hard with this entire song. No one has ever put my imposter syndrome into such beautiful words before. When I first got to college and met people in my major, there was this awful moment of “I don’t belong here”. My dreams of being a CEO and making a difference in the world are not rare. In fact, there are 5,000 people in the business school alone that want to fight with me for that CEO position. It is comforting to know that I am not the only one who feels this way, and even the most famous pop star of our generation also struggles with feeling she does not belong in the industry she built.
“I cause no harm, mind my business. If our love died young, I can’t bear witness and it’s been so long but if you ever think you got it wrong I’m right where you left me” – right where you left me
This song is the definition of a deep-cut for Taylor Swift. One of the bonus tracks on her evermore album, this song quickly became one of my favorites. If you have ever been broken up with or had someone deliver bad news to you, especially in a public setting, I am sure you remember everything about that moment and you would give anything for that person or that moment to come back to you in order to change the narrative.
“And you call me up again just to break me like a promise. So casually cruel in the name of being honest” – All Too Well
Oh our friend, “All Too Well”. While this line alone is incredibly impactful, she sings the whole song like the scars on her heart will never heal.
“Cause all of my enemies started out as friends help me hold onto you” – The Archer
“The Archer” is such a slept-on song and I am so glad she is playing it in her setlist. This song speaks to my inner child just pleading for help and someone to stay to get to know the real you. It is not shocking especially with everything else that she has shared with us that she feels people do not really know her outside of her facade. However, I think she is learning that we love her because she sheds a facade and is incredibly real about her struggles with herself, her friends, her relationships, and her mental health problems.
“I was a dreamer before you went and let me down” – White Horse
“White Horse” was the first song I sang after my freshman-year crush in high school told me he wasn’t interested. I told my dad to put it on in the car and drive me home while I sobbed the whole way. Dramatic? Yes. Necessary? Yes. It was sad that I had dreamed of this whole relationship with a person before it got taken away because I was not enough. As a 15-year-old, I could not process emotion like that without a song like this to remind me of brighter days ahead. She felt like a big sister reminding me that even though I felt let down, there was going to be a time when it would not hurt so bad and my bruised ego would recover.
“Carolina pines, won’t you cover me? Hide me like robes, down the back road muddy these webs we weave” – Carolina
This song comes from the movie soundtrack Where the Crawdads Sing. Like a true masochist, I find it so haunting that it’s become a favorite of mine. In this song she is asking Carolina, the swamp the protagonist hides in, to cover her as the lies around her continue to muddy her life and drive her to insanity. I truly relate to this song as I often use people, situations, and certain spaces to cover me from the ugliness and complications of the outside world.
And lastly my favorite,
“Sometimes you just don’t know the answer til someone’s on their knees and asks you. ‘She would have made a lovely bride what a shame she’s fucked in the head’ ” – champagne problems
This song was the one that convinced me to break up with my boyfriend after he said he loved me. It is so true you have no idea how you feel about someone until it comes down to something big like an engagement or saying, “I love you”. The worst part: everyone will say there was something wrong with you and call you “crazy” or “fucked up in the head” for being the one to call it off. Blondie gets it.
I hope you enjoyed my deep dive into Taylor Swift songs! Again, comment if you have any more songs that get into your feels!