A lot of people know Taylor Swift for her catchy pop songs that continuously take over radio stations and TikTok trends, but to her fans, her music means so much more. Swift continues to accumulate award after award for not only her songs, albums and artistry, but specifically her immaculate songwriting. She has a special way of writing lyrics that’s difficult to compare with other artists; she just writes so poetically and meaningfully. Although it’s impossible to choose, here are 13 of my favorite Taylor Swift song lyrics.
- ‘And the old widow goes to the stone every day / But I don’t, I just sit here and wait / Grieving for the living’ – “ivy”
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A chilling comparison to the reality of heartbreak and how we can grieve for a person even when they’re still physically here.
- ‘You call me up again Just to break me like a promise / So casually cruel in the name of being honest’ – “All Too Well (Taylor’s Version)”
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This fan-favorite song is packed full of amazing lyrics, but this simultaneously simple yet powerful line always sticks out to me (even when listening to the 10 minute version).
- ‘Walking through a crowd, the village is aglow / Kaleidoscope of loud heartbeats under coats’ – “Welcome To New York”
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Although most people think of Swift’s more melancholy songs to have the best lyrics, even her upbeat pop songs have some pretty great lines. These lyrics create a beautiful yet profound portrait of New York City.
- ‘Holy orange bottles, Each night I pray to you / Desperate people find faith, So now I pray to Jesus, too’ – “Soon You’ll Get Better”
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While I don’t listen to this song much because of how emotional it is, these lyrics encapsulate what I can only imagine to be the feelings of the most desperate pleas for one’s sick mother.
- ‘But I’m a fire, and I’ll keep your brittle heart warm / If your cascade ocean wave blues come / All these people think love’s for show / But I would die for you in secret’ – “peace”
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A heartwarming depiction of what true, genuine love is.
- ‘I don’t like that falling feels like flying ’til the bone crush’ – “gold rush”
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This quick, single line flies by fast (no pun intended), but its subtle emotion is not lost on me.
- ‘You drew stars around my scars / But now I’m bleedin” – “cardigan”
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Personally one of my favorite songs on folklore, many fans believe that these lyrics from “cardigan” are part of a larger, fictional love triangle with “august” and “betty” that makes an even bigger impact on all who listen.
- ‘Your Midas touch on the Chevy door / November flush and your flannel cure’ – “champagne problems”
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As a whole, this song narrates a complete story from start to finish that inserts you into the uncomfortable and emotional situation of a marriage proposal gone wrong.
- ‘And I wake up in the middle of the night / It’s like I can feel time moving / How can a person know everything at 18 but nothing at 22?’ – “Nothing New (Taylor’s Version)”
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Swift artistically describes what most girls in their 20s have thought about at least a few times — the brisk passage of time coupled with the uncertainty of growing up.
- ‘Are you really gonna talk about timing in times like these? / And let all your damage damage me / And carry your baggage up my street / And make me your future history’ – “Renegade”
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Although this song is under the band Big Red Machine, Swift is the main vocalist as well as one of the main songwriters. In my opinion, these lyrics are highly underrated and pair well with storylines from a couple of her own songs.
- ‘All the liars are calling me one / Nobody’s heard from me for months / I’m doing better than I ever was’ – “Call It What You Want”
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These lyrics mean the most to fans who know of the drama between Kanye West and Taylor Swift, as her album reputation was her return back to the spotlight after a hiatus from public appearances. Despite suffering through an agonizing ordeal from the media, she reclaimed her power and came back stronger.
- ‘I once believed love would be burning red / But it’s golden / Like daylight’ – “Daylight”
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Especially when considering Swift’s past love (and heartbreak) song “Red,” this line depicts her newfound understanding of what pure love really feels like.
- ‘Took this dagger in me and removed it / Gain the weight of you, then lose it / Believe me, I could do it’ – “tolerate it”
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Somber and poetic perfectly label the lyrics from this entire song.
I could truly add almost every single one of Taylor Swift’s lyrics to this list, but these are just a few that always hit me when listening to her discography. If you don’t already, pay close attention to her lyrics when you hear a Taylor Swift song and appreciate the complexities within each line.
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