My Top 13 Taylor Swift Songs

She is beauty, she is grace. Starting off strong with a recent TTPD release, “How Did It End?” is so beautifully tragic that I have to stop what I’m doing, close my eyes, and simply listen whenever it turns on. Swift outlines the charades that follow breakups, the hunger for knowledge from “friends” and the pure devastation and confusion of the protagonist. The bridge is (as per usual) amazingly written, leaving me with no choice but to scream it from the bottom of my lungs. Say it once again with feeling. Please. 

“False God” is amazing from the saxophone in the beginning until the 200th second. The hopeless romanticism and lust in the lyrics will leave you longing to feel what Swift is. She’s so absorbed and obsessed with her lover, that she’d worship their relationship even if it was a “False God”. I am absolutely obsessed with her wordplay and religious imagery, somehow romanticizing false promises in the name of love. And the instrumentals just make it that much better!

Every girl has had their gold rush. The crush you’re pining after, knowing they will be just out of reach. Being stuck between admiration and anger, feeling like you’re falling but not being sure in what sense. “Everybody wants you…but I don’t like a gold rush.” The symbolism in Swift’s lyrics gets me every time, and I love the descriptive imagery she so consistently utilized. “The coastal town we wandered ‘round had never seen a love as pure as it…and then it fades into the gray of my day-old tea… ‘cause it will never be.” She makes fantasizing about a crush sound so romantic, putting a beautiful ring to truly depressing lyrics. 

This is the kind of song you extend a car ride for (believe me, I’ve done it before). Swift describes the idea of a life-shattering breakup in the most literal of senses: the boy continues on with his life, while the girl remains in the seat where he broke things off. He moves on–gets married, has children–and she still haunts the corner with her everlasting love and grief. You don’t have to recently split up with your partner to truly feel the overwhelming devastation in this song: the idea of being so purely sad that you’re literally frozen in place, unable to move on. 

“Don’t call me kid! Don’t call me baby! Look at this godforsaken mess that you’ve made me!” The pure rage and heartbreak that Swift channels through her vocals are stunning, leaving me emotional after every listen. She truly encapsulates the experience of being someone’s mistress, and feeling like the “other woman”. Hiding from his true love, lying to your friends, pretending that everything will work out one day but knowing deep down there’s no hope. Swift’s storytelling in this song is remarkable, using words that forced me to pick up a dictionary and think about my life. 

Taylor Lautner! Do I need to say more? But seriously, this upbeat hit deserved all the hype it got and more. This was insane for a 2010 Taylor Swift to be writing, and I mean that in the most positive way possible. It’s a perfect song for someone falling in love, whether it’s with a partner or simply a hallway crush. The dopamine rush I get when it turns on is crazy, and I feel transformed to Taylor Swift’s lust-filled shoes. (Fake) studies show that it’s actually impossible to withhold from dancing when I Can See You turns on…you’ll have to try it!

The ultimate crush song. I know this may not be on the same level lyrically as the others so far, but I can’t help but squeal when “Gorgeous” turns on. As a hopeless romantic, the giggly lyrics and girlish fantasies come together to make the perfect song, mixed with the upbeat nature that keeps this tune bouncing through your head all day. When this surprise song was played, I may have genuinely cried. It’s just so adorable. Everyone say, “Thank you Joe Alwyn!”

Every time I listen to this song, I discover a new feature to dwell on for hours. You really have to think about the story in this case, which is truly the way I most enjoy literature. Swift tells the story of two bandits who spend their days hustling and deceiving the rich folks for their own gain, until they ultimately fall for each other. Or do they? The lyricism in this song is truly on another level, though I could probably say that about every Taylor Swift song out there. But I really mean it. The lyrics are insane.

“Please don’t ever become a stranger whose laugh I could recognize anywhere.” Those lyrics alone are the reason New Year’s Day is this high on my ranking. I love the pure emotion you can feel through Swift’s words, in her love and longing for her partner. Not only at the party, but cleaning up the morning after, they are there for each other, and that notion just tugs on my heartstrings every time. Hold on to those memories girl. Again, thank you Joe Alwyn.

“Pauses, then says, ‘you’re my best friend’. And you knew what it was, he is in love.” He is in love!!! I am in love…with this song. It encapsulates a coming-of-age feeling of love, the beautiful idea of it taking over your life through the most mundane and miniscule features. Love is present in the buttons on a coat, the darkness of a room, the coffee drank at midnight, the drives around the city, the necklace on your neck. The peaceful music and short, simple lyrics allow you to truly soak in the notion of love just being there. In everything you do, and everything you don’t, that love is surrounding you. So much love. 

This piece is so beautifully created, it shocks me every time. Swift captures the struggle of anxiety through what is essentially the song version of an anxiety attack. The beat continues to rise and rise and you think it is about to drop, but it never does. The uneasiness just continues rising. As someone who has experienced this before, I could not love this song more. Both the beat and the doubtful, self-deprecating lyrics come together to form a beauty of a song, sponsored by the archer necklace I wear across my neck every day. 

I just love a boastful Taylor, and that’s exactly what she delivers. It’s a shame this song was stuck in the vault for so long, because I bet Jake Gyllenhaal thinks about her too. I’m not a country girlie, but you’ll hear me singing this at full volume with the twang of an accent every time it comes on. It’s the opposite of a humble breakup track, capturing the feeling of superiority that comes after months of devastation and confusion. This is the song that you throw on when you finally realize you weren’t the problem, he was. 

Believe me, I know going with the stolen version is a risky move. I promise, I listen to an old CD. No money is going from me to Scooter Braun! But I won’t lie and say I didn’t cry when I listened to Clean (Taylor’s Version). The 2014 version just speaks to me, because I feel and resonate with her raw emotion, and I thought it was lacking in the rerecording. Clean is written about the idea of recovery, and this can be interpreted in any way the listener would like. Some people imagine it’s about eating disorders, others addiction, but no matter what you attribute to the lyrics, Taylor Swift showers you with the idea of becoming cleansed by the rain after a terrible drought. I sobbed so hard when this was my surprise song, it’s not even funny. It’s simply the most beautiful and supportive piece she’s written to date.