10 Taylor Swift Songs to Add to Your Fall Playlist

Taylor Swift is known to nail down certain feelings with her songs that you didn’t even know how to describe before listening. There is a moment when listening to some of her songs that’s as brightening and enlightening as the clouds parting and a rainbow appearing after a long storm. Sometimes, I just describe certain niche feelings with the title of a Taylor Swift song. For example, on a day where I’m feeling incredibly grateful and emotional for the female relationships I have in my life, I would say that I’m feeling so “Dorothea” from Taylor Swift’s ninth studio album, Evermore. One feeling Taylor Swift has richened for me is the feeling of autumn, and I want to share my favorite songs of hers that sound like leaves turning pretty colors, apple picking, hot chai lattes, long car rides, flannels, academia, discovery, a chill in the air, denim, and sweaters!

“Everything Has Changed” ft. Ed Sheeran from Red (Taylor’s Version): This song sounds like school starting up in autumn and crushing on the boy in your Astronomy class. There’s a theme of motivating hope and it’s such a cute and wholesome tribute to the excitement and whirlwind of young love. I love the repetition of the line, “I just wanna know you better” (Swift), which is such an encapsulated way of describing the feeling of incredulous excitement at the beginning of a new relationship.

“State of Grace” from Red (Taylor’s Version): A lot of loss happens in fall. I feel like it’s one of the biggest times of change for people, which is symbolized by the old leaves changing colors. However, fall is also a time where a lot is found. “State of Grace” describes the feeling of happiness with a new situation, in the song’s case: a relationship. She describes how she “never saw (them) coming and (she’ll) never be the same” (Swift). The mood of the song is happy, yet with the awareness that this happiness could end, communicated by her description of this relationship as a “state”, acknowledging that it’s temporary. However, the overall mood of the song is still joyful, despite this knowledge that great eras in life can end. She chooses to live fully in the present, which is the root of her happiness. She loves the rollercoaster and uncertainty of life instead of being at its whim.

“The Bolter” from The Tortured Poets Department: This song romanticizes running away, but I choose to take a more lighthearted message out of “The Bolter”. I think this song teaches us that it’s okay to change paths in our society that doesn’t encourage reflection, re-thinking, and re-routing. Again, autumn is a symbol for beginnings, and sometimes it’s necessary to be a “bolter” because it can lead to amazing newness. 

“Treacherous” from Red (Taylor’s Version): This song sounds so beautiful and is so dear to my heart! The message in this gorgeous masterpiece is to dive head on into what you want, even if other people say it’s “Treacherous”. The start of a new school year is sometimes like diving into the ocean because it comes with a whole bunch of new experiences that might leave you struggling for air. Taylor Swift tells us that we are the ones at the steering wheel in our lives, and to take risks because they could bring abundant happiness. Swift describes giving everything for a relationship that she endlessly believes in. She encourages us to believe strongly and to try our hardest for what we want in this life because so what if there’s a risk, what about the potential reward?

“Run” from Red (Taylor’s Version): Much like “The Bolter”, this song also romanticizes running away, but this song can be a wonderful ambiance to a weekend getaway from responsibilities, with the people who we hold closest to our hearts. I played this song multiple times during my fall break from college, on the way to pumpkin patches and apple orchards, where I could just be in a purely whimsical state.

“Nothing New” from Red (Taylor’s Version): With the start of school, comes inevitable competition and feelings of jealousy. “Nothing New” describes the feeling of reluctantly growing up, and having regrets about what could’ve been done in the past that might have made you feel better about the place at which you’re currently standing. “Nothing New” is a beautiful song that allows one to feel these sometimes really intense emotions and feel heard.

“Maroon” from Midnights: When I think of autumn, I think of red, and more specifically: maroon! “Maroon” describes the slow burn of an ending relationship, and has an abundance of maroon imagery. Swift sings the lines, “the mark you saw on my collarbone, the rust that grew between telephones/ the lips I used to call home, so scarlet, it was maroon” (Swift). This beautiful imagery paints an image of dark red brush strokes, resembling the look and feeling of autumn.

“Come Back… Be Here” from Red (Taylor’s Version): Autumn is back to school season, and for college students that means leaving their hometown, their families, their hometown friends, and sometimes significant others. I’ve been in a long-distance relationship for the first time, with the start of my fall semester, and it’s been difficult to get used to. This song lets me wallow, miss, and wish for teleportation, which every once in a while I need to do.

“Sweet Nothing” from Midnights: Autumn is a sweet season, and so is this song. Autumn has a lot of seemingly sort of mundane activities, but they attract lots of attention from people because of the appeal of doing them with their loved ones. “Sweet Nothing” reminds us to appreciate little things that have big meanings, with lines like, “on the way home, I wrote a poem/ you say, ‘what a mind’/ this happens all the time” (Swift). Autumn and poetry also go hand in hand in my book because they’re both about finding meaning with new creation.

“All Too Well” (the regular or ten minute version) from Red (Taylor’s Version): Even though this song is about mourning a relationship and processing a break-up, this song reminds me of happy memories with my mom. When we needed some revitalization, we would go on drives together and just sing our hearts out, and we would often choose this song in autumn. “All Too Well” reinforces that it’s okay to feel deeply, which is the most efficient and effective way to achieve understanding.

Most of the songs I listed are from Red (Taylor’s Version), which I think is the album of Swift’s that feels the most like autumn because of the color scheme, general sound, and her direct references to fall in “All Too Well”, with lines like, “autumn leaves falling down like pieces into place” (Swift). Of course you can listen to this album and the songs I listed above at any time of year, but they just hit differently during autumn. I think it’s important for people to differentiate the seasons through activities, music, colors, etc, because of the very fact that the seasons are temporary and we should enjoy them to the fullest while we’re in them. It’s not summer, it’s fall, so listen to “State of Grace”, go on a walk, and take in the beautiful sights! Autumn is a whole lot of new beginnings and sharp endings blended up into a swirl of discovery, which Taylor expresses eloquently in many of the songs listed above. This Taylor Swift catalog will be your soundtrack to this beautiful season!

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