When I can put on headphones, turn up the volume as high as it can go, and feel what the song wants me to feel, that song is good. Taylor Swift has mastered this PERFECTLY. Whether you want to feel happy and energized listening to songs such as “Shake It Off” or “New Romantics”, or embrace your sadness by crying along to “tolerate it” or "my tears ricochet", Taylor Swift's lyrics will always have the intended effect on her listeners, which is something that she accomplishes through her incredible lyricism.

Many Swifties will agree that lyrically, Swift's best albums are what she calls her “pandemic albums” - folklore and evermore. While I definitely agree that these two albums have incredibly powerful lyrics, Taylor Swift has written countless songs that have equally as strong lyrics in them.

Before I talk about the lyrics (and songs) that I chose for this list, I want to briefly explain what I think makes a good lyric. A good lyric not only makes sense within the context of the song at its deepest meaning, but it also relates to the artist in some way. It could tell a story about the artist's life, relate to the way an artist is feeling, and so on.

Disclaimer: All of these lyrics were chosen based on my interpretation of their meaning, which may not align with other interpretations.

“Daylight” - Lover (2019)

“I once believed love would be (Black and white)/But it's golden”

This lyric is from “Daylight”, the closing track to her 2019 album Lover. The album addresses two main topics - love, and major social issues. Songs such as “Paper Rings” and “Lover” explore romance, falling in love, and being in love. Songs like “The Man” and “You Need To Calm Down” were written about social issues that Swift feels strongly about like gender inequality and LBGTQ pride.

“Daylight”, as the closing track to this album, addresses both. This song is about feeling relief and forgiving yourself after making a mistake.

Swift playing “Daylight” as a surprice song live at The Eras Tour (Photo: Michael Hicks on Wikimedia Commons)

I chose this lyric as one of her best because of the power it holds as a message to her listeners and the power it holds within the song. Allowing yourself to make mistakes and forgiving yourself for doing so is a skill that doesn't come easily to a lot of people; it can cause severe frustration and panic.

Making mistakes is a topic that Taylor Swift isn't afraid to write about - she writes about her own mistakes as well as the ones of fictional characters. The entirety of “Daylight” is a lyrical masterpiece, but this particular part of the bridge stands out to me for those reasons. I think the production of this bridge is amazing, the way that the words are easily understood but they almost seem “behind” the instrumentals is incredible.

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“The Man" - Lover (2019)

“I'm so sick of running as fast as I can/Wondering if I'd get there quicker if I was a man”

As I mentioned previously, “The Man” is one of Swift's songs written about a social issue that she feels strongly about. This song addresses the gender inequality that our world faces. She describes the way men are allowed to act in our world versus the way women are expected to act. In one of her well known interview clips, Swift speaks about the differences in the way society views men and women, even when they do the exact same action.

“The Man” shows no less care for this topic. This lyric is the first line of the chorus, and it essentially reflects her thoughts about how she can work tirelessly and still get only half as far as a man who worked half as hard. One other lyric I want to point out in this song that has the same effect is “They'd say I hustled/Put in the work/They wouldn't shake their heads and question how much of this I deserve."

Overall, this song is a great combination of her songwriting talent and love of helping people and advocating for herself and others. By subtly (but in the same way..obviously?) addressing the gender inequality in the world, she makes people aware of the issue in a quick 3 minutes and 10 seconds.

“tolerate it” - evermore (2020)

“I made you my temple, my mural, my sky/Now I'm begging for footnotes in the story of your life”

“tolerate it” is the 5th track on Taylor Swift's second “pandemic album”. Swift's “track 5's” are notoriously her most vulnerable songs on each album, and this one is no different. The song talks about a general theme of loving someone more than they love you, and they simply tolerate your acts of love toward them. Many of the lyrics in the song address this topic, but I felt that this one in the bridge was the best representation of the pain she expresses.

evermore Eras Tour Set (Photo: Paolo V on Wikimedia Commons)

“I made you my temple, my mural, my sky” essentially means that the narrator made this person the most important thing to them - their priority, their top choice. The second part, “Now I'm begging for footnotes in the story of your life" talks about how even after everything the narrator has given this person, they still barely consider them an important part of their life.

This is one of the first songs of hers that I listened to (besides the mainstream “Love Story” and “Blank Space” type songs). I absolutely fell in LOVE with the piano and alternating rhythms in the background, as well as the astonishing vocals. The lyrics in this song, however, is what truly made me love it. The vulnerability Swift shows in this lyric is what makes it such a powerful one, especially to kick off the bridge.

“exile” - folklore (2020)

“You never gave a warning sign (I gave so many signs)”

“exile” features the band Bon Iver, and it is the fourth track on folklore. The song captures the emotions of seeing each other just after a breakup. Bon Iver's perspective is the first verse and chorus, where singer Justin Vernon sings about feeling abandoned because of how quickly the relationship ended in his eyes.

The folklore set of the Eras Tour (Photo: Paolo V on Wikimedia Commons)

Swift's perspective is told through the second verse and chorus, where she sings about the declining relationship, and giving her partner “second, third, and hundredth chances”.

The bridge is one of Swift's most magical pieces of writing because of the back and forth between the two singers. Bon Iver's part is the lead, and Swift has the echoes. The first part of this lyric is “You never gave a warning sign”, which is Bon Iver's perspective, claiming that the relationship ended suddenly with no warning. Swift's part, “I gave so many signs” is the echo and the response to the Vernon's part.

There are other echoed lyrics in the bridge of “exile” such as “I never learned to read your mind (Never learned to read my mind)", but I chose this one as one of her best because of the way it's played live. When live, Swift sings Bon Iver's part, while the crowd does the echoes. This lyric is the one that the most people know by heart, so it's the one with the loudest crowd. It's definitely one of her best songs when played live because of the magic of the crowd.

“I Can Do It With a Broken Heart” - The Tortured Poets Department (2024)

“All the pieces of me shattered/As the crowd was chanting ‘MORE!’"

As one of Swift’s newest additions released just 3 months ago in April of 2024, this song gives its listeners an insight into how she had been feeling throughout The Eras Tour while also dealing with a difficult breakup. Just one month after The Eras Tour started, her and her boyfriend of six years broke up, causing her tremendous heartbreak. Throughout the tour, she has been dealing with this while she literally had the crowds chanting “MORE!”.

Swift performing the new TTPD set at The Eras Tour (Photo: Vixy13 on Wikimedia Commons)

I chose this lyric for this list because it (along with the entire song) is a reflection of how she's still a human with normal human emotions. It shows that because of her fame, her struggles tend to be harder to deal with due to higher expectations from the public. “All the pieces of me shattered” is referring to how she struggled with the breakup, while “As the crowd was chanting ‘MORE!’” refers to the crowds of The Eras Tour still expecting a good performance.

Another lyric in this song that plays into this theme is “I was grinning like I'm winning, I was hitting my marks/'Cause I can do it with a broken heart”. On my first listen to The Tortured Poets Department, this was IMMEDIATELY one of my favorites. Between listens, I kept going back to this track, captivated by the “sparkly” beat in the background and the lyrics of this song.

“You're Losing Me (From The Vault)” - Midnights (2023)

“I'm getting tired even for a phoenix/Always risin' from the ashes/Mendin' all her gashes/You might just have dealt the final blow”

Taylor Swift performing the Midnights Eras Tour set (Photo: Paolo V on Wikimedia Commons)

“You're Losing Me” is a vault track released in November of 2023, about a year after the original album made it to streaming platforms. Swifties have widely recognized it as one of her best and most vulnerable songs, and they wouldn't be incorrect. This song deals with similar topics to “tolerate it”, with a few key differences.

For one, the two songs have different metaphoric styles. Additionally, “tolerate it” seems to be about a generalized feeling, while “You're Losing Me” is rumored to be about a specific relationship.

This lyric in particular compares the relationship to a Phoenix, a mythical bird with the ability to be reborn from its ashes. Swift compares her dedication to making the relationship work even while it is struggling to a Phoenix, a bird which constantly regenerates, and is born over again. A Phoenix is said to be an immortal creature, and Swift uses this to show that even for someone dedicated to a particular thing, it's simply getting too hard to keep up with.

Photo: Konrad Lykosthenes on Wikimedia Commons

This song as a whole is written with incredibly beautiful lyrics, but this one stood out to me as the one that summarized the whole song well. On top of that, the theme of being brought back to life (like a Phoenix) is shown throughout the whole song, from her heartbeat being a crucial part of the intro, to lyrics such as “I can't find a pulse/My heart won't start anymore” being the closing lyric to this beautifully written song.

“All Too Well (Ten Minute Version) - Red (Taylor's Version) (2021)

“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” is one of Taylor Swift's most recognized songs - and for good reason. Not only is every word of this song written with intense depth and thought but as mentioned in the name, there are TEN minutes of it! I absolutely love this song's lyrics, and it was definitely the hardest song on this list to choose just one lyric from. I love this lyric because I feel like every word adds value and changes the meaning of the phrase.

The addition of the word “again” in the first half implies that this situation happens often, as well as the use of the word “casually" in the second line. Taylor's use of parallels in this song is abundant, which adds even more value to the song, especially to long-time fans who have fun searching for these parallels.

The first time I heard this song, I was obsessed with this entire bridge. Her powerful vocals and use of high/low notes had me instantly, and as I listened to the lyrics more carefully, I began to realize why so many Swifties have this in their top 10 Taylor Swift songs of all time.

Final Thoughts

Taylor Swift's lyrics have proven to be the spotlight of her music time and time again. From songs like “exile” to “Shake It Off”, Swift's lyrics all have an important meaning to them. Whether it be a story from her own life or a message to her fanbase, Taylor Swift has mastered the ability to write amazing lyrics.

You can listen to these songs (and additional songs with her incredible lyrics that nearly made it to the list) on the playlist below!