I should start this off with a disclaimer because this this list was harder than writing my twenty-page midterm paper on the Common Core for my Theory and Policy class last semester. Taylor is one of the only modern day artists to write and preform her own music. Five albums later, she’s still killing it at the top of the charts.
On that note: Taylor or die.
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
10. “Forever and Always”
So this song being number ten lets you know how seriously I took this list because every time I hear the piano version of this song I swear I can feel her pain in my heart. We think love is forever but the reality is, it so often isn’t. I’m notorious for at the end of relationships only being able to remember the good times. This song expresses how nostalgia makes us feel and how we spend more time thinking of the memories of us falling in love instead of those that made us fall apart.
9. “I Knew You Were Trouble”
-Haven’t we always gone through the “bad boy” stage. Our mom’s would die if they knew what he was like…and our friends told us to start running. However, during the time, trouble never tasted so good. I saw this live a few years back and I think that’s what made it belong in my top ten. Taylor puts a twist on this song every time she performs it.
8. “The Way I Loved You”
This takes number eight because I think it sums up the feeling you get at the beginning of talking to someone new when you’re still in love with someone else. The new guy is sweet, respectful and knows how to talk to your mom, but it lacks the passion you felt with someone else. All your friends are so happy for you but you’re not happy for yourself.
7. “Breathe”
Okay so whoever’s idea it was to bring together Colbie Caillat and Taylor Swift, you’re a genius????? I listened to this song over and over today and what sticks out to me is “and we know it’s never simple, never easy, never a clean break…” We know that love so often ends in sadness but we do it anyway.
6. “Treacherous”
-“I’d be smart to walk away, but you’re quick sand.” This song expresses how sometimes love is treacherous but we want it so badly anyway. In this case, I believe it’s about falling for someone who isn’t exactly on the market. You’ve got to move on but you’re struggling to do so.
5. “Sad Beautiful Tragic”
One of the less popular songs from Taylor’s album, “Red,” deserves more credit than this song gets. This song is said to be about a divorce because of its long lasting love but tragic ending. I think the line that makes it seem so real is “Time is taking its sweet time erasing you.” This song is raw. This song is beautiful.
4. “Fearless”
This song comes in at number four because so many of Taylor’s are about sadness but this song is about being fearless in love. She says being fearless is living in spite of the things that scare you to death. She names an album after this song and I understand why. It was never a hit but it should have been. She matures so much in this album making it a turning point for her career.
3. “White Horse”
Rumors speculate this song to be about her relationship with Joe Jonas, but I think it all comes down to the loss of innocence. He didn’t want her anymore but after giving him things she wasn’t even sure she had, she feels used. What a horrible feeling to know that all of your dreams for someone are being swept right from under you. God bless Taylor for putting that feeling into words.
2. “All too Well”
This song is so close to number one that it can taste it. It’s lyrics that are pure poetry. It’s about a relationship that didn’t fully progress but fell apart. Just because it didn’t last long doesn’t mean it doesn’t it wasn’t enough to leave you broken when it was over. She says that this song expresses how love can once be so good and then be so devastating
1. “Clean”
Finally, my number one pick is Clean. I think anyone who is going through a bad break up can’t explain the pain they’re feeling in their chest every time something reminds them of the person they miss, but for me, this song describes the feeling. This was my car anthem with my best friend when I thought the world was over during a heartbreak my senior year of high school. Taylor uses the addiction idea and ties it in with love for a truly captivating song. I don’t think we ever get over love; it just stops stinging as much. “Ten months sober I must admit, just because you’re clean don’t miss it."
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
I sometimes wish I didn't relate to these songs so much because of the hurt that let's me really connect with them, but I'm appreciative to queen Taylor for always seeming to have a song that will fix how I'm feeling. These are only my top ten, however, I've never heard a song by her that I didn't love.
****Also, where is album six?!?!?!!?