evermore

Five months ago, when Taylor released this surprise into the world, she said it was a sister album to folklore; that's exactly what it feels like. Since it's intended to be a chapter two, it makes sense that it doesn't quite feel or sound like a strong stand-alone album. However, lyrically, I think evermore is one of her best. Each song sort of feels like a poem ripped out of a diary. Here are a few of my favorite lines from evermore:

        willow

"But I come back stronger than a '90s trend."

        champagne problems

“Sometimes you just don’t know the answer ’til someone’s on their knees and asks you."

        gold rush

“My mind turns your life into folklore, I can't dare to dream about you anymore."

        'tis the damn season

“There's an ache in you, put there by the ache in me."

        tolerate it

"Use my best colors for your portrait."

        no body, no crime (ft. haim)

“And I've cleaned enough houses to know how to cover up a scene."

        happiness

“All the years I've given is just shit we're dividing up."

        dorothea

“And damn, Dorothea, they all wanna be ya, but are you the same soul I met under the bleachers?"

        coney island (ft. the national)

"What's a lifetime of achievement, if I pushed you to the edge but you were too polite to leave me?"

        ivy

“Oh I can't stop you putting roots in my dreamland."

        cowboy like me

“And the skeletons in both our closets plotted hard to fuck this up."

        long story short

"Past me, I wanna tell you not to get lost in these petty things. Your nemeses will defeat themselves before you get the chance to swing."

        marjorie

"Should've kept every grocery store receipt. 'Cause every scrap of you would be taken from me."

        closure

“Seeing the shape of your name still spells out pain."

        evermore (ft. bon iver)

“I'm on waves, out being tossed. Is there a line that I could just go cross?"

        bonus tracks:

        right where you left me

"Did you hear about the girl who lives in delusion?"

        it's time to go

"I gave it my all, he gave me nothing at all, then wondered why I left."

folklore

 Let’s be honest, 2020 has felt like somewhat of a perpetual rainstorm. So, when Taylor Swift announced the release of a new surprise album it almost felt like we uncovered a tiny silver lining. This album is everything we didn’t know we needed. It’s vivid, emotional, introspective, and slyly clever. It's composed of mostly soft music, letting the lyrics really shine and hit you deep in the feels. I wanted to share my initial thoughts and reactions to all the tracks. I love talking all things Taylor so if you want to join in on the fun, be sure to comment with your favorites below!

        the 1

Favorite Lyric: “In my defense, I have none, for digging up the grave another time. But it would’ve been fun, if you would’ve been the one”

Initial Impressions: I am not exaggerating in the slightest when I say this, but the first time I heard this song I cried like a baby and I’m not even heartbroken. That being said, I really like this song. It’s normal to occasionally think about someone who you shared a deep connection with and I think this song is Taylor doing exactly that. We all ponder what could’ve been, even if you understand the relationship had to end. Eventually, experiences like this are what shape us and help us grow the most. Touché, Taylor.

Best For: When you think about the person you came close to spending a lifetime with.

        cardigan

Favorite Lyric: “You drew stars around my scars but now I'm bleedin'”

Initial Impressions: This song is very powerful; she narrates as an adult about teenage love and heartbreak. I especially love the imagery in the music video. To me, it tells a story of a woman exploring the long-ago memory of her first love, a love lost after infidelity. By the end of her recollection she is almost drowning in it – literally. When she pulls herself out of the memory and arrives safe in her cottage, she’s showing us that with the passing of time, wounds heal and become a (sometimes painful) memory. The darkest installment of the infamous “teenage love triangle.”

Best For: A cozy, rainy day playlist.

      the last great american dynasty

Favorite Lyric: “I had a marvelous time ruining everything”

Initial Impressions: This song feels like a story told by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Pools filled with champagne, dying animals key lime green, men and their bad habits. The song reflects the life of socialite, Rebekah Harkness, who was the previous owner of Taylor’s Rhode Island mansion. From what I gather, she was eccentric and liked to create her own path despite being highly criticized for it. (Remind you of anyone?) I know there’s a popular fan theory that the entire album is actually the life story of Rebekah Harkness, which you can read here. I think it’s a compelling theory to explore, although I haven’t personally bought into it (yet??).

Best For: A 1920’s Gatsby themed murder mystery night.

      exile (featuring bon iver)

Favorite Lyric: “I’m not your problem anymore, so who am I offending now?”

Initial Impressions: Wow, I think this song is brilliant, but makes me feel heavy, like I am physically experiencing the ambiguity between them. A story of two ex-lovers who run into each other after a breakup. Sad, beautiful, tragic.

Best For: Mourning the loss of a lover.

      my tears ricochet

Favorite Lyric: “And if I’m dead to you, why are you at the wake?”

Initial Impressions: Most will agree that this song is deeply personal – it’s the album's track 5, after all. There are also quite a few lines alluding to the loss of her masters. Hauntingly sad; funeral references, the torment of emotional abuse, the pain of losing yourself. I think this song is easily one of the saddest Taylor has ever written. It also gets better every time I listen.

Best For: Your Saddest-Ballads-of-All-Time playlist.

      mirrorball

Favorite Lyric: “I've never been a natural, all I do is try, try, try”

Initial Impressions: I’d say this is one of the most autobiographical tracks on the album. Taylor using a mirrorball as a metaphor to describe herself. Explaining her need to perform and entertain, but also her inherit nature to people-please.

Best For: Road tripping with the windows down.

      seven

Favorite Lyric: “Love you to the Moon and to Saturn”

Initial Impressions: Musically, there’s an upbeat vibe with little hints of folk. Lyrically, there’s a yearning for moments of adolescence. The song feels sweet and pure but when you really listen, you’ll hear are a few lines hinting that one of her childhood friends may have had an unhappy life at home, making this song a tough listen for me.

Best For: Reconnecting with your inner child... Or revisiting the scars of your youth. This one can go either way, ha! 

      august

Favorite Lyric: “To live for the hope of it all, canceled plans just in case you’d call”

Initial Impressions: This song is absolutely insane! I know it's about a heartsick girl recounting a lost summer love, likely part of the “teenage love triangle” Taylor explained. But for me, this song just feels like a moment captured in time. I picture a bright-eyed girl, sun-kissed romance, old journals, wine-drunk on the beach, a sparkling sunset.

Best For: Can I say everything? At least it is for me, its one of my best-loved songs on the album.

      this is me trying

Favorite Lyric: “And my words shoot to kill when I’m mad, I have a lot of regrets about that”

Initial Impressions: I can really relate to this song. Maybe because I’m an Aries, maybe because patience isn’t one of my natural strengths, or maybe because I am often a stubborn hothead. (Probably all the above, let's be honest.)

Best For: Mulling over an apology you should give but don’t know how.

      illicit affairs

Favorite Lyric: “For you, I would ruin myself, a million little times”

Initial Impressions: A true romantic tragedy, we are given the heart wrenching details of a tale of infidelity. I’d say it’s a mature, yet still devastating, perspective on the impact that infidelity has on a relationship.

Best For: Finding comfort after you've been betrayed.

      invisible string

Favorite Lyric: “Cold was the steel of my ax to grind for the boys who broke my heart, now I send their babies presents”

Initial Impressions: This one is one of the best songs on the album, definitely the most romantic (aside from her Bonus Track, the lakes). Lyrically ethereal and filled with a few glorious insights. My favorites are: that the right love will make you feel safe, that your past mistakes will eventually lose their grip on you, and that no matter how deeply your heart has been broken, you will eventually let go of any grudges or pain.

Best For: Looking at life and realizing that everything will all work out in the end.

      mad woman

Favorite Lyric: “What did you think I'd say to that? Does a scorpion sting when fighting back?”

Initial Impressions: I think I'd dub this song a quick-witted fight for sexual equality. It's no secret that we live in a deeply sexist society, where women are often labeled "crazy" for expressing emotions in the same way that men do. I respect Taylor for exploring topics like this.

            Best For: Celebrating feminism.

      epiphany

Favorite Lyric: “Some things you just can’t speak about”

Initial Impressions: This song could be beautiful tribute to her grandfather, Dean, who she said landed at Guadalcanal in 1942. Although, it also feels like a dedication to the essential workers working the front-lines against the coronavirus pandemic. The overall mood of the song feels like current state of the world.

Best For: Retelling the story of 2020 to your grandchildren.

      betty

Favorite Lyric: “The worst thing that I ever did, was what I did to you"

Initial Impressions: To be honest, I didn’t love this song the first time I heard it, the harmonica isn't my favorite. Comprehensively, it's a successful way to get inside the head of a seventeen-year-old boy who’s trying to navigate his first big relationship mistake. This one is undoubtedly part of the aforementioned “teenage love triangle.”

Best For: A casual night at home.

      peace

Favorite Lyric: “I would die for you in secret”

Initial Impressions: Another favorite, definitely in the top three. I think this is such an alluring song. In my opinion it’s about feeling like you’re a hard person to love. Maybe you’re stubborn, secretly deathly afraid of abandonment, or find it hard to open up. Feeling like you’re simultaneously way too much yet never quite enough. Sure, you want to be with someone, but you know you’ll eventually ruin everything by self-sabotaging. (Don't worry, I have a wonderful therapist.)

Best For: Telling someone special that you’d do anything for them.

      hoax

Favorite Lyric: “Stood on the cliff-side screaming, ‘give me a reason’”

Initial Impressions: This song really gives me major Twilight: New Moon vibes. When I listen to it I feel like I have entered a mythical realm, or something. Another gut puncher but very bewitching. For me this one is the most mysterious tracks on the album.

Best For: Crying alone when your deep in your feelings.

      bonus track:

      the lakes

Favorite Lyric: “A red rose grew up out of ice frozen ground, with no one around to tweet it”

Initial Impressions: The romantic, old-fashioned atmosphere in this song is absolutely remarkable! I can't get enough, it's definitely a favorite, probably one of my favorites of all time. Between the stunning melody, the unexpected strings, the perfect lyrics… It's a damn poem.

Best For: Giving a tribute to the love of your life.

13 Favorite Taylor Swift Songs & Why

For awhile I had wanted to sit down and pick out my 13 favorite Taylor Swift songs. I really wanted it to be somewhat of a therapeutic experience where I could just sit around my apartment with a journal listening to her music, while simultaneously sipping some passion fruit tea. During the process so many memories and emotions came flooding back. I thought about the songs that I belted out in the car in high school. I thought about the songs I danced to in the wee hours of the morning with my bestie and made silly music videos to. I thought about the songs that carried me through a broken heart and the songs that helped me heal it again. Much of her music has become the backdrop throughout each chapter of my life, and honestly, it's hard to imagine a time before these songs existed.

13 Favorite Taylor Swift Songs & Why

13. THE BEST DAY | Fearless

Favorite Lyric: "I know you were on my side, even when I was wrong"

I remember listening to this song on my way home from my high school scholarship awards ceremony. It was just my mom and I in the car. I remember telling her that it reminded me of us and since that day it has been loosely considered "our song." I can't help but smile and think of her each time I hear it.

Mom & I the scholarship awards ceremony, May 2010

12. TIM MCGRAW | Taylor Swift

Favorite Lyric: "When you think Tim McGraw, I hope you think of me"

This is the very first Taylor Swift song I ever heard and I fell in love with it right away. Every time I hear it, I am transported back in time. Suddenly it's 2006 and I'm just a small town girl living in a rural Wisconsin town. Ah, simpler times.

11. 22 | Red

Favorite Lyric: "Everything will be alright if we just keep dancing like we’re 22"

If any song sparks joy, 22 is it. I think it's one of the best songs you can dance to and sing into your hairbrush as you get ready. The single for 22 was brand new and very popular when my 21st birthday rolled around. I remember dancing at the bar with a fruity drink in my hand surrounded by my besties. Could a girl dream up a better birthday celebration?

And of course I wore a sparkly red dress!

10. I KNEW YOU WERE TROUBLE | Red

Favorite Lyric: "He was long gone when he met me, and I realize the joke is on me"

Most people assume this song is just the typical "good girl falling for bad boy" scenario, but to me, this song is about the tragedy of losing yourself in a relationship. A tragedy that happens when you ignore the red flags and end up giving up so much, only to realize in the end that the person doesn't even care about you.

Relationship boundaries were something I really struggled to establish. I used to ignore all types of red flags and I used to accept being someone's "backup plan." I used to think, "If I'm nice, and if I try to do the right thing, you know, they'll see my value. If I just try hard enough, maybe I can make them happy enough to treat me well." And it turns out I can't. During this phase I was a bit of a wreck and had a lot of learning to do, but I am thankful for that time in my life now because I came back stronger and wiser on the other side.

9. FIFTEEN | Fearless

Favorite Lyric: "When all you wanted was to be wanted, wish you could go back and tell yourself what you know now"

Fifteen is such a special and meaningful song to me because it's the sisterly advice I needed to hear while I navigated high school. This song that taught me the world is bigger than the hallways of high school. I hope that if I am lucky enough to have kids someday, that they get to hear songs like this that help put the naive, confusing high school years into perspective. Because we all know that even though talks from mom & dad are well intended, they aren't as easily received by teenagers as meaningful lyrics are.

8. BLANK SPACE | 1989

Favorite Lyric: "Darling I'm a nightmare dressed like a daydream"

Admittedly I am obsessed with this music video and applaud the meaning behind this song. I just love the sassy cynicism of Blank Space and how she mocks the media's perceptions of her. I also feel like I can relate to the “psycho girlfriend” she plays in the Blank Space music video on a deep, personal level. Not because I have ever smashed a guy's sports car with a golf club or anything, but I have definitely had my emotions discredited. I've been called crazy, needy and dramatic in situations where I was simply trying to communicate the depth and complexity of my emotions. 🙃 It's comforting to know I'm not the only one.

7. STYLE | 1989

Favorite Lyric: "You got that James Dean daydream look in your eye, and I got that red lip, classic thing that you like"

Style is one song that makes in onto nearly every playlist I've created. It's a Swift jam for the ages, it's catchy, it's edgy, it's pure GOLD. ✨

6. LOVE STORY | Fearless

Favorite Lyric: "Is this in my head, I don't know what to think, he knelt to the ground and pulled out a ring and said.."

Love Story was the first music video I ever purchased from iTunes. I am not exaggerating in the slightest when I say this, but very single day while I waited for the school bus, I watched the masterpiece that is the Love Story music video on my purple iPod Nano. Sixteen-year-old me was utterly obsessed with this song; a hopelessly romantic tale of teenage love. Can you blame me? Love Story was practically a 4 minute long Disney movie!

Just trying to channel Tay's Love Story vibe for Prom 2009..

5. DELICATE | Reputation

Favorite Lyric: "Long night with your hands up in my hair, echos of your footsteps on the stairs, stay here honey I don't want to share... 'cause I like you"

This is my most beloved song from the Reputation era. If you watch the Delicate music video, she starts off zoned out, simply going through the motions of her life. Once she's alone and invisible to the rest of the world, all the pressure and expectations melt away and she is free to be who she really is! She makes silly faces at herself in the mirror and then she dances onto a street in the pouring rain, as if she’s reenacting Singin’ in the Rain, and she’s never looked happier! By the end she's danced away her troubles and found a new inner peace.

Now each time I hear Delicate I just want to play it loud and proud and humble myself with some awkward dancing. After all, life is all about randomly bursting into dance and living in the moment... Isn’t it? Isn’t it? Isn’t it?... 😏

4. LAST KISS | Speak Now

Favorite Lyric: "All that I know is I don't know how to be something you miss"

Last Kiss is definitely one of Tay's darker songs. After going through a gut-wrenching breakup I had a mess of tangled emotions to work through. I was a bit of a wreck (ok, maybe a major wreck) and I swear I listened to this song daily and cried both happy and sad tears just to move on mentally.

3. ENCHANTED | Speak Now

Favorite Lyric: "Please don't be in love with someone else, please don't have somebody waiting on you"

Ahhhh.. the butterflies and an indescribable spark. Enchanted is a beautiful song about that magical moment when you first meet someone. My favorite part of this song is a really raw part in the bridge where you *think* the song has come to a natural conclusion.. but then she quietly pleads: "please don't be in love with someone else, please don't have somebody waiting on you." Oof, when I hear that line my heart breaks for 18-year-old Joy who once cried alone in her room, believing that she wasn't good enough for a boy who did horrible things to hurt her.

Speak Now release day, October 25, 2010.

Right after I dragged my college roommie to Target with me :)

2. ALL TOO WELL | Red

Favorite Lyric: "You call me up again just to break me like a promise, so casually cruel in the name of being honest"

All nostalgic, all bittersweet, All Too Well is Taylor Swift at her absolute best. Truthfully, this song rips me apart. It reminds me of someone I couldn't let go because my world just didn't make sense without him in it. When you go through a loss that's so deep, it's impossible to avoid the storm of desperate, helpless feelings that follow. For years, I was still angry, confused, and absolutely devastated by the grief of losing this person and all the memories and hopes for the future. When I hear All Too Well I can feel what it was like for me to be in that place.

1. LOVER | Lover

Favorite Lyric: "My hearts been borrowed and yours has been blue, all's well that ends well to end up with you"

I know that All Too Well is widely considered Tay's magnum opus but I already know that Lover has earned its place among my 13 favorite T.S. songs ever. Why? Because it's truly a timeless love song. So timeless, I guarantee you'll hear it being played at weddings in 20 seconds and 20 years from now.. 😉

Lover is stripped down ballad that isn't built on metaphors, fantasies, or fears - it's about the seemingly insignificant things that encompass what real, deep love is. Love that is built on mutual respect, honesty and shared values. It's about the person who will show up for you when you need them and care for you even after they've seen you broken. A genuine friendship that's blossomed into love; the type of love I truly hope to find someday.