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Long before Taylor Swift was selling out stadiums during the Eras Tour, the performer was best known as a songwriter - and to many Swifties and casual listeners alike, she still is. Given how much of a wordsmith Swift was when she was barely even a teen, it's nearly impossible to pick the best and most iconic Taylor Swift lyrics.
Ever since her self-titled album released in 2006, Swift's lyrics have continued to get more breathtaking and poetic right up to 2024's The Tortured Poets Department album. With her rhyme schemes, metaphors, and hauntingly descriptive lyricism, there's nothing quite like a Swift lyric. As for her bridges? Pure magic. You might call her a lyrical… mastermind (we'll see ourselves out - of the woods). Between early classics like “Tied Together With a Smile” and new drops like “I Can Fix Him (No Really I Can),” here are the best Taylor Swift lyrics of all time.
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1All Too Well (10-Minute Version) (Taylor's Version)
The Lyric:
You call me up again just to break me like a promise
So casually cruel in the name of being honestWhy It’s Great: Honestly, every single line in all three versions of “All Too Well” is masterfully crafted - in structure, meaning, metaphor, and delivery. This is one of the more standout phrases. Swift describes a boyfriend who breaks her - whether it's her heart, spirit, or self-esteem - as easily as he shatters his promises. It almost sounds like this boyfriend gets some twisted pleasure out of tearing her down.
She goes on to describe how he uses the guise of honesty as an excuse to be cruel. This is a common manipulation tactic to gaslight someone into thinking they're overreacting about something intentionally hurtful when they were “just being honest.” However, Swift's gut-wrenching belted delivery of the line is almost better than the words themselves. The emotion is so raw that it's hard not to cry when you hear this ballad in any form. The vivid imagery in this song didn't offer any surprises when Swift turned the song into a short film starring Dylan O'Brien and Sadie Sink. All of the mannerisms, arguments, and behavior depicted on-screen were perfectly palpable in the song since day one, and that's an impressive feat.
Legendary lyrics?
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2All Too Well (Taylor's Version)
The Lyric:
I’ll get older, but your lovers stay my age
Why It’s Great: Shots. Fired. Fans waited years to hear the full 10-minute version of “All Too Well” that Swift teased for about a decade. Was it real? Was it an urban myth? Apparently not. And now the OG song is dead to most Swifties because the added lyrics are beautifully devastating. This savage line in particular stands out.
There's a pretty strong fan consensus that Jake Gyllenhaal inspired this particular number. We learn that in Swift's perspective of the narrative (especially in the short film), there was allegedly a whole lot of gaslighting going on during this relationship. This particular boyfriend acted like she was too immature, and they could maybe work if she was older.
The kicker? According to the song, this boyfriend continued to date young women her age at the time of their breakup no matter how much older he got. That would certainly track for Gyllenhaal, who was around 36 when his girlfriend Jeanne Cadieu was 22 - a 16-year age difference. When Gyllenhaal started dating the model, she was one year older than Swift was when they broke up allegedly due to age. Yet Gyllenhaal is 13 years older than he was when he broke up with Swift, but he was still dating a 22-year-old.
In summation, it's just a fan theory. But is it…?
Legendary lyrics?
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3Who's Afraid of Little Old Me
The Lyric:
I was tame, I was gentle ’til the circus life made me mean
Don’t you worry folks we took out all her teeth…
You caged me and then you called me crazy
I am what I am ’cause you trained meWhy It’s Great: Swift fans have seen the damage that fame has done to the artist since she was in her teens. Between being a constant punchline, dealing with abusive headlines, and contending with industry bullies, people have torn the songwriter to shreds. She really fights back in The Tortured Poets Department - even against misguided fans.
Swift began her career as a sweet, soft-spoken young teenager who was a “pathological people pleaser” and rarely stood up for herself. With each passing year, she pushed back against the narrative - including within the themes of albums like Speak Now, Reputation, and The Tortured Poets Department.
In “Who's Afraid of Little Old Me,” Swift lyrically narrates that progression from her gentle persona when she started out to the circus of fame that made her “mean.” Everyone called her names and trashed her reputation, and Swift is saying, well, I am what you made me. In Swift's full album narration on Amazon Music, she noted about the song, "I felt bitter about just all the things we do to our artists as a society and as a culture. There’s a lot about this particular concept on The Tortured Poets Department."
Legendary lyrics?
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4Cruel Summer
The Lyric:
Said I’m fine, but it wasn’t true
I don’t wanna keep secrets just to keep youWhy It’s Great: Back when Lover was released, it didn't seem that one line in “Cruel Summer” would spiral the way it did. Long before songs like “You're Losing Me” and “So Long London” came onto the scene, the lyric stood out. Given that Lover was written during Swift's time with Joe Alwyn, he's as good a guess as any when it comes to the identity of the paramour in this song.
Later in Swift's discography, particularly in Midnights and The Tortured Poets Department, she depicts a clear narrative of shoving down how she really feels to try to make her relationship work. Yet here, in an album primarily about her pure love, the chinks were already showing. Swift is saying she's fine but she's not - just for the sake of her boyfriend. But she doesn't want to have to lie to keep him.So she doesn't. Eventually.
Legendary lyrics?
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5All Too Well
The Lyric:
Time won’t fly it’s like I’m paralyzed by it
Like to be my old self again, but I’m still trying to find itWhy It’s Great: Overwhelming sadness, grief, or depression can put you in enough of a dissociative state to feel like life has completely stood still. It's incredibly difficult to work through or snap out of, leading to a buildup of trauma that gets worse. And the deeper it gets? The less likely you are to find any motivation to claw your way out.
That's precisely what Swift describes in the “All Too Well” line. This relationship has royally messed with her head and her sense of self. Though their relationship is over, she can still feel his grip on her and she's doing everything she can to shake him off and out of her psyche.
Legendary lyrics?
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6this is me trying
The Lyric:
They told me all my cages were mental
So I got wasted like all my potentialWhy It’s Great: In Swift's documentary Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions, she explains the inspiration for the song “this is me trying":
And the second verse is about someone who felt like they had a lot of potential in their life. I think there are a lot of mechanisms for us in our school days, in high school or college, to excel and to be patted on the back for something and I think a lot of people get out of school and there are less abilities for them to get gold stars.
She adds, “So I was thinking about this person who is really lost in life and then starts drinking and every second is trying not to.”
Society doesn't give enough credit to people trying to stay sober and on top of their mental health struggles even when it feels like the weight is crushing them. People are quick to say, “It's just in your head,” as if that doesn't make your struggle real. Sure, depression is just in your head. A portion of addiction is just in your head (until it manifests physically). Yet that doesn't mean you can put a kitten poster up on your wall and do some yoga and you'll be cured. It's extremely beneficial for artists like Swift to turn these concepts into tangible art to cling to when people feel like giving up.
Legendary lyrics?
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7Back to December (Taylor's Version)
The Lyric:
And then the cold came
Dark days when fear crept into my mind
You gave me all your love and all I gave you was goodbyeWhy It’s Great: You'll hear a lot of people who've only listened to Swift's radio hits complain about how often she bemoans her exes without ever taking accountability for her own flaws in her relationships. Yet if they actually listened to more than her Top 20, they might realize that she does - quite frequently. “Back to December” is probably the most well-known instance of doing just that.
Here, Swift mourns a healthy and loving relationship, but fully acknowledges that she's the reason it ended - and she would give anything to go back (to December). This line paints the most vivid (and heartbreaking) picture. It's even more gut-wrenching when you watch the OG music video.
Though there aren't any perfect rhymes in the line, it flows together almost like it does. Swift is apologizing for letting her fears get the best of her when they could have been something great. She still wants to be in his life and tries to keep up with him, but there's a wall and she knows it's her fault.
Fans have bet that this number is about Swift's ex Taylor Lautner - which tracks even to this day between the “tan skin” line and the fact that Swift and Lautner are still friendly and supportive of each other. He was even in her music video for the Speak Now (Taylor's Version) vault song, “I Can See You" (and Swift invited him on stage at the Eras Tour).
Legendary lyrics?
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8exile
The Lyric:
Second, third, and a hundredth chances
Balancing on breaking branchesWhy It’s Great: It may be a seemingly simple line, but the rhyme and rhythm of this lyric are masterfully crafted. “exile” is one of Swift's softest and lowest-register songs (thank you, Bon Iver). While Iver delivers many of the song's lines, Swift sings, “Second, third, and a hundredth chances / Balancing on breaking branches.” She follows it up with ”Those eyes add insult to injury."
The song chronicles the end of a relationship that the narrator tried so hard to preserve. She gave him countless chances until she couldn't balance on the fractures anymore. Now, it's time to say goodbye with soft melodies and even softer metaphors.
Legendary lyrics?
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9My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys
The Lyric:
My boy only breaks his favorite toys
I’m queen of sand castles he destroys
‘Cause it fit too right, puzzle pieces in the dead of night
I should’ve known it was a matter of timeWhy It’s Great: The title “My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys” is already iconic before you even hear the song. The reliability of someone destroying what they love most is palpable, because the ability to hurt someone exponentially increases the more someone loves you and the more you love them. That's what Swift is getting at in this song. The relationship she's referencing (which fans theorize is about Matty Healy) was doomed from the start because it was all too perfect and had to come crashing down at some point.
It's easy to picture a dog destroying his favorite toy, flashing those puppy eyes, and earning forgiveness only to instantly rinse and repeat the behavior. Each line is punchy perfection.
Legendary lyrics?
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10Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve
The Lyric:
Living for the thrill of hitting you where it hurts
Give me back my girlhood, it was mine firstWhy It’s Great: Some people fight with fists. Swift fights with words. Given her line “And I damn sure never would've danced with the devil at 19,” fans are fairly certain that “Would've, Could've, Should've” tackles Swift's relationship with John Mayer and the very large age gap that existed between the then 19-year-old and 32-year-old.
And while that line is delightfully savage (as is the rest of the song), the “girlhood” lyric hits hard.
Given the narrative within the song, Swift is taking pleasure in putting this ex on blast. She wants her childhood back. It was hers. And now it's gone. Few things make a teenager grow up more than fame, but frequently getting pursued by men over a decade older than you when you're still a teen is pretty detrimental to the coming-of-age concept. She already had enough to deal with. She didn't need this.
Legendary lyrics?
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11thanK you aIMee
The Lyric:
I don't think you've changed much
And so I changed your name and any real defining clues
And one day, your kid comes home singin'
A song that only us two is gonna know is about youWhy It’s Great: Swift has long since kept mum about the specific people her songs are written about. But she's out for (bad) blood with “thanK you aIMee.” No, that capitalization isn't a typo. It quite clearly spells out “Kim” - as in Kim Kardashian (AKA Kanye West's ex-wife). For anyone who wasn't there for the VMA drama back in 2009, West stormed the stage when Swift won the award for best female video.
He said, "Yo, Taylor, I'm really happy for you, I'ma let you finish, but Beyoncé had one of the best videos of all time!" Keep in mind that Swift was 19 years old at the time. Though Swift tried to squash the beef in the years since the incident, West asked for permission to use Swift's name in his song “Famous.” But according to Swift, he didn't ask her specifically about the "I made that b**** famous" line.
Things got significantly worse when Kardashian released a clip of Swift's conversation with West (that did not include approval for the b**** line). Swift said she couldn't approve of a song she's never fully heard and that West never played the full song for her as promised. Yet the internet viciously turned on Swift after the video, leading Swift to delete all of her social media and fully retreat from the spotlight. Then, when she dropped Reputation, Swift reclaimed her name.
Cut to 2024 when Swift released “thanK you aIMee.” There's little doubt that it's about Kardashian, and Swift alleges that the reality star hasn't changed since their beef went down. Swift sings that she changed the culprit's name but “left clues,” but only her fans are in on the inside joke. The punchline? Swift seemingly references Kardashian using her daughter North-West to post a mocking “Shake It Off” lip-sync video prior to the release of The Tortured Poets Department. So, Swift is basically saying, “Your kid knows this is about you.”
Legendary lyrics?
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12Out of the Woods
The Lyric:
You took a Polaroid of us
Then discovered
The rest of the world was black and white
But we were screamin’ in colorWhy It’s Great: Given that “Out of the Woods” comes from Swift's 1989 album, the polaroid metaphor is particularly pertinent. Swift manages to capture the decade in this single stanza seamlessly. Swift was a 1989 baby herself (hence the name of the album), so the '80s vibes make perfect sense. The ’80s were a time of vibrant color, big hair, and beach imagery. While the rest of the world was black and white, those memories she's looking back on with an '80s lens are “screaming in color” - because that love was louder and more alive than anything else in her memory.
Legendary lyrics?
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13Dear John (Taylor's Version)
The Lyric:
But I took your matches before fire could catch me, so don’t look now
I’m shining like the fireworks over your sad, empty townWhy It’s Great: Anyone who's listened to a fraction of Swift's discography can attest that she has a wicked sense of humor regarding double meanings and Easter eggs. Fans have long since surmised that “Dear John” chronicles Swift's tumultuous relationship with the much older John Mayer. However, the title gives her plausible deniability, as breakup letters are often called “Dear John” letters. Clever, clever woman.
Beyond the epic title, the “matches” line is utterly breathtaking. Not only is the emotional delivery on point, but the prolonged and connected metaphor from beginning to end paints a vivid picture. The song's subject tries to drag her down into his flames, but she ends things before he can light the matches. And while he's faltering, basking in loneliness, she's rising above him and not letting him dim her shine.
Legendary lyrics?
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14I Almost Do (Taylor's Version)
The Lyric:
I can’t say hello to you and risk another goodbye
Why It’s Great: Not all lines have to be complex and artful enough to be in a museum to be impactful. Swift's “I Almost Do” line is a punch in the gut to anyone who's been through a bad breakup. The Red song covers the late-night impulse to reach out to an ex despite that path leading to nothing but pain.
Swift's emotional delivery of the line (and the entire song) stands out - as is the case for many numbers on this album that's filled to the brim with heartbreak. She wants her ex to know that she's thinking about him, but that she's not reaching out because she can't re-break her heart. Ouch.
Legendary lyrics?
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15betty
The Lyric:
I was walking home on broken cobblestones
Just thinking of you when she pulled up like
A figment of my worst intentionsWhy It’s Great: The most delightful thing about folklore stems from the fact that Swift got to play outside of her own life sandbox. In “betty,” she narrates the thoughts of a high schooler who cheated on his girlfriend over the summer and wants to win her back. He's heartbroken and remorseful, but at the end of the day, it's Betty's choice.
His betrayal haunts him with this lyric. The slant rhyme between “home” and “cobblestones” is nothing short of brilliant, as is the imagery. There's something visceral about the line “figment of my worst intentions.” It evokes the energy of a twisted and haunted shadow that won't stop following him around.
But he wants forgiveness for himself and not for her, which is clear by the fact that he won't wait for her to come to him and needs an answer right now. A guy who cheats on you and has the audacity to crash your party to force you into a decision while making excuses is not it. You can do better, Betty. It's just a testament to Swift's songwriting abilities that she can create a compelling lyrical and musical narrative from any point of view.
Legendary lyrics?
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16Labyrinth
The Lyric:
Break up, break free, break through, break down
You would break your back just to make me break a smileWhy It’s Great: In “Labyrinth,” there's a gorgeous symmetry between the lines "Breathe in, breathe through, breathe deep, breathe out / I'll be getting over you my whole life" and “Break up, break free, break through, break down / You would break your back just to make me break a smile.” The first part is mourning a relationship while the second is holding onto it for dear life.
The love interest in this song is a pilot navigating a crashing plane. Will it recover from the turbulence, or fall? In this case, it seems the relationship recovers. But what's truly special about those two contrasting lyrics is that the beats perfectly line up with actual breathing, which makes the song even more viscerally hard-hitting. As brilliant as Swift is with descriptions, the physical illustrations of her vision are even more impressive.
Legendary lyrics?
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17I Can Fix Him (No, Really, I Can)
The Lyric:
The dopamine races through his brain on a six-lane Texas highway
His hands so calloused from his pistol, softly traces hearts on my face
And I could see it from a mile away
A perfect case for my certain skill setWhy It’s Great: Swift artfully illustrates the delusion that you can fix a guy in “I Can Fix Him (No, Really, I Can)." No, you can't, and that's okay. Fans are convinced the majority of The Tortured Poets Department is about Swift's short-lived relationship with Matty Healy - including this one. Swift airs her frustration at fans for trying to tell her who she can and can't date throughout the album, and this seems to be an extension of that message.
Ultimately, Swift knows this relationship will probably crash and burn. She sees the red flags. But it's so easy to get swept up in the mantra of, “Oh, well he's not like that with me.” While he's busy throwing venom elsewhere, he's treating her softly and drawing hearts on her face, so she looks past everything else with the idea that she's the only person who can change him. Spoiler alert: The relationship still ended. However, she's perfectly within her right to pursue whatever relationship she wants for better or for worse without commentary from people who think their parasocial relationship with Swift makes her their best friend.
Legendary lyrics?
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18Question…?
The Lyric:
I swear that it was something 'cause
I don’t remember who I was
Before you painted all my nights a color I have searched for ever sinceWhy It’s Great: It's a tale as old as time: Opposites attract. Swift's song “Question…?” chronicles a “good girl” and a “sad boy” making the wrong choices in a big bad city. They see the world differently, which manifests in the slightly hard-to-follow narrative of the song. The number almost feels like a drunk fever dream when someone wakes up and tries to piece together what exactly happened. That's certainly something you can do with a relationship when things aren't abundantly clear.
Swift's line illustrates how irrevocably this relationship changed her. His worldview, which she still can't fully make heads or tails of, has taken hold of her and she can't help trying (and failing) to seek that feeling out again. This Midnights track isn't everyone's cup of tea, but there's no arguing that the lyrics offer a lot to unpack.
Legendary lyrics?
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19Tied Together With a Smile
The Lyric:
I guess it’s true that love was all you wanted
'Cause you’re giving it away like it’s extra change
Hoping it will end up in his pocket
But he leaves you out like a penny in the rainWhy It’s Great: Swift's ability to write this level of depth as a teenager is truly astonishing. The singer told EW that “Tied Together With a Smile” was inspired by someone she personally knew. Swift explained that she wrote it for a friend who was a "beauty queen, pageant princess - a gorgeous, popular girl in high school. Every guy wanted to be with her, every girl wanted to be her. I wrote that song the day I found out she had an eating disorder.”
The hard-hitting lyric paints the picture of a young girl desperate to be loved who gives and gives and gives in the hopes that someone will love her for it - but she ends up wasting away instead. Given that Swift opened up about her own struggles with an eating disorder in the Miss Americana documentary, the song is that much more powerful.
Legendary lyrics?
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20False God
The Lyric:
I know heaven’s a thing
I go there when you touch me honey
Hell is when I fight with youWhy It’s Great: Swift's rhyming capabilities are one of her strong suits, but she sometimes deviates from her usual template - creating more experimental songs that fans adore. “False God” has a few rhymes here and there, but repeated words and phrases are more common in this number that she almost sings like a repeated prayer to match the contents of the lyrics.
Her “heaven/hell” line is fairly simple, but she sings it like an invocation. Touching him is heaven and fighting with him is hell - a sentiment wrapped up in a punchy almost spoken mantra.
Legendary lyrics?
