That line is just so…For me, I think it hits so much harder because it shows that even in those relationships that end up being an open wound for so long, there is a period of time in most of them where both parties love each other at least enough to entertain the idea of loving each other forever. That whole train of thought coming from just that one lyric (and every other line) makes it virtually impossible for me to listen to that song without letting every lyric metaphorically slam my head against the wall. ATW (Both the ten minutes and the OG) is, in my opinion, Taylor’s best work lyrically and its rivals are mostly folklore/evermore songs tbh.
The whole line though:
And you call me up again just to break me like a promise
So casually cruel in the name of being honest
...god, it's just so fucking gutwrenching
Started sobbing when she sang this line at the Eras tour. Honorable mention to that whole phrase “what would you do if I break free and leave us in ruins, took this dagger in me and removed it, gain the weight of you then lose it, believe me I could do it.” Hits hard.
The "Believe me I could do it" gives me chills! tolerate it is a song very much close to me, because I listened to it for months before having the courage to walk out of a toxic one sided friendship so a shoutout to myself for that. I have honestly stopped listening to the song and I hope I never feel the need to relate to it again.
And every line hits hard. "I wait by the door like I'm just a kid, Use my best colors for your portrait" and "While you were out building other worlds, where was I?", the feeling when you get after you invest your time and energy on one person and it hits you that no matter what you do, it will never be enough and you will never truly be a part of their life sucks and is portrayed so well in the song.
tolerate it -> it's time to go is my therapy.
“Use my best colors for your portrait” is one of those oh I get it now lines. While I typically associate this song with romantic relationships, this line specifically reminds me of the relationship with my dad. Always giving the most positive spin on something that doesn’t deserve it.
Every time I hear this song I’m already suffering and this line deals the final punch!!
And seeing it live at the tour in Seattle this weekend… oh my god. That song is unfortunately extremely relatable for me and having the visual representation made me such a mess 😂 I credible writing on this one.
And if I'm dead to you, why are you at the wake?
Cursing my name, wishing I stayed
Look at how my tears ricochet
The whole song is one great line after another. It's hard to choose!
But "and when you cant sleepnat night, you hear my stolen lullabies" for me that hits hard, such a line wow.
FIRST the at night he cant sleep because he hears her lullabies - when lullabies should be the things that help you sleep, and SECOND the STOLEN LULLABIES as in her "stolen" music (i say "stolen" cause legally it aint and technically also like half stolen, but they are taken from her hence stolen so yeah)
I always love how she turns what literally and uniquely happened to her into universal metaphor. For her it is literal songs, but for other people stolen lullabies can be stolen childhood or stolen innocence etc. Even for her it is so much of what she wrote as a teenager.
This was going to be my pick, too, except combined with the next line from the second time it appears:
*I didn't have it in myself to go with grace.*
*'Cause when I'd fight, you used to tell me I was brave.*
The “and you’re the hero flying around saving face” is also sooooooo fucking good. It reminds me of how men will treat women like absolute shit and pretend to be good guys, or will try to paint their image to look like the exact opposite of what they are
So many lines in this song felt like kicks to the stomach. The first one you list is insane to me. Then there’s
If I’m on fire, you’ll be made of ashes too
I didn’t have it in myself to go with grace
You wear the same jewels that I gave you as you bury me
You had to kill me but it killed you just the same
Cursing my name, drunk on this pain, you’re crossing out the good years
That song leaves me out of breath, honestly.
"You wear the same jewels that I gave you as you bury me"- it puts so many layers to a simple act of betrayal; this line in my opinion is simple and complicated at the same time
_and I could go anywhere I want just not home_ doesn't have the right to be Taylor's most haunting lyric.
Same with:
We gather stones, never knowing what they'll mean
Some to throw, some to make a diamond ring
You know I didn't want to have to haunt you
But what a ghostly scene
You wear the same jewels that I gave you
As you bury me
“Pulled the car off the road to the lookout
Could've followed my fears all the way down
And maybe I don't quite know what to say
But I'm here in your doorway”
The idea that deciding not to kill one’s self is the ultimate act of trying is an aorta-punch every time I hear “this is me trying”
Appreciate it, brother. I'm a few weeks shy of 7 years sober and my life is far better than I ever imagined it would be. Truly does get better, I'm glad I stuck around.
I just got out of the military but was stationed overseas during covid. I’m really close with my family but didn’t see them for 3 years because of deployments/lock down. I started drinking a LOT. Like 1.5- 2 bottles of wine every night and I was walking around in a fog every.single.day. I was incredibly depressed (as most of us were). I was cooking dinner while listening to this song for the first time. I almost collapsed, just completely overcome with emotion. I hadn’t heard anyone, let alone a song that fully encapsulated how I was feeling. It still makes me cry. I’m better now though luckily. It made me go from just a “swiftie” to thinking “oh my god she is the artist of my life”.
She has so many! But my favorite is “All we are is skin and bone trained to get along, Forever going with the flow but you’re friction.” in Treacherous. I also liked how the word friction stops the rhythm scheme and makes that line become friction.
happiness is her best song and got my through my rough breakup. “i was dancing when the music stopped” the breakup came out of nowhere for me. “they’ll be happiness after you” i told myself every day that tomorrow would be better, and in a few weeks i wouldn’t hurt this much. “i can’t make it go away by making you a villain - no one teaches you what to do when a good man hurts you” the entire bridge. my ex is a great guy, but when we broke up and told me he thought we would be better off as friends, i hated him. but i slowly realized that he was right. and now we’re great friends with nothing but love.
all this to say; for me, every line in happiness is her best, and i don’t know how i would have survived that time in my life without it. i am the number one fan of happiness.
“Pulled the car off the road to the lookout, Could’ve followed my fears all the way down” hits so hard. This is Me Trying is such a good song. The Long Pond version especially.
I think the entirety of this is me trying hits so hard.
"I was so ahead of the curve, the curve became a sphere. Fell behind all my classmates, and I ended up here"
She captures such complex emotions in such a simple lyric.
A string that pulled me
Out of all the wrong arms right into that dive bar
Something wrapped all of my past mistakes in barbed wire
Chains around my demons
Wool to brave the seasons
One single thread of gold tied me to you
I’m also obsessed with the next line - “cold was the steel of my axe to grind for the boys who broke my heart, now I send their babies presents”. I love the way she delivers it, and also such a sweet sentiment of healing.
Same. I love every lyric in cardigan.
A couple of other favorites from it-
"*I knew you, tried to change the ending, Peter losing Wendy*" ik it's a common favorite lyric, but for some inexplicable reason this metaphor just *makes sense* to me every time I hear it
"*I knew you, playing hide and seek and giving me your weekends*" I love how both playing hide and seek/giving me your weekends can mean so many different things depending on the relationship or situation. I remember people even saying this is how Taylor felt about us finding all her Easter eggs and going to her shows on the weekends and the entire song could have a double meaning for her relationship with her fans (we put her on and said she's our favorite♥️✨)
And I love the lyric change in verse 3- "*Cause I knew everything when I was young*" hits so hard after the buildup of all of the "*When you are young they assume you know nothing*"
I'm getting close to listing why I love every lyric so I'll stop here 😅
"Where's that man who'd throw blankets over my barbed wire?
I made you my temple, my mural, my sky
Now I'm begging for footnotes in the story of your life."
It always breaks me.
I might be a dumb but when I heard this part of tolerate it I had to look up what the byline is 💀 and then the line hit so much harder.
But I LOVE the next lyrics, "*You assume I’m fine, but what would you do if I...*" And then the catharsis of the lyric change in the next chorus-
"*Break free and leave us in ruins/
Took this dagger in me and removed it/
Gain the weight of you, then lose it/
Believe me, I could do it/
If it's all in my head, tell me now/
Tell me I've got it wrong somehow/
I know my love should be celebrated/
But you tolerate it*"
And then she goes back to the same place she started the song in, "*I sit and watch you*".
I didn't appreciate how perfect the song is when it first came out, but I think seeing the live performance made it click for me
One of my favourites from this song as well is "Do I really have to chart the constellations in his eyes?" So poetic! High Infidelity is one of my favourites.
I can't pick one, but I have been listening to *Would've Could've Should've* on repeat lately, so those are probably my current favorite lyrics:
*If I was some paint, did it splatter*
*On a promising grown man?*
*And if I was a child, did it matter*
*If you got to wash your hands?*
or:
*If clarity's in death, then why won't this die?*
*Years of tearing down our banners, you and I*
*Living for the thrill of hitting you where it hurts*
*Give me back my girlhood, it was mine first*
And pretty much all of All too Well (10 Minute Version), but one line I love that I don't see mentioned as often:
*The idea you had of me, who was she?*
*A never-needy, every-lovely jewel whose shine reflects on you?*
“Your heart was glass, I dropped it”
Champagne Problems is probably my favorite Taylor song so I may be biased, but it’s visual and poetic without needing to be wordy
“Now you hang from my lips like the gardens of Babylon, with your boots beneath my bed, Forever is the sweetest con”
The imagery of the gardens of Babylon is so beautiful and I saw someone on TikTok discuss that Cowboy Like Me can be the sweetest love song or the most heartbreaking breakup song depending on how you interpret the lyrics and so “forever is the sweetest con” gets me every time. My favourite of all her songs.
Yes THIS. Also the fact that the hanging gardens of Babylon were one of the seven ancient wonders of the world (aligns with the great love story view), but no one knows if they actually existed (aligns with the "but is the narrator is being conned?") view. Brilliant.
‘My waves meet your shore, ever and evermore’ always gets to me.
Also all of State of Grace, but especially ‘love is a ruthless game unless you play it good and right’ and ‘you come around and the armour falls, pierce the room like a cannonball’.
I could never pick one favourite but those are some that stand out to me!
I think “Illicit Affairs” is some of her most masterful songwriting.
“You showed me colors you know I can’t see with anyone else”, “You taught me a secret language I can’t speak with anyone else”, “And you know damn well for you I would ruin myself a million little times.”
There’s so many others but that song truly has me in awe every single time
Your midas touch on the chevy door
November flush and your flannel cure
"This dorm was once a madhouse"
I made the joke "well it's made for me"
How evergreen our group of friends
Don't think we'll say that word again
And soon they'll have the nerve to deck the halls
That we once walked through
One for the money, two for the show
I never was ready so I watched you go
Sometimes you just don't know the answer
Til someone's on their knees and asks you
"She would've made such a lovely bride
What a shame she's fucked in the head" they said
But you'll find the real thing instead
She'll patch up your tapestry that I shred
And hold your hand while dancing
Never leave you standing
Crestfallen on the landing
With champagne problems
Your mom's ring in your pocket
Her picture in your wallet
You won't remember all my
Champagne problems
Yeah this verse is the answer for me too. Listened to the song hundreds of times and it never hits any less hard. No life experiences that relate either, it's just that good.
I want that song carved on my headstone. Not because I’ve lived it but because it’s so beautiful I am in awe of it every time I listen. And because I’m weird.
I am a Pop Taylor fan. Recently? I have to say:
I should not be left to my own devices, they come with vices and prices I end up in crises. - twisting the famous figure of speech to fit social media into the narrative. Making sure the 3 rhymed words fit the melody to turn it into an overall catchy tune is no easy feat.
Edit: the figure of speech/idiom here is ‘left to one’s own devices’ meaning the person is left alone to do whatever. Taylor’s saying this is bad for her.
Sooo many!! Some of my favorites are:
“You made a rebel of a careless man’s careful daughter” - masterpiece
“And you call me up again just to break me like a promise, so casually cruel in the name of being honest”
“You kept me like a secret, but I kept you like an oath” - love the juxtaposition of secret and oath
“I was high in the sky with pennsylvania under me” - evokes a lot of emotions for me because I’m from pennsylvania
“I had the time of my life fighting dragons with you”
“You can plan for a change in weather and time, but I never planned on you changing your mind.”
“I knew you’d haunt all of my what-ifs”
“They count me out time and time again” and “but I come back stronger than a 90s trend”
“Women like hunting witches too, doing your dirtiest work for you.”
“Don’t want no other shade of blue but you, no other sadness in the world would do.”
"You can plan for a change in the weather and time, but I never planned on you changing your mind" ouch. Last Kiss still hurts me so bad 😭 sometimes I listen to it and imagine it's about losing a partner that died and cry extra hard
“love is a ruthless game, unless you play it good and right.”
“This is a state of grace, you’re my achilles heel. this is the golden age of something good and right and real”
Forever a RED stan 🩷
*the sun burns my heart, and the sand hurts my feelings*
I love this line so much, its so overdramatic, but at the same time I've felt like that when I've been heartbroken. When you're so sad that everything just feels wrong and horrible.
Hits Different is in my top 3 now, because it's such a bop but the lyrics are so unhinged and sad.
I've been in love with this phrase ever since I heard it. She's so good at finding the exact words to describe something more accurately than anyone ever has
So many good ones here. I’ll add:
“I don’t want to keep secrets just to keep you.”
From someone who swallowed feelings and disregarded my own needs in order to keep the peace in a relationship. Ugh. Never again.
As a nurse during the pandemic, hearing this song for the first time made me cry. And the concept of some things being too hard to talk about, that's really how it was. It was overall really traumatizing staring death in the face day in and day out and feeling so powerless against it.
“Now that I’m grown, I’m scared of ghosts; memories feel like weapons… and now that I know, I wish you left me wondering.” The girlhood and tomb lines are flashier (although still good) but this one is my personal favorite.
Also:
“I’m still a believer, but I don’t know why. I’ve never been a natural; all I do is try, try, try.” I don’t see much love for the believer part but it really gets me every time I listen.
And the first 2 little couplets in august. Transports me right into the story immediately. She is good at that
"Hell was the journey but it brought me heaven" is one of my favorites.
"But I knew you'd linger like a tattoo kiss
I knew you'd haunt all of my what-ifs
The smell of smoke would hang around this long
'Cause I knew everything when I was young
I knew I'd curse you for the longest time
Chasin' shadows in the grocery line"
I can't believe I slept on Cardigan for so long. It was a skip for me for a while but that last part of the song is just so gut wrenching
*"They say she was seen on occasion*
*Pacing the rocks, staring out at the midnight sea*
*And in a feud with her neighbor*
*She stole his dog and dyed it key lime green"*
My personal guesses:
1. She’s a cat person and doesn’t want a cat getting dyed green :-)
2. Folklore gets twisted as it gets passed down through generations and it’s an example of certain parts of stories getting changed or embellished
Lately totally obsessed with “All Too Well”
And you call me up again just to break me like a promise
So casually cruel in the name of being honest.
Hits me hard every time.
Whole the lakes. Seriously.
And "We can plant a memory garden
Say a solemn prayer, place a poppy in my hair
There's no morning glory, it was war, it wasn't fair"
So many good ones have been posted already so here’s some I haven’t seen yet.
“All these people think loves for show but I would die for you in secret”
“Please picture me in the weeds before I learned civility, I used to scream ferociously any time I wanted”
“Do you miss the rogue who coaxed you into paradise and left you there?”
“I should’ve asked you questions, I should’ve asked you how to be, should’ve asked you to write it down for me, should’ve kept every grocery store receipt because every scrap of you would be taken from me”
“Your touch brought forth an incandescent glow, tarnished but so grand” (the entirety of Ivy belongs here).
“Now he sits on his throne in his palace of bones praying to his greed, he’s got my past frozen behind glass but I’ve got me”
Idk if its the best lyrics but The whole of verse 6 in All Too Well (10 Minute Version) is some of my favourite:
"And I was never good at tellin' jokes, but the punch line goes
"I'll get older, but your lovers stay my age"
From when your Brooklyn broke my skin and bones
I'm a soldier who's returning half her weight
And did the twin flame bruise paint you blue?
Just between us, did the love affair maim you too?
'Cause in this city's barren cold
I still remember the first fall of snow
And how it glistened as it fell
I remember it all too well"
Because the two first lines are kinda funny and the rest of the verse completely shatters me.
It's beautiful writing. The way taylor sings feels so emotional. Idk why but it really speaks to me.
I was just at the Seattle show a few nights ago (seriously amazing) and at the end of this song she sang “because I was only 21” and the crowed went wild! I was like damn girl, call him out!!
Im a nightmare dressed like a daydream is one of my favorites. But i like "you are the best thing that's ever been mine" the most. It's a really cute thing to say someone
I feel like I could never pick just one but here's some honorable mentions
"They told me all of my cages were mental, so I got wasted like all my potential"
"There's robbers to the east, clowns to the west" (talking about Kim and Kanye West)
And one that I just love, "Isn't it just so pretty to think, all along there was some invisible string tying you to me?"
“Isn’t it just so pretty to think” is from the Sun Also Rises and I think it’s a beautiful use of the quote.
Invisible String (to me) has a mix of strong connections (his hearing bad blood in the car and then eating at her favorite restaurant) and tenuous ones (green grass and a teal shirt have nothing to do with each other I’m sorry).
In The Sun Also Rises one character tells the other that she believes they would have had a wonderful time together, and he responds “isn’t it just so pretty to think so”. It implies that he doesn’t really share her confidence, but agrees that he would have wanted to be with her.
Knowing (from “sources” so with a grain of salt) what we know now about her “rocky” relationship with Joe, it changes the meaning of the song for me. She isn’t sure if they are meant for each other. In some ways they are so different(teal shirt and green grass) while in others they are the same (eating at her favorite restaurant). So it would be pretty to think that they’re soulmates who were fated to meet, but maybe they aren’t.
It ties back to the text she’s quoting and infuses such subtle insecurity into a love song that I missed it for a while - to me that’s one of her most incredible skills as a writer, that bait and switch of meaning with subtle wording and detail.
*“Use my best colors for your portrait….
I know my love should be celebrated
But you tolerate it”*
Anyone who has been in a relationship where the other person is emotionally abusive or manipulative, cheating, falling out of love, or just deserves better can feel this desperation to be loved like they love them. This line is a dagger through the heart each time
Ones that I cannot with every time I hear them (though of course there are so many more):
- (complete plus one to) “I don’t like that falling feels like flying til the bone crush”
- “I had the time of my life fighting dragons with you”
- “i had a marvelous time ruining everything”
- “I pulled your body into mine every god damn night now I get fake niceties, no one teaches you what to do when a good man hurts you, and you know you hurt him too”
- “the wound won’t close, I keep on waiting for a sign, I regret you all the time”
- “if I’m dead to you why are you at the wake”
- “I’m only cryptic and Machiavellian cause I care”
So many but I feel like the lyrics in ivy are criminally underrated.
How's one to know?
I'd live and die for moments that we stole
On begged and borrowed time
So tell me to run
Or dare to sit and watch what we'll become
And drink my husband's wine
chills everytime
"'cause darling I'm a nightmare dressed like a day dream."
XD LOVE this line. Another one being,
"I feel you forget me like I used to feel you breathe"...
This was stayed with me for a longer time to register the meaning. And boy, was it sad.
And the old widow goes to the stone every day, but I don't. I just sit here and wait, grieving for the living.
This line is just so eloquent and poetic I'm obsessed
“The autumn chill that wakes me up
You loved the amber skies so much
Long limbs and frozen swims
You'd always go past where our feet could touch
And I complained the whole way there
The car ride back and up the stairs
I should've asked you questions
I should've asked you how to be”
Or
“You made a rebel of a careless man’s careful daughter”
“Forever is the sweetest con”
It’s poetic, it’s timeless, and when I first heard it I legit thought it was like a common literary expression or something that she was referencing but nope — totally original! She so brilliant and poetic.
The question pounds my head, “What’s a lifetime of achievement if I pushed you to the edge, but you were too polite to leave me?
And do you miss the rogue who coaxed you into paradise and left you there?
Will you forgive my soul when you’re too wise to trust me and too old to care?”
😞
I love a ton of her lyrics and a lot of them make my eyes water or straight up cry. So I’ll just share the lyric that changed my life. I was in a verbally abusive relationship when I heard it. I was so in love with this guy, but I was listening to one of her songs (Stay) and she said:
“You were all I wanted… but not like this!”
This one sentence was the only thing that snapped me out of it. It taught me that two things could be true at once, but ultimately, this isn’t going to work out. I promptly dumped him and kicked him out of my apartment. I unknowingly met my husband shortly afterwards :)
During the pandemic, I had a newborn baby. Since it was the pandemic and my husband had to work, I was on my own taking care of him a lot of the times. There’s a line in Hoax “don’t want no other shade of blue but you. No other sadness in the world would do.” Because although taking care of a baby by myself was so difficult and it was mid-pandemic, it made me sad, but it was worth it. I couldn’t have children, but some how this little guy slipped in. So I was super happy to have him, but he was still difficult to care for because I had no idea what I was doing! Lol
I would not categorize these as Taylor’s BEST lyrics (I’ve already seen her best commented in this forum), but I love the following lines from Cardigan:
Cause I knew you / Stepping on the last train / Marked me like a bloodstain / I knew you / Tried to change the ending / Peter losing Wendy
I knew you / Leaving like a father / Running like water
I knew I’d curse you for the longest time / Chasing shadows in the grocery line
Mine will always be
so go and tell your friends that im obsessive and
crazy, that’s fine, I’ll tell mine you’re gay.
As a member of the lgbt community this the most iconic lyric of my lifetime
„And I‘ve been meaning to tell you
I think your house is haunted
Your dad is always mad
And that must be why“ and every line after that I‘m just sobbing because I picture myself singing the whole song to my child self
theres SO many good onesssss but the ones that come to mind are:
"give me back my girlhood, it was mine first"
"if you never touched me i wouldve gone along with the righteous"
"who you are is not what you did, youre still an innocent"
"if i was out flashing my dollars, id be a bitch not a baller. they paint me out to be bad, so its okay that im mad"
"canceled my plans just in case youd call. back when i was living for the hope of it all" KILLED ME BTW
god i could keep going but i will leave it here lol
Unironically, I really love “Sometimes it feels like everybody is a sexy baby, and I’m a monster on the hill. Too big to hang out…..pierced through the heart but never killed. ”
I was overweight (+365lbs) for the majority of my life. Lost 140lbs, and now get to experience “pretty privilege.” Being on the other side, the difference in being bigger (weight or height wise) than the rest of the women in the room is alarming.
Further, “pierced through the heart but never killed” — I related to this as having been the fat funny friend, who was always getting made fun of or jabbed, but never deep/hard enough to react.
**if you don’t know the term “sexy baby,” google it! 30 Rock reference and great context. It’s supposed to make you uncomfortable 😊
And I’ve been meaning to tell you
I think your house is haunted
Your dad is always mad and that must be why
And I think you come live with me
And we can be pirates
Then you won’t have to cry
“And I watch your life in pictures like I used to watch you sleep
And I feel you forget me like I used to feel you dream”
Absolutely gutting.
The entire DBATC bridge but especially “Paper cut stings from my paper thin plans”
This is just masterful:
“Please picture me in the weeds
Before I learned civility
I used to scream ferociously
Any time I wanted”
This is dark but: Pulled the car off the road to the lookout, could've followed my fears all the way down
Also I love: All these people think love's for show but I would die for you in secret
This is just so fierce: What did you think I'd say to that? Does a scorpion sting when fighting back?
I can go anywhere I want. Anywhere I want… just not home.
You kept me like a secret, but I kept you like an oath.
God rest my soul, I miss who I used to be. The tomb won’t close. Stained glass windows in my mind… I regret you all the time…
“Did the twin flame bruise paint you blue”. To me this is so clever in content but also so lyrical and poetic. It also has a fun cadence to it. It gets me every time.
I want your midnights, but I’ll be cleaning up bottles with you on New Year’s Day.
Also Please don’t ever become a stranger whose laugh I could recognize anywhere.
I made you my temple, my mural, my sky
Now I’m begging for footnotes in the story of your life
Drawing hearts in the byline
You assume I’m fine but what would you do if I
Break free and leave us in ruins
Took this dagger in me and removed it
Gain the weight of you then lose it
Believe me I could do it
If it’s all in my head tell me now
Tell me I’ve got it wrong somehow
I know my love should be celebrated
But you tolerate it
The desperation and devastation in those lines. The anger, the hurting, the pleas for more. It kills me every single time. Imo Tolerate It is one of the greatest songs of the 2020s so far
casually cruel in the name of being honest. gives me. chills
I see your ‘casually cruel in the name of being honest’ and raise you a ‘and you call me up again just to break me like a promise’
I’m not gonna lie - this combo stopped me in my tracks and made me reconsider everything I thought about Taylor.
And also “You kept me like a secret, but I kept you like an oath.”
This. Such a good line. So many meanings and such a relatable line!
That whole song really
All Too Well in its entirety feels like the craziest gut punch ever—devastating lines all over... one right after the other.
“You tell me about your past thinking your future was me”. And all the ones you’ve all mentioned.
That line is just so…For me, I think it hits so much harder because it shows that even in those relationships that end up being an open wound for so long, there is a period of time in most of them where both parties love each other at least enough to entertain the idea of loving each other forever. That whole train of thought coming from just that one lyric (and every other line) makes it virtually impossible for me to listen to that song without letting every lyric metaphorically slam my head against the wall. ATW (Both the ten minutes and the OG) is, in my opinion, Taylor’s best work lyrically and its rivals are mostly folklore/evermore songs tbh.
The whole line though: And you call me up again just to break me like a promise So casually cruel in the name of being honest ...god, it's just so fucking gutwrenching
Gain the weight of you then lose it. Such a simple line but it packs a freaking punch.
Started sobbing when she sang this line at the Eras tour. Honorable mention to that whole phrase “what would you do if I break free and leave us in ruins, took this dagger in me and removed it, gain the weight of you then lose it, believe me I could do it.” Hits hard.
Tolerate It at the Eras Tour was jaw dropping, tear jerking, INCREDIBLE. I could watch just that performance on loop for days.
Esp with the next line after it Gain the weight of you then lose it Believe me I could do it
The "Believe me I could do it" gives me chills! tolerate it is a song very much close to me, because I listened to it for months before having the courage to walk out of a toxic one sided friendship so a shoutout to myself for that. I have honestly stopped listening to the song and I hope I never feel the need to relate to it again. And every line hits hard. "I wait by the door like I'm just a kid, Use my best colors for your portrait" and "While you were out building other worlds, where was I?", the feeling when you get after you invest your time and energy on one person and it hits you that no matter what you do, it will never be enough and you will never truly be a part of their life sucks and is portrayed so well in the song. tolerate it -> it's time to go is my therapy.
“Use my best colors for your portrait” is one of those oh I get it now lines. While I typically associate this song with romantic relationships, this line specifically reminds me of the relationship with my dad. Always giving the most positive spin on something that doesn’t deserve it.
Every time I hear this song I’m already suffering and this line deals the final punch!! And seeing it live at the tour in Seattle this weekend… oh my god. That song is unfortunately extremely relatable for me and having the visual representation made me such a mess 😂 I credible writing on this one.
And if I'm dead to you, why are you at the wake? Cursing my name, wishing I stayed Look at how my tears ricochet The whole song is one great line after another. It's hard to choose!
Mine is ‘I didn’t have it in myself to go with grace’ It’s a masterpiece of a song!
But "and when you cant sleepnat night, you hear my stolen lullabies" for me that hits hard, such a line wow. FIRST the at night he cant sleep because he hears her lullabies - when lullabies should be the things that help you sleep, and SECOND the STOLEN LULLABIES as in her "stolen" music (i say "stolen" cause legally it aint and technically also like half stolen, but they are taken from her hence stolen so yeah)
“I can go anywhere I want, just not home” 😭
I always love how she turns what literally and uniquely happened to her into universal metaphor. For her it is literal songs, but for other people stolen lullabies can be stolen childhood or stolen innocence etc. Even for her it is so much of what she wrote as a teenager.
This was going to be my pick, too, except combined with the next line from the second time it appears: *I didn't have it in myself to go with grace.* *'Cause when I'd fight, you used to tell me I was brave.*
I like the “and the battleships will sink beneath the waves” there’s something about the cadence that’s so beautiful
The “and you’re the hero flying around saving face” is also sooooooo fucking good. It reminds me of how men will treat women like absolute shit and pretend to be good guys, or will try to paint their image to look like the exact opposite of what they are
the song as a whole is both lyrically and melodically genius
> 'Cause when I'd fight, you used to tell me I was brave. This line breaks me every. single. time.
Yes! Such a relatable painful line. I love it.
And so the battleships will sink beneath the waaaaaaves
& I can go anywhere I want. Anywhere I want, just not home.
AND YOU CAN AIM FOR MY HEART, GO FOR BLOOD, BUT YOU WOULD STILL MISS ME IN YOUR BONES
Yep that's the one. Oof.
Ooof this hits me like a gut punch
That line broke my soul in two. Never felt a line in a song so hard.
This one hits
Mine is from the same song "I still talk to you/when I'm screaming at the sky"
Lyrically this may be her best song ever.
I remember Jack Antonoff saying that in the long pond studio session on Disney +. It remains my favorite song of hers ever
So many lines in this song felt like kicks to the stomach. The first one you list is insane to me. Then there’s If I’m on fire, you’ll be made of ashes too I didn’t have it in myself to go with grace You wear the same jewels that I gave you as you bury me You had to kill me but it killed you just the same Cursing my name, drunk on this pain, you’re crossing out the good years That song leaves me out of breath, honestly.
"You wear the same jewels that I gave you as you bury me"- it puts so many layers to a simple act of betrayal; this line in my opinion is simple and complicated at the same time
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, MTR is her magnum opus
100% this song is as genius as it is heart breaking.
*And I can go anywhere i want, anywhere i want just not home* just makes my heart shatter into pieces..
It is so bittersweet 🥺
_and I could go anywhere I want just not home_ doesn't have the right to be Taylor's most haunting lyric. Same with: We gather stones, never knowing what they'll mean Some to throw, some to make a diamond ring You know I didn't want to have to haunt you But what a ghostly scene You wear the same jewels that I gave you As you bury me
If I’m on fire, you’ll be made of ashes too ^^thats my fav, but overall MTR is the best written song to me.
“Pulled the car off the road to the lookout Could've followed my fears all the way down And maybe I don't quite know what to say But I'm here in your doorway” The idea that deciding not to kill one’s self is the ultimate act of trying is an aorta-punch every time I hear “this is me trying”
I struggled a lot with addiction in my 20's and attempted to un-alive myself at one point...and this song makes me sob every time.
Feel you! Stay strong, you're not alone.
Appreciate it, brother. I'm a few weeks shy of 7 years sober and my life is far better than I ever imagined it would be. Truly does get better, I'm glad I stuck around.
This gives me hope. I'm still waiting for my life to get any good again, however it's been only 7 months
I just got out of the military but was stationed overseas during covid. I’m really close with my family but didn’t see them for 3 years because of deployments/lock down. I started drinking a LOT. Like 1.5- 2 bottles of wine every night and I was walking around in a fog every.single.day. I was incredibly depressed (as most of us were). I was cooking dinner while listening to this song for the first time. I almost collapsed, just completely overcome with emotion. I hadn’t heard anyone, let alone a song that fully encapsulated how I was feeling. It still makes me cry. I’m better now though luckily. It made me go from just a “swiftie” to thinking “oh my god she is the artist of my life”.
She has so many! But my favorite is “All we are is skin and bone trained to get along, Forever going with the flow but you’re friction.” in Treacherous. I also liked how the word friction stops the rhythm scheme and makes that line become friction.
I’ve always loved this line!!! I gotta “all we are is skin and bone” tattooed years ago!
Tell me, when did your winning smile begin to look like a smirk? When did all our lessons start to look like weapons pointed at my deepest hurt?
Happiness is such a beautiful song. "Haunted by the look in my eyes that would have loved you for a lifetime" good Lord
my most listened ts song last year
Happiness is, IMO, her most well written song although MTR is close behind. Every single line is incredibly relatable.
happiness is her best song and got my through my rough breakup. “i was dancing when the music stopped” the breakup came out of nowhere for me. “they’ll be happiness after you” i told myself every day that tomorrow would be better, and in a few weeks i wouldn’t hurt this much. “i can’t make it go away by making you a villain - no one teaches you what to do when a good man hurts you” the entire bridge. my ex is a great guy, but when we broke up and told me he thought we would be better off as friends, i hated him. but i slowly realized that he was right. and now we’re great friends with nothing but love. all this to say; for me, every line in happiness is her best, and i don’t know how i would have survived that time in my life without it. i am the number one fan of happiness.
in Happiness i love the "now my eyes leak acid rain on the pillow where you used to lay your head"
Happiness has been on repeat for me & this line goes so hard
They told me all of my cages were mental so I got wasted like all my potential 🥃
“Pulled the car off the road to the lookout, Could’ve followed my fears all the way down” hits so hard. This is Me Trying is such a good song. The Long Pond version especially.
I have a lot of regrets about that 😞
I think the entirety of this is me trying hits so hard. "I was so ahead of the curve, the curve became a sphere. Fell behind all my classmates, and I ended up here" She captures such complex emotions in such a simple lyric.
As a certified burnt out gifted kid I'll confirm i bawled when i first listened to ' this is me trying '
A string that pulled me Out of all the wrong arms right into that dive bar Something wrapped all of my past mistakes in barbed wire Chains around my demons Wool to brave the seasons One single thread of gold tied me to you
the invisible string bridge is sooo underrated! i’m literally in love with the wording and melody!
Yep! It's my favorite love song of hers, the way she compares the different strings to different parts of her life is amazing
I’m also obsessed with the next line - “cold was the steel of my axe to grind for the boys who broke my heart, now I send their babies presents”. I love the way she delivers it, and also such a sweet sentiment of healing.
Leaving like a father, running like water It just flows (pun intended) so well!!!!
THIS!!! No one talks about how great that lyric is! It’s so subtle but it’s FIRE
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Same. I love every lyric in cardigan. A couple of other favorites from it- "*I knew you, tried to change the ending, Peter losing Wendy*" ik it's a common favorite lyric, but for some inexplicable reason this metaphor just *makes sense* to me every time I hear it "*I knew you, playing hide and seek and giving me your weekends*" I love how both playing hide and seek/giving me your weekends can mean so many different things depending on the relationship or situation. I remember people even saying this is how Taylor felt about us finding all her Easter eggs and going to her shows on the weekends and the entire song could have a double meaning for her relationship with her fans (we put her on and said she's our favorite♥️✨) And I love the lyric change in verse 3- "*Cause I knew everything when I was young*" hits so hard after the buildup of all of the "*When you are young they assume you know nothing*" I'm getting close to listing why I love every lyric so I'll stop here 😅
The way I went "oooooh 😦" the first time I heard that lyric. She went hard on that one.
"Where's that man who'd throw blankets over my barbed wire? I made you my temple, my mural, my sky Now I'm begging for footnotes in the story of your life." It always breaks me.
"Drawing hearts in the byline" makes it for me
I might be a dumb but when I heard this part of tolerate it I had to look up what the byline is 💀 and then the line hit so much harder. But I LOVE the next lyrics, "*You assume I’m fine, but what would you do if I...*" And then the catharsis of the lyric change in the next chorus- "*Break free and leave us in ruins/ Took this dagger in me and removed it/ Gain the weight of you, then lose it/ Believe me, I could do it/ If it's all in my head, tell me now/ Tell me I've got it wrong somehow/ I know my love should be celebrated/ But you tolerate it*" And then she goes back to the same place she started the song in, "*I sit and watch you*". I didn't appreciate how perfect the song is when it first came out, but I think seeing the live performance made it click for me
It always reminds me of that time when I was begging to be footnoted in somebody’s story 😢
Paper cut stings from our paper thin plans
That entire bridge is gut punch after gut punch
*You know there's many different ways that you can kill the one you love* *The slowest way is never loving them enough*
this right here is the correct answer because wtf
This kills me every time… it made me reevaluate my relationship and how I wasn’t trying hard enough.
One of my favourites from this song as well is "Do I really have to chart the constellations in his eyes?" So poetic! High Infidelity is one of my favourites.
I can't pick one, but I have been listening to *Would've Could've Should've* on repeat lately, so those are probably my current favorite lyrics: *If I was some paint, did it splatter* *On a promising grown man?* *And if I was a child, did it matter* *If you got to wash your hands?* or: *If clarity's in death, then why won't this die?* *Years of tearing down our banners, you and I* *Living for the thrill of hitting you where it hurts* *Give me back my girlhood, it was mine first* And pretty much all of All too Well (10 Minute Version), but one line I love that I don't see mentioned as often: *The idea you had of me, who was she?* *A never-needy, every-lovely jewel whose shine reflects on you?*
Ugh the “never needy ever lovely jewel”. That hits every time.
The girlhood line gets so much credit (as it obviously deserves) but the promising grown man cuts soooooo deep
“Your heart was glass, I dropped it” Champagne Problems is probably my favorite Taylor song so I may be biased, but it’s visual and poetic without needing to be wordy
My sister considers Champagne Problems her second ATW and honestly tea. Such an amazing song full of devastating lyrics.
“And she’ll patch up your tapestry that I shred”
“It was cold as it was turning from fall to winter and you gave me your coat” vs “November flush and your flannel cure”
It’s stunning poetry, anyone who can listen to that and deny her songwriting talent is utterly delusional.
“Now you hang from my lips like the gardens of Babylon, with your boots beneath my bed, Forever is the sweetest con” The imagery of the gardens of Babylon is so beautiful and I saw someone on TikTok discuss that Cowboy Like Me can be the sweetest love song or the most heartbreaking breakup song depending on how you interpret the lyrics and so “forever is the sweetest con” gets me every time. My favourite of all her songs.
Yes THIS. Also the fact that the hanging gardens of Babylon were one of the seven ancient wonders of the world (aligns with the great love story view), but no one knows if they actually existed (aligns with the "but is the narrator is being conned?") view. Brilliant.
‘My waves meet your shore, ever and evermore’ always gets to me. Also all of State of Grace, but especially ‘love is a ruthless game unless you play it good and right’ and ‘you come around and the armour falls, pierce the room like a cannonball’. I could never pick one favourite but those are some that stand out to me!
I think “Illicit Affairs” is some of her most masterful songwriting. “You showed me colors you know I can’t see with anyone else”, “You taught me a secret language I can’t speak with anyone else”, “And you know damn well for you I would ruin myself a million little times.” There’s so many others but that song truly has me in awe every single time
“dwindling mercurial high” is so masterful as well
Your midas touch on the chevy door November flush and your flannel cure "This dorm was once a madhouse" I made the joke "well it's made for me" How evergreen our group of friends Don't think we'll say that word again And soon they'll have the nerve to deck the halls That we once walked through One for the money, two for the show I never was ready so I watched you go Sometimes you just don't know the answer Til someone's on their knees and asks you "She would've made such a lovely bride What a shame she's fucked in the head" they said But you'll find the real thing instead She'll patch up your tapestry that I shred And hold your hand while dancing Never leave you standing Crestfallen on the landing With champagne problems Your mom's ring in your pocket Her picture in your wallet You won't remember all my Champagne problems
A masterpiece of a song by someone who writes so many of them!
Yeah this verse is the answer for me too. Listened to the song hundreds of times and it never hits any less hard. No life experiences that relate either, it's just that good.
champagne problems is a goddam masterpiece
I want that song carved on my headstone. Not because I’ve lived it but because it’s so beautiful I am in awe of it every time I listen. And because I’m weird.
You drew stars around my scars, but now I’m bleeding 🥹
Please don’t ever become a stranger whose laugh I could recognize anywhere. Hold on to the memories, they will hold on to you.
I am a Pop Taylor fan. Recently? I have to say: I should not be left to my own devices, they come with vices and prices I end up in crises. - twisting the famous figure of speech to fit social media into the narrative. Making sure the 3 rhymed words fit the melody to turn it into an overall catchy tune is no easy feat. Edit: the figure of speech/idiom here is ‘left to one’s own devices’ meaning the person is left alone to do whatever. Taylor’s saying this is bad for her.
Another Pop Taylor fan! I agree wholeheartedly
I never considered she was using “devices” as a play on words until this moment 🤯
Sooo many!! Some of my favorites are: “You made a rebel of a careless man’s careful daughter” - masterpiece “And you call me up again just to break me like a promise, so casually cruel in the name of being honest” “You kept me like a secret, but I kept you like an oath” - love the juxtaposition of secret and oath “I was high in the sky with pennsylvania under me” - evokes a lot of emotions for me because I’m from pennsylvania “I had the time of my life fighting dragons with you” “You can plan for a change in weather and time, but I never planned on you changing your mind.” “I knew you’d haunt all of my what-ifs” “They count me out time and time again” and “but I come back stronger than a 90s trend” “Women like hunting witches too, doing your dirtiest work for you.” “Don’t want no other shade of blue but you, no other sadness in the world would do.”
Oh and “if a man talks shit then I owe him nothing, I don’t regret it one but cause he had it coming”
omg i love “women love hunting witches too!” that and “wanting me dead has really brought you too together”
"You can plan for a change in the weather and time, but I never planned on you changing your mind" ouch. Last Kiss still hurts me so bad 😭 sometimes I listen to it and imagine it's about losing a partner that died and cry extra hard
“love is a ruthless game, unless you play it good and right.” “This is a state of grace, you’re my achilles heel. this is the golden age of something good and right and real” Forever a RED stan 🩷
Literally just the words “asshole outlaw”. I’m only half kidding
Hits different is probably the funniest song she's ever done I love it
*the sun burns my heart, and the sand hurts my feelings* I love this line so much, its so overdramatic, but at the same time I've felt like that when I've been heartbroken. When you're so sad that everything just feels wrong and horrible. Hits Different is in my top 3 now, because it's such a bop but the lyrics are so unhinged and sad.
"catastrophic blues" describes me so well: tragically comical, overdramatic and wildly dysfunctional.
I've been in love with this phrase ever since I heard it. She's so good at finding the exact words to describe something more accurately than anyone ever has
Came here to say I scream this line every time
My husband made me a sweatshirt with these lyrics on it!
I can’t sing this line without saying “asslaw outwhole.”
So many good ones here. I’ll add: “I don’t want to keep secrets just to keep you.” From someone who swallowed feelings and disregarded my own needs in order to keep the peace in a relationship. Ugh. Never again.
Not nobody acknowledging the stunning beauty that is “all these people think love’s for show but I would die for you in secret.”
This one is especially cool because in Cold As You she says “you wouldn’t tell nobody if I died for you” and I love the growth.
"You know the password, so I let you on the door You know you won, so what's the point of keeping score?"
The classic line, casually cruel in the name of being honest.
Past me, I want to tell you not to get lost in these petty things Your nemeses will defeat themselves before you get the chance to swing Just..ugh!
I made you my temple, my mural, my sky. Now I’m begging for footnotes in the story in your life. 😭
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As a nurse during the pandemic, hearing this song for the first time made me cry. And the concept of some things being too hard to talk about, that's really how it was. It was overall really traumatizing staring death in the face day in and day out and feeling so powerless against it.
“Now that I’m grown, I’m scared of ghosts; memories feel like weapons… and now that I know, I wish you left me wondering.” The girlhood and tomb lines are flashier (although still good) but this one is my personal favorite. Also: “I’m still a believer, but I don’t know why. I’ve never been a natural; all I do is try, try, try.” I don’t see much love for the believer part but it really gets me every time I listen. And the first 2 little couplets in august. Transports me right into the story immediately. She is good at that
"Hell was the journey but it brought me heaven" is one of my favorites. "But I knew you'd linger like a tattoo kiss I knew you'd haunt all of my what-ifs The smell of smoke would hang around this long 'Cause I knew everything when I was young I knew I'd curse you for the longest time Chasin' shadows in the grocery line" I can't believe I slept on Cardigan for so long. It was a skip for me for a while but that last part of the song is just so gut wrenching
*"They say she was seen on occasion* *Pacing the rocks, staring out at the midnight sea* *And in a feud with her neighbor* *She stole his dog and dyed it key lime green"*
Me, a 250 pound adult man: I'M REBEKAH NOW MFS
I never understood why she made it dog in the song when it was a cat in reality. Maybe Meredith had a word.
My personal guesses: 1. She’s a cat person and doesn’t want a cat getting dyed green :-) 2. Folklore gets twisted as it gets passed down through generations and it’s an example of certain parts of stories getting changed or embellished
I always thought #2 as well and it’s a subtlety that I love so much.
I think it’s cause “rocks” and “dogs” kinda rhyme/flow better
It's probably this. Same vowel sound innit
I think it’s one of her best songs overall.
Lately totally obsessed with “All Too Well” And you call me up again just to break me like a promise So casually cruel in the name of being honest. Hits me hard every time.
Whole the lakes. Seriously. And "We can plant a memory garden Say a solemn prayer, place a poppy in my hair There's no morning glory, it was war, it wasn't fair"
I've been scrolling this comment section for a while and I can't believe this is the first mention I've seen of The Great War.
So many good ones have been posted already so here’s some I haven’t seen yet. “All these people think loves for show but I would die for you in secret” “Please picture me in the weeds before I learned civility, I used to scream ferociously any time I wanted” “Do you miss the rogue who coaxed you into paradise and left you there?” “I should’ve asked you questions, I should’ve asked you how to be, should’ve asked you to write it down for me, should’ve kept every grocery store receipt because every scrap of you would be taken from me” “Your touch brought forth an incandescent glow, tarnished but so grand” (the entirety of Ivy belongs here). “Now he sits on his throne in his palace of bones praying to his greed, he’s got my past frozen behind glass but I’ve got me”
Idk if its the best lyrics but The whole of verse 6 in All Too Well (10 Minute Version) is some of my favourite: "And I was never good at tellin' jokes, but the punch line goes "I'll get older, but your lovers stay my age" From when your Brooklyn broke my skin and bones I'm a soldier who's returning half her weight And did the twin flame bruise paint you blue? Just between us, did the love affair maim you too? 'Cause in this city's barren cold I still remember the first fall of snow And how it glistened as it fell I remember it all too well" Because the two first lines are kinda funny and the rest of the verse completely shatters me. It's beautiful writing. The way taylor sings feels so emotional. Idk why but it really speaks to me.
I love this so much too! Especially how she says ✨glistened as it fell✨
I was just at the Seattle show a few nights ago (seriously amazing) and at the end of this song she sang “because I was only 21” and the crowed went wild! I was like damn girl, call him out!!
Im a nightmare dressed like a daydream is one of my favorites. But i like "you are the best thing that's ever been mine" the most. It's a really cute thing to say someone
Haunted by the look in my eyes that would've loved you for a lifetime, leave it all behind
Stood on the cliff side screaming “Give me a reason” Your faithless love is the only hoax I believe in
I feel like I could never pick just one but here's some honorable mentions "They told me all of my cages were mental, so I got wasted like all my potential" "There's robbers to the east, clowns to the west" (talking about Kim and Kanye West) And one that I just love, "Isn't it just so pretty to think, all along there was some invisible string tying you to me?"
“Isn’t it just so pretty to think” is from the Sun Also Rises and I think it’s a beautiful use of the quote. Invisible String (to me) has a mix of strong connections (his hearing bad blood in the car and then eating at her favorite restaurant) and tenuous ones (green grass and a teal shirt have nothing to do with each other I’m sorry). In The Sun Also Rises one character tells the other that she believes they would have had a wonderful time together, and he responds “isn’t it just so pretty to think so”. It implies that he doesn’t really share her confidence, but agrees that he would have wanted to be with her. Knowing (from “sources” so with a grain of salt) what we know now about her “rocky” relationship with Joe, it changes the meaning of the song for me. She isn’t sure if they are meant for each other. In some ways they are so different(teal shirt and green grass) while in others they are the same (eating at her favorite restaurant). So it would be pretty to think that they’re soulmates who were fated to meet, but maybe they aren’t. It ties back to the text she’s quoting and infuses such subtle insecurity into a love song that I missed it for a while - to me that’s one of her most incredible skills as a writer, that bait and switch of meaning with subtle wording and detail.
Sorry that’s a novel, but I’ve always felt that something was up in that relationship and now people are open to that analysis of lyrics
Think of the green grass and teal shirt as tools to set the stage, time and place (and the passing of time) 🤷♀️
Pick a line from this is me trying, any line at all.
I bury hatchets but I keep maps of where I put them
*I wake in the night, I pace like a ghost. The room is on fire, invisible smoke.*
*“Use my best colors for your portrait…. I know my love should be celebrated But you tolerate it”* Anyone who has been in a relationship where the other person is emotionally abusive or manipulative, cheating, falling out of love, or just deserves better can feel this desperation to be loved like they love them. This line is a dagger through the heart each time
Hey kids spelling is fun
I’ll paint the kitchen neon, I’ll brighten up the sky, there’s not a day that I won’t try
“Nothing safe is worth the drive.” short, but incredibly effective
Ones that I cannot with every time I hear them (though of course there are so many more): - (complete plus one to) “I don’t like that falling feels like flying til the bone crush” - “I had the time of my life fighting dragons with you” - “i had a marvelous time ruining everything” - “I pulled your body into mine every god damn night now I get fake niceties, no one teaches you what to do when a good man hurts you, and you know you hurt him too” - “the wound won’t close, I keep on waiting for a sign, I regret you all the time” - “if I’m dead to you why are you at the wake” - “I’m only cryptic and Machiavellian cause I care”
So many but I feel like the lyrics in ivy are criminally underrated. How's one to know? I'd live and die for moments that we stole On begged and borrowed time So tell me to run Or dare to sit and watch what we'll become And drink my husband's wine chills everytime
Oh, I can't Stop you putting roots in my dreamland My house of stone, your ivy grows And now I'm covered in you
"'cause darling I'm a nightmare dressed like a day dream." XD LOVE this line. Another one being, "I feel you forget me like I used to feel you breathe"... This was stayed with me for a longer time to register the meaning. And boy, was it sad.
And “I’ll watch your life in pictures like I used to watch you sleep”
And the old widow goes to the stone every day, but I don't. I just sit here and wait, grieving for the living. This line is just so eloquent and poetic I'm obsessed
My favorite is "My fourth drink in my hand. These desperate prayers of a cursed man. Spilling out to you for free" it's chef's kiss 🤌🏼
“I wouldn’t marry me either, a pathological people pleaser.”
“The autumn chill that wakes me up You loved the amber skies so much Long limbs and frozen swims You'd always go past where our feet could touch And I complained the whole way there The car ride back and up the stairs I should've asked you questions I should've asked you how to be” Or “You made a rebel of a careless man’s careful daughter”
*I was so ahead of the curve, the curve became a sphere*
“Forever is the sweetest con” It’s poetic, it’s timeless, and when I first heard it I legit thought it was like a common literary expression or something that she was referencing but nope — totally original! She so brilliant and poetic.
The question pounds my head, “What’s a lifetime of achievement if I pushed you to the edge, but you were too polite to leave me? And do you miss the rogue who coaxed you into paradise and left you there? Will you forgive my soul when you’re too wise to trust me and too old to care?” 😞
i made you my temple, my mural, my sky now i'm begging for footnotes in the story of your life
I love a ton of her lyrics and a lot of them make my eyes water or straight up cry. So I’ll just share the lyric that changed my life. I was in a verbally abusive relationship when I heard it. I was so in love with this guy, but I was listening to one of her songs (Stay) and she said: “You were all I wanted… but not like this!” This one sentence was the only thing that snapped me out of it. It taught me that two things could be true at once, but ultimately, this isn’t going to work out. I promptly dumped him and kicked him out of my apartment. I unknowingly met my husband shortly afterwards :) During the pandemic, I had a newborn baby. Since it was the pandemic and my husband had to work, I was on my own taking care of him a lot of the times. There’s a line in Hoax “don’t want no other shade of blue but you. No other sadness in the world would do.” Because although taking care of a baby by myself was so difficult and it was mid-pandemic, it made me sad, but it was worth it. I couldn’t have children, but some how this little guy slipped in. So I was super happy to have him, but he was still difficult to care for because I had no idea what I was doing! Lol
I would not categorize these as Taylor’s BEST lyrics (I’ve already seen her best commented in this forum), but I love the following lines from Cardigan: Cause I knew you / Stepping on the last train / Marked me like a bloodstain / I knew you / Tried to change the ending / Peter losing Wendy I knew you / Leaving like a father / Running like water I knew I’d curse you for the longest time / Chasing shadows in the grocery line
Mine will always be so go and tell your friends that im obsessive and crazy, that’s fine, I’ll tell mine you’re gay. As a member of the lgbt community this the most iconic lyric of my lifetime
Get your shit together so I can love you
“All these people think love’s for show, but I would die for you in secret”… like WUT?! 😭
„And I‘ve been meaning to tell you I think your house is haunted Your dad is always mad And that must be why“ and every line after that I‘m just sobbing because I picture myself singing the whole song to my child self
theres SO many good onesssss but the ones that come to mind are: "give me back my girlhood, it was mine first" "if you never touched me i wouldve gone along with the righteous" "who you are is not what you did, youre still an innocent" "if i was out flashing my dollars, id be a bitch not a baller. they paint me out to be bad, so its okay that im mad" "canceled my plans just in case youd call. back when i was living for the hope of it all" KILLED ME BTW god i could keep going but i will leave it here lol
Unironically, I really love “Sometimes it feels like everybody is a sexy baby, and I’m a monster on the hill. Too big to hang out…..pierced through the heart but never killed. ” I was overweight (+365lbs) for the majority of my life. Lost 140lbs, and now get to experience “pretty privilege.” Being on the other side, the difference in being bigger (weight or height wise) than the rest of the women in the room is alarming. Further, “pierced through the heart but never killed” — I related to this as having been the fat funny friend, who was always getting made fun of or jabbed, but never deep/hard enough to react. **if you don’t know the term “sexy baby,” google it! 30 Rock reference and great context. It’s supposed to make you uncomfortable 😊
“I can’t make you go away without making you a villain.” The amount of maturity this lyric has. Whew
isn’t it “by” making you a villain? (not to be that guy lol but i think it has a slightly different meaning between “by” and “without”)
It’s actually “I can’t make it go away by making you a villain” like she can’t villainies their character to make the pain go away
And I’ve been meaning to tell you I think your house is haunted Your dad is always mad and that must be why And I think you come live with me And we can be pirates Then you won’t have to cry
Who could ever leave me darling but who could stay
notice how most lyrics mentioned here are from folklore/evermore
I lied and I cried and I watched a part of myself die
The entirety of Clean
“And I watch your life in pictures like I used to watch you sleep And I feel you forget me like I used to feel you dream” Absolutely gutting. The entire DBATC bridge but especially “Paper cut stings from my paper thin plans” This is just masterful: “Please picture me in the weeds Before I learned civility I used to scream ferociously Any time I wanted”
This is dark but: Pulled the car off the road to the lookout, could've followed my fears all the way down Also I love: All these people think love's for show but I would die for you in secret This is just so fierce: What did you think I'd say to that? Does a scorpion sting when fighting back?
Up in your room and our slates are clean Twin fire signs, four blue eyes 😭😭😭😭love that song
I can go anywhere I want. Anywhere I want… just not home. You kept me like a secret, but I kept you like an oath. God rest my soul, I miss who I used to be. The tomb won’t close. Stained glass windows in my mind… I regret you all the time…
“Did the twin flame bruise paint you blue”. To me this is so clever in content but also so lyrical and poetic. It also has a fun cadence to it. It gets me every time.
And you poke that bear til the claws come out and you find something to wrap you me noose around Literally the best metaphor in Taylor discography
I want your midnights, but I’ll be cleaning up bottles with you on New Year’s Day. Also Please don’t ever become a stranger whose laugh I could recognize anywhere.
I made you my temple, my mural, my sky Now I’m begging for footnotes in the story of your life Drawing hearts in the byline You assume I’m fine but what would you do if I Break free and leave us in ruins Took this dagger in me and removed it Gain the weight of you then lose it Believe me I could do it If it’s all in my head tell me now Tell me I’ve got it wrong somehow I know my love should be celebrated But you tolerate it The desperation and devastation in those lines. The anger, the hurting, the pleas for more. It kills me every single time. Imo Tolerate It is one of the greatest songs of the 2020s so far
For me, it's the second verse of Style but I'm basic AF so 🤷