We’ve compiled our favorite Swift lyrics from songs off her self-titled album to ‘1989’ (and everything in between) ahead of the release of her sixth album, ‘Reputation,’ out Friday.
Taylor Swift is set to release her sixth studio album, Reputation, on Friday, Nov. 10. And, regardless of your thoughts on the 27-year-old, she’s always had a way with words.
Which is why for months (years, arguably), die-hard fans, gossip lovers and even the media have been anxious to get a true glimpse into Swift’s life over the past three years.
The GRAMMY-winning artist has always let the music do the talking – it’s one of her greatest strengths. Heck, when she released 1989, she included packs of Polaroid photos in each hard copy – with a handwritten lyric from the album printed on each one. And we’re confident that this album will be no different. We’ve learned so much from the songs she’s already released -- not to mention the caption she left on an Instagram post on Aug. 25 after announcing the album: “There will be no further explanation. There will just be reputation.”
Whether she’s singing about romance, heartbreak or friendship, Swift has a way of crafting smart, timeless, vibrant and universal lyrics that are easily applicable to anyone’s life.
So, as we get ready for Reputation, we’ve listed out Swift’s best lyrics OF. ALL. TIME. And we’ve done it all by album.
Taylor Swift (2006)
“When you think Tim McGraw, I hope you think of me.” – Tim McGraw
“So watch me strike a match on all my wasted time.” - Picture to Burn
“I'll be strong, I'll be wrong, oh but life goes on…” – A Place in This World
“And when you take, you take the very best of me.” – Cold As You
“But no one notices until it's too late to do anything.” – The Outside
“Our song is the slamming screen door, sneakin' out late, tapping on your window.” – Our Song
Fearless (2008)
“And I don't know why, but with you I'd dance in a storm in my best dress, fearless.” – Fearless
“But in your life, you'll do things greater than dating the boy on the football team…But I didn't know it at fifteen.” - Fifteen
“I've found time can heal most anything and you just might find who you're supposed to be.” – Fifteen
“Romeo, save me. They're trying to tell me how to feel. This love is difficult but it's real.” – Love Story
“Why are people always leaving? I think you and I should stay the same.” – Hey Stephen
“My mistake, I didn't know to be in love you had to fight to have the upper hand.” – White Horse
“This is a big world, that was a small town there in my rear view mirror disappearing now.” – White Horse
“You've got a smile that could light up this whole town.” – You Belong With Me
“And we know it's never simple, never easy. Never a clean break, no one here to save me.” – Breathe
“You took a swing, I took it hard. And down here from the ground I see who you are.” – Tell Me Why
“All this time I was wasting, hoping you would come around… I've been giving out chances every time and all you do is let me down.” – You’re Not Sorry
“You used to shine so bright, but I watched all of it fade.” – You’re Not Sorry
“And my heart's not breaking ‘cause I'm not feeling anything at all.” – The Way I Loved You
“And then you feel so low you can't feel nothing at all.” – Forever and Always
“It rains when you're here and it rains when you're gone.” – Forever and Always
“These walls that they put up to hold us back will fall down…” - Change
Speak Now (2010)
“My mind forgets to remind me you're a bad idea.” – Sparks Fly
“It turns out freedom ain't nothing but missing you.” – Back to December
“She floats down the aisle like a pageant queen, but I know you wish it was me… don’t you?” – Speak Now
“I lived in your chess game, but you changed the rules every day.” – Dear John
“You are an expert at ‘sorry’ and keeping lines blurry, never impressed by me acing your tests.” – Dear John
“I’m shining like fireworks over your sad, empty town.” – Dear John
“Someday I'll be living in a big, old city and all you're ever gonna be is mean.” – Mean
“I'd tell you I miss you, but I don't know how, I've never heard silence quite this loud.” – The Story of Us
“This is looking like a contest of who can act like they care less. But I liked it better when you were on my side.” – The Story of Us
“And don't lose the way that you dance around in your pj's getting ready for school.” – Never Grow Up
“This night is sparkling, don't you let it go. I'm wonderstruck, blushing all the way home.” – Enchanted
“2AM, who do you love?” – Enchanted
“But no amount of vintage dresses gives you dignity.” – Better Than Revenge
“Your string of lights is still bright to me… Who you are is not where you've been.” – Innocent
“Today is never too late to be brand new.” - Innocent
“You and I walk a fragile line; I have known it all this time. But I never thought I'd live to see it break.” - Haunted
“I don't know how to be something you miss.” – Last Kiss
“Bring on all the pretenders. One day, we will be remembered.” – Long Live
“So don't you worry your pretty, little mind, people throw rocks at things that shine.” - Ours
Red (2012)
“We are alone with our changing minds. We fall in love 'til it hurts or bleeds or fades in time.” – State of Grace
“Love is a ruthless game unless you play it good and right.” – State of Grace
“I can't decide if it's a choice - getting swept away.” – Treacherous
“He's long gone when he's next to me and I realize the blame is on me.” – I Knew You Were Trouble
“No apologies. He'll never see you cry. Pretends he doesn't know that he's the reason why.” - I Knew You Were Trouble
“The saddest fear comes creeping in - that you never loved me or her, or anyone, or anything...” - I Knew You Were Trouble
“…That magic's not here no more. And I might be OK, but I'm not fine at all.” – All Too Well
“And your mother's telling stories about you on a tee ball team. You taught me 'bout your past, thinking your future was me.” – All Too Well
“I forget about you long enough to forget why I needed to...” – All Too Well
“Maybe we got lost in translation, maybe I asked for too much. But maybe this thing was a masterpiece 'til you tore it all up. Running scared, I was there, I remember it all too well.” – All Too Well
“You call me up again just to break me like a promise, so casually cruel in the name of being honest.” – All Too Well
“Time won't fly, it's like I'm paralyzed by it. I'd like to be my old self again, but I'm still trying to find it.” – All Too Well
“'Cause there we are again, when I loved you so. Back before you lost the one, real thing you've ever known.” – All Too Well
“We're happy, free, confused, and lonely at the same time. It's miserable and magical.” - 22
“I wish I could run to you. And I hope you know that every time I don't I almost do.” – I Almost Do
“I think that it's best if we both stay.” – Stay, Stay. Stay
“You wear your best apology, but I was there to watch you leave.” – The Last Time
“But sometimes I wonder how you think about it now.” – Holy Ground
“But I don’t wanna dance if I’m not dancing with you.” – Holy Ground
“Words, how little they mean when you're a little too late.” – Sad Beautiful Tragic
“And they tell you that you’re lucky, but you’re so confused, 'cause you don’t feel pretty, you just feel used.” – The Lucky One
“I've been spending the last eight months thinking all love ever does is break and burn and end…” – Begin Again
“And what do you do when the one who means the most to you is the one who didn't show?” – The Moment I Knew
1989 (2014)
“The lights are so bright, but they never blind me.” – Welcome to New York
“Love's a game, wanna play?” – Blank Space
“So it's gonna be forever or it's gonna go down in flames.” – Blank Space
“But you'll come back each time you leave 'cause darling, I'm a nightmare dressed like a daydream.” – Blank Space
“When we go crashing down, we come back every time 'cause we never go out of style.” - Style
“I got that red lip, classic thing that you like.” - Style
“The rest of the world was black and white, but we were in screaming color.” – Out of the Woods
“The more I think about it now, the less I know, all I know is that you drove us off the road.” – All You Had to Do Was Stay
“People like you always want back the love they pushed aside, but people like me are gone forever when you say goodbye.” - All You Had to Do Was Stay
“Why'd you have to go and lock me out when I let you in?” - All You Had to Do Was Stay
“While you've been getting down and out about the liars and the dirty, dirty cheats of the world… You could've been getting down to this sick beat.” – Shake It Off
“We're a crooked love in a straight line down.” – I Wish You Would
“And I wish you knew that I miss you too much to be mad anymore.” – I Wish You Would
“You give me everything and nothing.” – I Wish You Would
“Band-aids don't fix bullet holes. You say sorry just for show.” – Bad Blood
“Someday when you leave me, I bet these memories follow you around.” – Wildest Dreams
“This love left a permanent mark.” – This Love
“When you're young, you just run, but you come back to what you need.” – This Love
“Love's a fragile little flame, it could burn out.” – I Know Places
“And I know for you, it's always me.” – I Know Places
“It was months and months of back and forth, you're still all over me like a wine-stained dress I can't wear anymore.” - Clean
“When I was drowning that's when I could finally breathe.” - Clean
“Just because you're clean, don't mean you don't miss it.” - Clean
“Didn't it all seem new and exciting? …It's all fun and games 'til somebody loses their mind.” - Wonderland
“You search the world for something else to make you feel like what we had. And in the end in wonderland, we both went mad.” – Wonderland
“Heartbreak is the national anthem, we sing it proudly.” – New Romantics
“The best people in life are free.” – New Romantics
