all the love

While this took me a solid 45 minutes… I have finally gotten around to ranking all of Taylor’s songs! As someone who is insanely indicisive, this was a challenge. BUT I did make it through and I’m going to show you my top fifteen, as well as explain why I think they made it to the top.

15. The Black Dog
    • I live for the dramatics in this song. The buildup as she sings “screaming” into a sudden drop is amazing.
    • The final line of the song is the perfect finish. The singer gets so tired of mulling over the confusion and hurt that a relationship caused her. It is almost as if she eventually loses her voice after begging her partner to listen and give her answers.
    • Lyrical highlight ↴
      • “Six weeks of breathing clean air, I still miss the smoke”
16. The Great War
    • Although the lyrics don’t stand out as much to me, this is a favourite sonically and has been since it was realeased. I just love the instrumentals.
    • This is super fun (and easy) to play on guitar!
17. Maroon
    • The concept of this one is really cool. The many shades of red hidden in the chorus is a neat way to storytell.
    • I love how Taylor’s voice goes a little deeper for the last chorus.
    • I had a feeling this would be one of my favourites before I even heard it, probably just because I like the colour red.
18. Lover
    • This song is so so pretty.
    • This is such a beautiful representation of the singer’s love for their partner and of the small details intertwined in their relationship.
    • Lyrical highlight ↴
      • “Have I known you 20 seconds or 20 years?”
19. Call It What You Want
    • Taylor ATE with this one! Her musical responses to public criticism are always some of my favourites.
    • This gives off a similar energy to Slut!
20. tolerate it
    • This one hits a little too close to home.
    • The visuals of this at the Eras Tour fit so perfectly.
    • The storytelling on evermore is ethereal, I just can’t get over it.
21. cowboy like me
    • I think this is on here mostly because of the imagery (which Taylor is incredible at portraying).
    • This feels super whimsical, I love it.
    • Lyrical highlight ↴
      • “Now you hang from my lips, Like the Gardens of Babylon”
22. ivy
    • This song is just so beautiful.
    • The imagery of ivy slowly covering the singer and their desperate attempt to escape is amazing.
    • Lyrical highlight ↴
      • “My pain fits in the palm of your freezing hand”
23. evermore (ft. Bon Iver)
    • Honestly, I’m really surprised this isn’t even higher.
    • I absolutely adore the storyline in this song. Although the singer has many moments where it seems as if the dull, depressive feelings will never go away, there eventually is a moment where they realize that “this pain [won’t] be forevermore”. I think that this whole song is written so gracefully and it is so touching.
    • I love the word “forevermore”.
    • The bridge is beautiful; hearing Taylor sing it herself at the Eras Tour (watched through livestreams) made me love it even more.
24. New Years Day
    • This one is just so beautiful.
    • The TikTok edits of HSLOT to this song wreck me.
    • This is such a lovely way of describing the precious moment where the singer recognizes they have fallen in love.
    • The details of the setting really bring it together for me, I feel like I can almost perfectly picture the room the singer is in in this moment.
    • Lyrical highlight ↴
      • “Candle wax and Polaroids on the hardwood floor, You and me, forevermore”
25. King Of My Heart
    • The way Taylor sings “crush” is incredible.
    • I don’t know exactly why I love this one, I think it is just fun sonically!
26. Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve
    • This bridge is incredible.
    • This just feels so emotional, I can really hear the intensity throughout the song in Taylor’s voice.
    • Lyrical highlights ↴
      • “And now that I know, I wish you’d left me wondering”
      • “Give me back my girlhood, it was mine first”

3. All Too Well (10 minute version)
   • This is a pretty popular song, but it really does deserve the excitement.
   • This brings me right back to fall of 2021 and the nostalgia is amazing.
   • Even though its 10 minutes long, this is one that I know every single lyric to and I can’t wait to hear this live.
   • Lyrical highlights ↴
     • “You kept me like a secret, but I kept you like an oath”
     • “So casually cruel in the name of being honest”

2. Nothing New (ft. Phoebe Bridgers)
   • Taylor Swift AND Phoebe Bridgers??? I’m not sure if there is a better duo.
   • The themes of growing up and struggling with finding yourself in the process are so relatable and I love the way they are portrayed.
   • I really just can’t get over the fact that these two collabed.
   • Lyrical highlight ↴
     • “It’s like I can feel time moving, How can a person know everything at 18 but nothing at 22?”

1. The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived
   • Once again, this BRIDGE… absolutely insane. This is another one that I think will be so so good live.
   • I love the brutal callout of the man who hurt the singer.
   • Lyrical highlight ↴
     • “You kicked out the stage lights, But you’re still performing”

I used this sorter to find my top songs. To listen to more of Taylor’s songs, click here!

I am not exactly sure how I feel about this ranking! There are a few songs that surprised me with how high they were, like King Of My Heart and Call It What You Want (I LOVE Reputation, but it has a specific time and a place in my mind and unfortunately does not make my top few albums because of that). On the other hand, I would definitely have ranked evermore higher. That song kills me. Overall though, this did get a few songs pretty spot on, like my top 3. I think it is so crazy that The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived is my top song despite it only being out for a few months. I am, unfortunately, a sucker for a phenomenal bridge.

This was a really hard challenge! Taylor has so many incredible songs, it is nearly impossible to accurately narrow it down to my favourite fifteen. I feel like this information may be comparable to an astrology chart in terms of what it tells you about me. Do with that what you will.

All the love,

Grace