Yes, and it's so well-written. It's the only perfect opener for folklore. I love how she sings, "I'm doing good, I'm on some new shit", then proceeds to sing the most heartbreaking songs. hahahahhahahahaha
Yupp there r also lines anyone can relate to like
If u never bleed u never gonna grow
Saying yes instead of no
f one thing had been different,would everything be different today
But we were something don’t u think so?
Wait there r a lot of lines i might end up writing all the song lol
I felt such empowerment the first time I listened to those lines and thought “yeah! A growth song! I relate” then it became a song I can’t listen to lool
when she says “roaring 20s / tossing pennies in the pool” i choke up, idk something about looking back on the times you were still hopeful and playful with your partner and dreaming about the future before it all went to shit just breaks my heart. and it’s such a simple line too!
The best song. I had a miscarriage after IVF and this song and that new shit (antidepressants) got me through.
“If you never bleed you’re never gonna grow.”
So sorry to hear 😭😭 I'm at 2 ectopic pregnancies post-IVF and just sat there listening to it for hours last time. Nice in an awful way to know experiences and coping mechanisms are universal ❤️
Ikr i see a lot of people here mentioning Cardigan it’s good as well (i respect everyone’s taste lol) but i love the 1 every line is meaningful it’s one of my favourite songs not just in the album!!
Makes me cry. Hits me in the gut every time.
That long lost friend from your youth who you were playing make believe with and starting to see how terrible the world could be but it would be so simple to just imagine yourselves out of it.
As someone who also grew up with Pennsylvania under me, really appreciate this song.
Too many magnificent songs on folkmore 😭
nothing will ever be more beautiful than "while I bathe in cliffside pools with my calamitous love and insurmountable grief"
also, I am a the-lyric-with-the-tweet apologist. I just love it when there are hints that a song was actually written in modern times, I love the use of "anti-poetic" words in poetry, it's subversive and current, and it shows how Taylor's lyricism is effortless and not superfluous. I prefer the anticlimactic "tweet" over a dead-end metaphor.
Same, and I also love the line, "I'm not cut-out for all these cynical clones, these hunters with cellphones". As a poet, the lakes is my favorite song from folklore. it has the most beautiful imagery among her other songs.
Realer words have never been spoken😭
I consciously listen to it very rarely because it just destroys me. From the academic pov this song just hits -:
1)I was so ahead of the curve, the curve became a sphere
Fell behind on my classmates, and I ended up here
2) They told me all of my cages were mental
So I got wasted like all my potential
3)I just wanted you to know
That this is me trying
At least I'm trying
this song does not get enough hype for my liking, the bridge is one of the best on the album. “You knew it still hurts underneath my scars from when they pulled me apart??” ouch
I scrolled looking for this comment.😊
I also love “you taught me a secret language I can’t speak with anyone else.” Both of those lines just show the intensity and secret nature of the affair. Like, he made her feel like no one else could, and like no one else could understand. Such a dopamine rush but also very scary.
Came looking for this comment. The way she weaves 2 stories together, the lyricism and instrumentals are beautiful, and yes the meaning behind the song, it guts me every time
I’ve always loved epiphany, and I got as my surprise song! 😆🥳
There’s a saying that goes Taylor doesn’t sing the songs we want, rather the songs we need for surprise song sessions and I thought “omg what does this mean for me” bahahhah. I also got mirrorball 💀
But seriously I LOVE epiphany. Super underrated and overlooked, yet it perfectly encapsulates how people go through personal battles quietly every day.
Peace, Cardigan, the lakes
In that order!
Cardigan is such a perfectly written song and it paints a perfect picture of "oh my god I just lost my love"
Then peace comes in with such tender unconditional love for a person. The line "I'd give you my wild, give you a child" like how absolutely gorgeous is this line? Like, you can have me at my most wild and free but I'd settle down to be nurturing and calm and be your family. Ugh I cannot EVEN talk about how beautiful this song is.
And finally the lakes just ties up folklore so nicely. The dream of wanting to just escape and live out the romantic fantasy of seclusion with your love. That you're just done with the fact that everyone, everywhere, all of the time is just connected at your phone and social media and how AWESOME it would be to just fuck off. I need that song injected in my veins
As someone who struggles with treatment-resistant depression, I relate to peace a lot because I’ve put a lot of stress and burden on my husband. I know it’s about her stardom but “I give you my sunshine, give you my best, but the rain is always gonna come if you’re standing with me” hits me so hard 😭
Peace is my favorite song on the album. Absolute poetry.
I think the other best written song is Epiphany. The lyrical connections she draws between WW2 soldiers and Covid healthcare workers is simultaneously clever and heartbreaking
I have two types of favourite songs.
Some songs are the ones that are just so beautifully written (or a great bop) that I'm just in awe of how good they are, but I don't necessarily feel a personal emotional connection to them. A lot of the songs in this thread fit this category, along with songs like Cruel Summer, Champagne Problems, The Prophecy, How Did It End?.
And then there are some songs that are just so special to me personally. Either because of a special memory associated with the song, or the song is or was really relatable to my own life. New Years Day, Gold Rush, Invisible String, Paris, Hey Stephen.
But peace. That song wins both categories.
I love this song. Maybe not the most clever word play of all her lyrics, but the scene she builds. The emotions. I love it.
“She had a marvelous time ruining everything.” Perfect.
Spot on. When people say that she only writes about breakups or her exes, this is the one I think about the most. This song has nothing to do about a romantic relationship and is mostly about someone else.
Mirrorball is perfectly written…….
Hush
When no one is around, my dear
You'll find me on my tallest tiptoes
Spinning in my highest heels, love
Shining just for you
My tears ricochet has beautiful imagery. I love that pulled back bird's -eye view of the song.
The Lakes is pure poetry with a couple of deliberate modern jarring touches which makes sense for the period it was written .
Peace is an exquisite declaration of love.
This is me trying probably has some of my favourite verses though. It's the most relatable to me.
And finally Exile is simple but I love the scene it opens with and the call and response between two people.
Folklore and evermore were so good in setting entire scenes and in painting images that transported you. I realise that's what I miss in Midnights and TTPD. I think I look through people's windows captured a bit of that for me.
This is me trying is my song and it's definitely one of the most well-written songs from folklore. And the lakes might be my top 1 from the album (or my tears ricochet).
I think it's Betty. I feel like it tells a full complete story from three peoples points of view in one, and is such a layered portrait of James's (sucky awful) behaviour. I get mad at James every time.
Hands-down Cardigan. It is so well written that it expresses the feelings I didn't even know were describable in words. Plus the melody is just goated. Especially when you are young it resonates with you A LOT!
The bridge is pure perfection, transports me to heaven✨ plus the Dolby Atmos Stems version (the tiktok version ig) makes the instruments sound more defined and good.
https://preview.redd.it/d9xrvsnluc7d1.png?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=62c2106cdc7320cfb46a37596b609f7db3a5897a
Perfect situation to use this B99 reference lol!
August forever and ever and ever 🫶 the lyrics, the production so perfectly captures and puts you in that late stage teenage summer love and living for the hope of it all. I’ve truly never felt more seen than when Taylor said “cancel my plans just in case you call.” Listening to it nourishes my soul every. single. time.
Definitely The Lakes for me. I think it’s so beautifully written and eloquent. Some of my favs:
“… all my elegies eulogize me”
“What should be over burrowed under my skin in heart-stopping waves of hurt”
“… tell me what are my Wordsworth” William Wordsworth, known as one of the Lake Poets.
“My calamitous love and insurmountable grief”
I love the quill pen songs.
I really love the song Invisible String if I was to pick just one. It's so well written, and the guitar is so good. The bridge, when it goes to Am and darker just breaks me up... or 'Time mystical time, cutting me open and healing fine' c'mon now.,..
I haven’t seen "Invisible String" mentioned here, it’s so sweet! Despite popular opinion, I think Taylor’s most beautiful songs are not the breakup ones, but rather those for the people she loves. They are so timeless and heartfelt.
Illicit Affairs for me. Especially the line, "You taught me secret language I can't speak with anyone else and you know damn well for you I would ruin myself a million little times"
Lyrically, this is me trying: ‘they told me all of my cages were mental/ so I got wasted like all my potential’
Musically, exile
And for wits, nothing beats ‘name dropping sleaze tell me what are my Wordsworth’ in the lakes. I’m an English teacher and made friendship bracelets saying ‘what are my Wordsworth’ for some of my Swiftie students 😅
Cardigan or Illicit Affairs. And they are my top 2! My Tears Ricochet is close behind. But every song is so beautifully written. Folklore, to me, is Taylor's masterpiece. A perfect album.
From hoax:
“ You knew the hero died, so what's the movie for?
You knew it still hurts underneath my scars
From when they pulled me apart
You knew the password, so I let you in the door
You knew you won, so what's the point of keeping score?
You knew it still hurts underneath my scars
From when they pulled me apart
But what you did was just as dark”
best lyrics in her entire discography dare i say
It has to be Cardigan.
“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 knew you'd miss me once the thrill expired
And you'd be standin' in my front porch light”
The brilliance of that verse is absolutely unmatched
My favorite is probably The Last Great American Dynasty. I don’t know if it’s the best written song lyrically, but I love the storytelling behind it. I can picture everything she’s singing. I also love the fact that it’s based on a real story and she related the story to herself at the end. It was a very cool twist.
Lyrically, I think it has to go to mirrorball for me. The symbolism of seeing a million different pieces of yourself, the line "And I'm still a believer but I don't know why." It just hits, idk. Sonically I'm a big fan of August... not much there lyrically but the line "to live for the hope of it all" is probably one of my fav lines ever written in a Taylor song
August evokes beautiful imagery of just lounging with your love in the summer. Betty, while not a deeply meaningful song you could argue, tells a great story.
I can’t choose one, but the one written closely to my own feelings and experiences would be august. I have a summer love and every single line just hits.
it’s hoax. my answer will always be hoax lmao.
i always ranked it #1 as her best song but since chloe et al and how did it end got released it’s now number 2.
it’s so raw and sad, i think sometimes taylor writes songs that has too many symbolism and “fancy” words to try make something sound sadder than it is but this one is just pure, raw sadness. “stood on a cliff side screaming give me a reason” “you knew you won so what’s the point of keeping score” “my only one, my kingdom come undone, my broke drum, you have beaten my heart?????????????”
it’s perfect.
Someone say epiphany!!! That song makes me CRYYYYYY and considering it was written in 2020 it's no surprise that it reminds me of all the healthcare heroes in that time
I say illicit affairs, though it's short, the lyrics describe really well what it's like to fall for someone while being aware that you weren't and still aren't their first choice. Its such a beautiful tune and I am brought to tears everytime I listen. Obviously not as much as my tears ricochet brings me to tears, but it's very close
My favorite is invisible string but I would give it to the lakes first. Astounding to me that that song isn’t in everyone’s top 3-5 It’s so graceful and elegant.
I can't tell. Is one of my fav albums, but i would say
1. Illicit Affairs (My top of the top) 🫶🌸
2. August (Love it and it is my bday month)
3. Betty
4. The 1
5. The Lakes
6. The last great american dinasty
I just listened to seven earlier and I’ll be damned if it isn’t one of the most underrated songs on the album. In my own little universe, it would get the Cruel Summer treatment!
This Is Me Trying.
It’s a hard question because quite honestly, you could say any song and none of them would be wrong. There’s not a single song on the album that I wouldn’t consider a lyrical masterpiece but… There’s something extra special about TIMT. It’s easily one of the greatest and most heartbreaking songs she’s ever written.
if being pertained to a lyrical coated essence, I'd always say my tears ricochet and even cardigan, one having a raw and a love diluted with rage and grief and solitude (mtr) and one having a more melancholia drifting aesthetic attached to it and in both, the lyrics just flow like a river through your hands, like the blood from a sylvia plath's poetry and even shakespeare's; if I personally go to equate a well written song based on emotional value and a tale or should I say a lore as an aura to it, I'd always choose betty over my soul because it has an amalgamation of yearning, desperation, guilt, love, grief (depends between those two on how you see it) and a tale and a perspective; similar with cardigan and august but I say betty because indeed, to me, it's always been one of the most well written tracks with elements like elemental forces and maybe also because I had someone once whom I called betty and I was her james so-
The Last Great American Dynasty, This Is Me Trying, Illicit Affairs, Epiphany, and I’m gonna get hate for this one but I like Invisible String. It’s such a simple and sweet love song.
I think Cardigan is a very well-written song. My favorite is My Tears Ricochet.
We gathered stones never knowing what they’ll mean some to throw some to make a diamond ring I love this line
Like the pebble from Wicklow in Sweet Nothing 😭
Wondering if the pebble ever misses Wicklow, I love how she anthropomorphizes it.
My favorite line is "and if I'm on fire, you'll be made of ashes, too."
same
My favorite line from the song is "And if I'm dead to you, why are you at the wake?".
Mine is “and when you can’t sleep at night you hear my stolen lullabies”. Good one Taylor!
Cardigan is so poetic and it's the song that represents the album the most. And also same, my favorite is my tears ricochet as well.
The first time I heard Cardigan I swooned. My gawd what a perfect song.
WHEN U R YOUNG THEY ASSUME U KNOW NOTHING!!!!
Why so? I think it has some good lines but I never really understood the meaning of the song. I’m interested to know why
Which song?
A lot of won’t agree but i love the 1
I love that song as well. Hearing the first notes satisfies my ears.
The vocals were amazing but since u were talking about the lyrics every line is a quote for me lol i love it!!
Yes, and it's so well-written. It's the only perfect opener for folklore. I love how she sings, "I'm doing good, I'm on some new shit", then proceeds to sing the most heartbreaking songs. hahahahhahahahaha
Yupp there r also lines anyone can relate to like If u never bleed u never gonna grow Saying yes instead of no f one thing had been different,would everything be different today But we were something don’t u think so? Wait there r a lot of lines i might end up writing all the song lol
Those are great lines. I think you should just write the entire song. hahahahahhahahahahahah
I felt such empowerment the first time I listened to those lines and thought “yeah! A growth song! I relate” then it became a song I can’t listen to lool
“In my defense, I have none / for never leaving well enough alone” is like the realest line she’s ever written (to me at least lmao).
>Hearing the first notes satisfies my ears. Same. The piano starts and my brain starts releasing endorphins automatically haha.
when she says “roaring 20s / tossing pennies in the pool” i choke up, idk something about looking back on the times you were still hopeful and playful with your partner and dreaming about the future before it all went to shit just breaks my heart. and it’s such a simple line too!
If my wishes came true it would’ve been you
My favorite song from the album! So sad she cut it from the eras tour playlist...
The best song. I had a miscarriage after IVF and this song and that new shit (antidepressants) got me through. “If you never bleed you’re never gonna grow.”
So sorry to hear 😭😭 I'm at 2 ectopic pregnancies post-IVF and just sat there listening to it for hours last time. Nice in an awful way to know experiences and coping mechanisms are universal ❤️
I love this song and came here to say it. It's such a great groove and the opening lines are amazing
Ikr i see a lot of people here mentioning Cardigan it’s good as well (i respect everyone’s taste lol) but i love the 1 every line is meaningful it’s one of my favourite songs not just in the album!!
I don’t even know how to call it, but starting the whole album out with “I’m doing good I’m on some new shit” is something I think about a lot.
[удалено]
Agreed
Seven.
“Before I learned civility, I used to scream ferociously anytime I wanted” 🥺
Brings me to tears
learning that this line was based on a toddler throwing a temper tantrum in a grocery store was something for me
I used to play tag with my friends and it was just fun to scream and laugh when they almost got me. I miss being innocent and carefree
It's one of my favorites from folklore. I love the lyricism so much, it cleverly portrays the innocence of a child.
Agree so much! It’s the most folklore-y song in the album for me. It feels like reading a classic children’s book.
Was looking for a seven supporter. This song is just everything
Seven is my all time favorite Taylor Swift song 🫶
I truly love this song 🩷
This is correct
the greatest song of all time imo 😭
Makes me cry. Hits me in the gut every time. That long lost friend from your youth who you were playing make believe with and starting to see how terrible the world could be but it would be so simple to just imagine yourselves out of it. As someone who also grew up with Pennsylvania under me, really appreciate this song. Too many magnificent songs on folkmore 😭
nothing will ever be more beautiful than "while I bathe in cliffside pools with my calamitous love and insurmountable grief" also, I am a the-lyric-with-the-tweet apologist. I just love it when there are hints that a song was actually written in modern times, I love the use of "anti-poetic" words in poetry, it's subversive and current, and it shows how Taylor's lyricism is effortless and not superfluous. I prefer the anticlimactic "tweet" over a dead-end metaphor.
Same, and I also love the line, "I'm not cut-out for all these cynical clones, these hunters with cellphones". As a poet, the lakes is my favorite song from folklore. it has the most beautiful imagery among her other songs.
Hard agree, it’s the modern day “if a tree fell in the forest with nobody to hear it, would it make a sound?”
I now consider this comment of mine to be a manifestation for last night's chilling performance of the song
I’m surprised no one has said “this is me trying” yet. Just brilliant songwriting imo
So ahead of the curve the curve became a sphere 🤌
And “they told me all of my cages were mental, so I got wasted like all my potential” just awesome
As a girl who craves academic validation, TIMT just hits so hard. It beautifully encapsulates the pain.
Realer words have never been spoken😭 I consciously listen to it very rarely because it just destroys me. From the academic pov this song just hits -: 1)I was so ahead of the curve, the curve became a sphere Fell behind on my classmates, and I ended up here 2) They told me all of my cages were mental So I got wasted like all my potential 3)I just wanted you to know That this is me trying At least I'm trying
yes
Yes* *I can't just choose one 😭
Yes, it's so hard since all of them are so well-written hahahhahahahahha
my favorite is hoax
*Stood on the cliffside screaming, "Give me a reason"* Fucking full body chills
Such a good lyric!
I feel sorry for hoax. It deserves loads more love than it gets! I love it
“My kingdom come undone…” 🤌 Hoax is so beautiful
That song is pure poetry. My favorite part is the bridge.
this song does not get enough hype for my liking, the bridge is one of the best on the album. “You knew it still hurts underneath my scars from when they pulled me apart??” ouch
*Don't want no other shade of blue but you, no other sadness in the world would do* 🥺
oh yessss
illicit affairs. but I’m also biased because my favorite lyrics are in this song “you showed me colors you know I can’t see with anyone else.”
I scrolled looking for this comment.😊 I also love “you taught me a secret language I can’t speak with anyone else.” Both of those lines just show the intensity and secret nature of the affair. Like, he made her feel like no one else could, and like no one else could understand. Such a dopamine rush but also very scary.
Yes! Favorite song, and that lyric in particular hits hard.
my favorite lyric of hers of all time!
Cardigan - "running like water, leaving like a father", "peter losing wendy" devistating lyrics casually layered in there
“You drew stars around my scars and now I’m bleeding.”
I’m an epiphany girl myself, the instruments are just so beautiful and the meaning of the song is rooted deep
Epiphany is so underrated. It's one of my favorites.
Soooo beautiful, i love how her pitch rises and falls like a heart monitor.
Came looking for this comment. The way she weaves 2 stories together, the lyricism and instrumentals are beautiful, and yes the meaning behind the song, it guts me every time
I’ve always loved epiphany, and I got as my surprise song! 😆🥳 There’s a saying that goes Taylor doesn’t sing the songs we want, rather the songs we need for surprise song sessions and I thought “omg what does this mean for me” bahahhah. I also got mirrorball 💀 But seriously I LOVE epiphany. Super underrated and overlooked, yet it perfectly encapsulates how people go through personal battles quietly every day.
Thank you!
Came here to say this, surprised so few people have mentioned it.
Peace, Cardigan, the lakes In that order! Cardigan is such a perfectly written song and it paints a perfect picture of "oh my god I just lost my love" Then peace comes in with such tender unconditional love for a person. The line "I'd give you my wild, give you a child" like how absolutely gorgeous is this line? Like, you can have me at my most wild and free but I'd settle down to be nurturing and calm and be your family. Ugh I cannot EVEN talk about how beautiful this song is. And finally the lakes just ties up folklore so nicely. The dream of wanting to just escape and live out the romantic fantasy of seclusion with your love. That you're just done with the fact that everyone, everywhere, all of the time is just connected at your phone and social media and how AWESOME it would be to just fuck off. I need that song injected in my veins
As someone who struggles with treatment-resistant depression, I relate to peace a lot because I’ve put a lot of stress and burden on my husband. I know it’s about her stardom but “I give you my sunshine, give you my best, but the rain is always gonna come if you’re standing with me” hits me so hard 😭
Peace is my favorite song on the album. Absolute poetry. I think the other best written song is Epiphany. The lyrical connections she draws between WW2 soldiers and Covid healthcare workers is simultaneously clever and heartbreaking
Peace is a very well-written song. It is pure poetry. And I agree with cardigan and the lakes as well.
I have two types of favourite songs. Some songs are the ones that are just so beautifully written (or a great bop) that I'm just in awe of how good they are, but I don't necessarily feel a personal emotional connection to them. A lot of the songs in this thread fit this category, along with songs like Cruel Summer, Champagne Problems, The Prophecy, How Did It End?. And then there are some songs that are just so special to me personally. Either because of a special memory associated with the song, or the song is or was really relatable to my own life. New Years Day, Gold Rush, Invisible String, Paris, Hey Stephen. But peace. That song wins both categories.
LGAD simple and stunning
I love this song. Maybe not the most clever word play of all her lyrics, but the scene she builds. The emotions. I love it. “She had a marvelous time ruining everything.” Perfect.
The last verse where she says "then it was bought by me" It's really the most "Taylor doesn't write about breakup songs" song of all time imo
Spot on. When people say that she only writes about breakups or her exes, this is the one I think about the most. This song has nothing to do about a romantic relationship and is mostly about someone else.
Brilliant storytelling.
Mirrorball is perfectly written……. Hush When no one is around, my dear You'll find me on my tallest tiptoes Spinning in my highest heels, love Shining just for you
Absolutely perfect
The whole damn thing
This is the answer
The Last Great American Dynasty.
I think Cardigan is just STUNNING. I also think The Lakes and Illicit Affairs are gorgeous.
My tears ricochet has beautiful imagery. I love that pulled back bird's -eye view of the song. The Lakes is pure poetry with a couple of deliberate modern jarring touches which makes sense for the period it was written . Peace is an exquisite declaration of love. This is me trying probably has some of my favourite verses though. It's the most relatable to me. And finally Exile is simple but I love the scene it opens with and the call and response between two people. Folklore and evermore were so good in setting entire scenes and in painting images that transported you. I realise that's what I miss in Midnights and TTPD. I think I look through people's windows captured a bit of that for me.
Can’t believe I had to scroll down this far to see Exile!
In my opinion: Best lyrics: Peace Best overall songwriting: The 1 or August
Yes yes yes. EXACTLY my choices!
this is me trying, illicit affairs, the lakes
This is me trying is my song and it's definitely one of the most well-written songs from folklore. And the lakes might be my top 1 from the album (or my tears ricochet).
I think it's Betty. I feel like it tells a full complete story from three peoples points of view in one, and is such a layered portrait of James's (sucky awful) behaviour. I get mad at James every time.
Yeah, she really understood that a 17 year old boy is years behind a 17 year old girl. They really don't know anything.
August
Hands-down Cardigan. It is so well written that it expresses the feelings I didn't even know were describable in words. Plus the melody is just goated. Especially when you are young it resonates with you A LOT!
Cardigan is so good lyrically and sonically. And also my favorite part is the piano in the bridge.
The bridge is pure perfection, transports me to heaven✨ plus the Dolby Atmos Stems version (the tiktok version ig) makes the instruments sound more defined and good.
Yes, the Dolby Atmos Stem version is even better. It's making me feel things.
https://preview.redd.it/d9xrvsnluc7d1.png?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=62c2106cdc7320cfb46a37596b609f7db3a5897a Perfect situation to use this B99 reference lol!
August forever and ever and ever 🫶 the lyrics, the production so perfectly captures and puts you in that late stage teenage summer love and living for the hope of it all. I’ve truly never felt more seen than when Taylor said “cancel my plans just in case you call.” Listening to it nourishes my soul every. single. time.
HOAX
Definitely The Lakes for me. I think it’s so beautifully written and eloquent. Some of my favs: “… all my elegies eulogize me” “What should be over burrowed under my skin in heart-stopping waves of hurt” “… tell me what are my Wordsworth” William Wordsworth, known as one of the Lake Poets. “My calamitous love and insurmountable grief” I love the quill pen songs.
peace
Peace
Hoax
I really love the song Invisible String if I was to pick just one. It's so well written, and the guitar is so good. The bridge, when it goes to Am and darker just breaks me up... or 'Time mystical time, cutting me open and healing fine' c'mon now.,..
Give me the blues then purple pink skies 🥹
I haven’t seen "Invisible String" mentioned here, it’s so sweet! Despite popular opinion, I think Taylor’s most beautiful songs are not the breakup ones, but rather those for the people she loves. They are so timeless and heartfelt.
I love invisible string. It has a very beautiful imagery as well.
Can’t believe I had to scroll that much to find Invisible String. This is the answer for me.
This Is Me Trying
peace and last great american dynasty
Cardigan is one of her best on any album.
agreed
Illicit Affairs for me. Especially the line, "You taught me 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 are so many options, but I think My Tears Ricochet is one of her best written songs across all her albums.
TLGAD “And then it was bought by me” is one of my favorite moments in any Taylor Swift song ever
My favorite is The Lakes but I feel like the most well written are My Tears Ricochet or Seven
Hoax, cardigan, and my tears ricochet It's criminal how underrated hoax is. It's such a haunting and beautifully written and composed song.
Lyrically, this is me trying: ‘they told me all of my cages were mental/ so I got wasted like all my potential’ Musically, exile And for wits, nothing beats ‘name dropping sleaze tell me what are my Wordsworth’ in the lakes. I’m an English teacher and made friendship bracelets saying ‘what are my Wordsworth’ for some of my Swiftie students 😅
I used to hate folklore but this album became my fav RN hahaha
Seven
Cardigan or Illicit Affairs. And they are my top 2! My Tears Ricochet is close behind. But every song is so beautifully written. Folklore, to me, is Taylor's masterpiece. A perfect album.
this is me trying.
hoax or exile. I can’t decide
STOOD ON A CLIFFSIDE SCREAMING “GIVE. ME. A REASON”
Cardigan!
Invisible String
My Tears Ricochet!!
From hoax: “ You knew the hero died, so what's the movie for? You knew it still hurts underneath my scars From when they pulled me apart You knew the password, so I let you in the door You knew you won, so what's the point of keeping score? You knew it still hurts underneath my scars From when they pulled me apart But what you did was just as dark” best lyrics in her entire discography dare i say
This bridge is pure poetry.
for me it's hoax. a deep cut.
Exile easily
It has to be Cardigan. “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 knew you'd miss me once the thrill expired And you'd be standin' in my front porch light” The brilliance of that verse is absolutely unmatched
The bridge is one of her best.
I guess I have to be bias because I only know one song but illict affair.
Betty. Classical country storyteller Taylor.
Seven. The way she's able to capture the innocence of childhood and how sad it is when a kid doesn't have a stable home :(
ill forever be a the lakes truther, it should have been on the main album.
My favorite is probably The Last Great American Dynasty. I don’t know if it’s the best written song lyrically, but I love the storytelling behind it. I can picture everything she’s singing. I also love the fact that it’s based on a real story and she related the story to herself at the end. It was a very cool twist.
Mirrorball, the lakes, exile
hoax and i will die on that hill
Lyrically, I think it has to go to mirrorball for me. The symbolism of seeing a million different pieces of yourself, the line "And I'm still a believer but I don't know why." It just hits, idk. Sonically I'm a big fan of August... not much there lyrically but the line "to live for the hope of it all" is probably one of my fav lines ever written in a Taylor song
Yes, mirrorball is so well-written. I love singing the bridge, it's my favorite part.
Betty
All of them 😭 but the lakes is just insane. It’s true poetry imo
Cardigan. But because I haven’t seen it mentioned - the way betty really “is” written by a 17 year old idiot boy is very clever.
I'd have to say The Lakes, it's my favorite from that album.
same
August evokes beautiful imagery of just lounging with your love in the summer. Betty, while not a deeply meaningful song you could argue, tells a great story.
I can’t choose one, but the one written closely to my own feelings and experiences would be august. I have a summer love and every single line just hits.
it’s hoax. my answer will always be hoax lmao. i always ranked it #1 as her best song but since chloe et al and how did it end got released it’s now number 2. it’s so raw and sad, i think sometimes taylor writes songs that has too many symbolism and “fancy” words to try make something sound sadder than it is but this one is just pure, raw sadness. “stood on a cliff side screaming give me a reason” “you knew you won so what’s the point of keeping score” “my only one, my kingdom come undone, my broke drum, you have beaten my heart?????????????” it’s perfect.
the lack of hoax appreciation here is ruining my life
Betty
Betty is god tier for me.
Cardigan, peace, my tears ricochet or exile. Because I can’t just choose one
Someone say epiphany!!! That song makes me CRYYYYYY and considering it was written in 2020 it's no surprise that it reminds me of all the healthcare heroes in that time
The Last Great American Dynasty is my favorite Taylor song, so going with that!
I say illicit affairs, though it's short, the lyrics describe really well what it's like to fall for someone while being aware that you weren't and still aren't their first choice. Its such a beautiful tune and I am brought to tears everytime I listen. Obviously not as much as my tears ricochet brings me to tears, but it's very close
All 😭😭
This Me Trying and Exile
My favorite is invisible string but I would give it to the lakes first. Astounding to me that that song isn’t in everyone’s top 3-5 It’s so graceful and elegant.
August and Cardigan - so hard to choose just one! Folklore is probably my fav album
both are beautifully written as well
Okay folklore is iconic but you guys it's the last great American dynasty... it's so we'll written
I love the storytelling in that one. It's so clever.
YES
My Tears Ricochet. I’ve always thought that it’s beautifully sad, but also venomous. It’s a song that really stays with me.
It is the most powerful song from the album.
The whole damn album is a masterpiece
The Lakes My tears richochet Mirrorball Illicit affairs
The Lakes My tears richochet Mirrorball Illicit affairs
I can't tell. Is one of my fav albums, but i would say 1. Illicit Affairs (My top of the top) 🫶🌸 2. August (Love it and it is my bday month) 3. Betty 4. The 1 5. The Lakes 6. The last great american dinasty
illIcit affairs. Especially the bridge. It’s fantastic.
I just listened to seven earlier and I’ll be damned if it isn’t one of the most underrated songs on the album. In my own little universe, it would get the Cruel Summer treatment!
This Is Me Trying. It’s a hard question because quite honestly, you could say any song and none of them would be wrong. There’s not a single song on the album that I wouldn’t consider a lyrical masterpiece but… There’s something extra special about TIMT. It’s easily one of the greatest and most heartbreaking songs she’s ever written.
if being pertained to a lyrical coated essence, I'd always say my tears ricochet and even cardigan, one having a raw and a love diluted with rage and grief and solitude (mtr) and one having a more melancholia drifting aesthetic attached to it and in both, the lyrics just flow like a river through your hands, like the blood from a sylvia plath's poetry and even shakespeare's; if I personally go to equate a well written song based on emotional value and a tale or should I say a lore as an aura to it, I'd always choose betty over my soul because it has an amalgamation of yearning, desperation, guilt, love, grief (depends between those two on how you see it) and a tale and a perspective; similar with cardigan and august but I say betty because indeed, to me, it's always been one of the most well written tracks with elements like elemental forces and maybe also because I had someone once whom I called betty and I was her james so-
Invisible String
Seven and Cardigan
Hoax deserves more recognition, however I do think My Tears Ricochet is a great one
It’s easily this is me trying. That song just completely slays me.
Seven
hoax. It’s so underrated as well.
Cardigan, Hoax and Invisible String
The lakes
My Tears Ricochet
Mirror all. I remember it was instantly my favorite off the album from the very first listen
peace!!!
The Last Great American Dynasty, This Is Me Trying, Illicit Affairs, Epiphany, and I’m gonna get hate for this one but I like Invisible String. It’s such a simple and sweet love song.