Ever since the album “Folklore” by Taylor Swift came out in 2020, I have been obsessed with every song included. This is my favorite Taylor Swift album because I love the indie folk vibe that it gives off and the way she sings the songs. What I love most about the album is the way the songs are written. Taylor Swift is so lyrically inclined it’s crazy, and “Folklore” is one of the best examples of that. There are many different ways to listen to music, but I am a big “lyric listener.” I love dissecting songs to find what they truly mean to me and what the writer is feeling. Here are my top 10 favorite “Folklore” lyrics that stand out to me:

10- “You were my town/now I’m in exile seein’ you out”-“exile (feat. Bon Iver)

To me this lyric means that someone held this person so deep in their heart that it made that person feel like home, and now that they are gone they feel banished from the thing they love the most. It is the feeling of holding someone up on such a high pedestal and having them be such a big part of you, and now that they are gone it feels like your sense of comfort and assurance from that person is being ripped away.

9. “And Isn’t it just so pretty to think/All along there was some/Invisible string/Tying you to me”-“invisible string”

This lyric and song is about the Invisible string theory. The theory suggests that everyone has an “invisible string” to connect them with the people they are destined to meet and interact with. This theory is often used when talking about soulmates, and how they will find their way to each other in some way or another. I really like the theory and think it’s cute, though I’m not sure I completely believe it, it’s still very interesting to think about.

8. “And if you never bleed, you’re never gonna grow”-“the 1”

I like this lyric because to me it means that If you never go through hardships and get hurt, you’re never going to excel in life. I completely agree with this idea because you never know what’s good until you know what bad is. It is a good reminder that everything is going to be okay and it only hurts this much right now.

7. “And women like hunting witches too”-“mad woman”

This is a lyric that I don’t think is talked about enough. It expresses that many women love to make other women feel incompetent and bring them down. Which is not right, because women should understand the most how it feels to be a woman. What not a lot of people understand is that a lot of the time, it’s women that are trying to cause the downfall of another.

6. “Take the words for what they are/A dwindling, mercurial high/A drug that only worked/The first few hundred times”-“illicit affairs”

The first few times I listened to this song I never really paid attention to this specific lyric, but looking back it actually has an important meaning. The lyric is essentially talking about “love bombing.” This is when someone does all they can to make you feel special and loved, but once they know they have you, they suddenly stop and don’t treat you in that same loving way anymore. She is explaining that she is starting to find out that the words said to her were not real, and they were only to put her on this “high,” so she would submit herself to the relationship.

5. “Don’t call me “kid”/Don’t call me “baby”/Look at this idiotic fool that you made me”-“illicit affairs”

I like this lyric more for the way it is sung than the actual lyrics. She sings it so angry that it makes the lyrics just stand out so much more and have a strong meaning. This was the lyric I absolutely screamed the loudest when hearing the song live. It represents the anger you feel after being betrayed by someone you love.

4. “Love you to the moon and to Saturn”-“seven”

This is the cutest sweetest lyric I’ve ever heard. I love it so much and quote it all the time.

3. “A friend to all is a friend to none”-“Cardigan”

I live by this lyric. It is saying that if someone is friends with everyone, then they really aren’t friends with anyone. Being friends with everyone will make you spread yourself too thin, and that makes it so you can’t form a deep, special connection with anyone.

2. “And they called off the circus, burned the disco down/When they sent home the horses and the rodeo clowns/I’m still on that tightrope/I’m still tryin’ everything to get you laughing at me”-“mirrorball

“Mirrorball” is such a special song to me, but these lyrics especially stick with me. They are saying that when everything’s said and done, she is still trying her best to make people like her. Even when all the lights and shows are over with, she is still out there feeling vulnerable and trying to bring happiness to others.

1. “I was so ahead of the curve, the curve became a sphere”-“this is me trying”

A perfect picture is painted from these lyrics. To me this means that someone can be so ahead, then before they know it they find themselves back at the start falling behind everyone. The entirety of the song talks about  trying so hard but still not being good enough, but yet still trying. I can relate to this on another level. Not only the song, but this specific lyric because being a “gifted’ kid, I pushed myself so hard to be ahead in classes and excel, but I ended up pushing myself too hard and came crashing down. I then ended up behind and not in advanced classes, slowly trying to get back to how it was before I pushed too hard.