There were rumors swirling that Taylor Swift would be announcing Reputation (Taylor’s Version) last week. In anticipation of the announcement, I began working on a post ranking all of the songs from Reputation to share when it was announced. This, of course, spiraled out of control and led to me ranking the songs from every single Taylor Swift’s album!
Unfortunately, Rep TV has still not been announced 😩 but in the meantime, I’m sharing my rankings, starting with my favorite album — folklore.
Four years after it’s release, folklore is still such a moving and lyrically stunning album. The songwriting is immaculate from beginning to end, I personally don’t think there is a bad song on the album, and it was so hard for me to rank. I found myself rearranging things more than once before I was satisfied and even still, there are some that feel like they are rated so much lower than what they deserve. If only they were on another album.
Let’s get into it, starting with…
number seventeen: epiphany
This is a gorgeous song and it pains me to put it in last place. The comparisons Taylor draws between soldiers in WWII to healthcare workers during the pandemic cuts me to the bone. That said, as beautiful and poetic as it is, it is not a song I ever actively seek out.
Favorite lyrics: “Hold your hand through plastic now / ‘Doc, I think she’s crashing out’ / And some things you just can’t speak about.”
number sixteen: peace
Beautiful, but sort of… forgettable.
Favorite lyrics: “All these people think love’s for show / But I would die for you in secret.”
number fifteen: the lakes
As someone who regularly fantasizes about throwing it all away and escaping to the countryside to create art in peace, “the lakes” resonates with me. However, it just isn’t a song I find myself reaching for.
Favorite lyrics: “A red rose grew up out of ice frozen ground / With no one around to tweet it / While I bathe in cliffside pools / With my calamitous love and insurmountable grief.”
number fourteen: hoax
This is where I really start to struggle with my rankings.
If “hoax” was on another album, it would for sure crack the top 10 songs for me. Alas, it is on folklore and as gorgeous as it is, it just doesn’t hit as hard as some of the others.
Favorite lyrics: “Don’t want no other shade of blue but you / No other sadness in the world would do.”
number thirteen: seven
The first few times I heard “seven”, I didn’t care for it. Slowly, the lyrics sank in and I began to understand the story Taylor is telling about a childhood friend in an abusive home and it totally changed the song for me. It is masterful storytelling and lyrical perfection.
Favorite lyrics: “And though I can’t recall your face / I still got love for you.”
number twelve: mad woman
As someone who has been called crazy more times that I can count (or care to admit), I am very much here for this song.
Favorite lyric: “Every time you call me crazy, I get more crazy, what about that? / And when you say I seem more angry, I get more angry / And there’s nothing like a mad woman / What a shame she went mad / No one likes a mad woman / You made her like that.”
number eleven: the last great american dynasty
Um. I want to be Rebekah’s best friend. She sounds like a damn good time. And this song is also a damn good time to sing along to in the car.
Favorite lyrics: “Rebekah gave up on the Rhode Island set forever / Flew in all her Bitch Pack friends from the city / Filled the pool with champagne and swam with the big names / And blew through the money on the boys and the ballet / And losing on card game bets with Dali.”
number ten: illicit affairs
While I have never been the other woman in a relationship, these lyrics still cut to the core. They are just so heartbreaking and despite the fact I would never condone cheating, I find myself having so much empathy for the POV character and the mess she’s in.
The below lyrics are also incredibly relatable to anyone who has been in a relationship that’s made them feel less than, regardless of whether or not it was an illicit affair.
Favorite lyrics: “And you wanna scream / Don’t call me ‘kid’ / Don’t call me ‘baby' / Look at this godforsaken mess that you made me / You showed me colors you know I can’t see with anyone else / Don’t call me ‘kid’ / Don’t call me ‘baby’ / Look at this idiotic fool that you made me / You taught me a secret language I can’t speak with anyone else / And you know damn well / For you, I would ruin myself.”
number nine: invisible string
I don’t really know if I believe in fate or destiny or that everything happens for a reason. I think a lot of the time, things just happen the way they happen, for better or for worse.
That said, I do like the idea of fate, and find “invisible string” to be such a stunning story of two fated lovers who were meant to find each other.
Favorite lyrics: “One single thread of gold tied me to you.”
number eight: betty
“betty” gets a lot of hate, but I think it is such a bop!!! It’s so catchy, what’s not to like?
I also love getting the perspective of the supposed villain. Yes, James fucked up, but he’s only 17, he doesn’t know anything!! Once you hear his side of things, you realize he’s not a bad guy, just a confused kid trying to figure out this big, bad world we live in.
Favorite lyrics: “I’m only 17, I don’t know anything / But I know I miss you.”
number seven: august
Okay, this is where the rankings get really tough. Where “august” falls on my list is probably going to be unpopular, and I respect that. Do not get me wrong, it is beautiful and will forever be a Taylor classic — probably more so than some of the songs I’ve ranked higher — there are just six songs I, personally, identify with just a teeny bit more.
**Runs for cover!!**
Favorite lyrics: “Back when we were still changin’ for the better / Wanting was enough / For me, it was enough / To live for the hope of it all / Cancel plans just in case you’d call / And say, ‘Meet me behind the mall.’”
number six: mirrorball
Not to steal from another Taylor song… but at my core, I am just a pathological people pleaser, who only wants you to see her and thus, “mirrorball” is one of the most relatable songs on the album for me. Combine that with the lyrical master… it’s honestly crazy “mirrorball” isn’t in my top three songs! folklore is just too good for it’s own good!
Favorite lyrics: “I want you to know / I’m a mirrorball / I can change everything about me to fit in.”
number five: this is me trying
So vulnerable. So honest. So raw. “this is me trying” is painfully sincere and painfully relatable, and so, it cracks my top five.
Favorite lyrics: “They told me all of my cages were mental / So I got wasted like all my potential / And my words shoot to kill when I’m mad / I have a lot of regrets about that.”
number four: the 1
This song makes me so nostalgic for the loves of years past. The loves that didn’t work out, but oh man, did it hurt when they ended.
And while I am now so happy they didn’t work out because I love my husband and the life we have built together, there is just something about a song like this that takes you back.
Favorite lyrics: “But we were something don’t you think so? / Roaring 20s, tossing pennies in the pool / And if my wishes came true / It would’ve been you.”
number three: cardigan
Is it cliche to have “cardigan” in my top three? Probably. Do I care? Not even a little bit. The lyrics and imagery in “cardigan” are so haunting, I get chills pretty much every time I hear it.
Favorite lyrics: “And when you’re young, they assume you know nothing / But I knew you’d linger like a tattooed 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.”
number two: my tears ricochet
Brilliant. Haunting. Chilling. Poetic.
No additional notes.
Taylor Swift is one of the greatest lyricists of our time and this is by far my favorite collab between her and Jack Antonoff.
Favorite lyrics: “Even on my worst day, did I deserve, babe / All the hell you gave me? / ‘Cause I loved you, I swear I loved you / ‘Til my dying day.”
number one: exile
One of my girlfriends told me that people will either understand why “exile” would be someone’s number one song or they will think I’m crazy. As I said earlier, I’ve been called crazy before so bring it on!
In all seriousness, “exile” is such a stunning portrayal of two very different perspectives of the end of a relationship and is just so accurate to real life. We see relationships end like this all of the time — one person being caught off guard and confused. The other being like, ‘Um, I literally tried to talk to you about the problems in our relationship a million times, but you refused to listen to me.’
Ugh. It’s perfect.
Favorite lyrics: “I couldn’t turn things around (You never turned things around) / ‘Cause you never gave a warning sign (I gave so many signs) / So many signs, so many signs / I think I’ve seen this film before / And I didn’t like the ending.”
And there she is, my folklore ranking!
What do you think? Agree? Disagree? If you are a Taylor Swift fan, please, please share your own folklore ranking or top three songs in the comments and let me know which album you want to see next!!
XOXO,
Maddie
I love folklore. I didn't expect to, and it's one of the only albums of its kind (I don't know what we call these. In-between albums seem rude, but quieter albums of hers I don't mean that as an insult). But I really loved folklore when I heard it
I think The Last Great American Dynasty is one of my favorites because it just conjures up SUCH brilliant images. I can picture it all clear as day Although Invisible String is just GORGEOUS and ugh August. Yeah, I don't know how you put this list together I can't make up my mind 🤣
i LOVE this. she played exile as the surprise song at the show i went to and it was genuinely the best moment of my life 🥺