Taylor Swift has always been my absolute favorite musician. I first became a fan in summer 2009 when You Belong with Me became a huge hit, and because I really loved that song, it caused me to look into the rest of her Fearless album. Month later, in fall 2009 I was dealing with my first ever heartbreak plus I was starting my first semester of college as a freshmen - so it was soooo much change; everything was different; I didn’t feel like I belonged in my old high school life anymore, and I wasn’t quite integrated into my new college life yet either. Plus none of my old “friends” really understood my heartbreak… but Taylor did. Listening to her lyrics I felt seen and understood and like there wasn’t anything wrong with me; I felt so validated.
From then on, I eagerly awaited every new Taylor album - and literally each album matched up to my life so perfectly. When Red came out I was 21 (so almost 22) and the lyrics of 22 just hit so right. 1989 perfectly summed up the ups and downs of my dating life at the time. When Reputation came out I recently had been hurt and was trying to get over that. And finally, when Lover came out I was also dating my true love and had already loved him 3 summers.
So in honor of Midnights coming out this week, I’ve compiled 10 of Taylor’s lyrics (in no particular order!) that I found super inspiring and hold amazing life lessons within them!
“Time, mystical time, Cuttin' me open, then healin' me fine” - Invisible String
I absolutely love Invisible String. It’s definitely my all time favorite Taylor song and that’s definitely because it’s a concept I’ve spent so much of my life thinking about: fate. This line in particular I really love because it’s so true, time is such an interesting thing. One moment we’re being hurt by life and it feels so horrible, but then as time goes on, the wound starts to close up, it feels less raw, we move on, and one day, out of nowhere - we’re completely fine. When it comes to heartbreak or any other type of hurt, the best cure for it really is just time. Life is cylical; we have downs, but then we also have ups. Things may be hard, but one day, in time, everything is just going to come together and magically work out - especially in love! Fate will always pull you out of all the wrong arms and to where you’re meant to go. Trust the process, trust the timing. It’ll all be okay.
“People throw rocks at things that shine.” - Ours
I remind myself of this line all the time! It’s so true. I personally always say people who are happy with their life are never going to try to tear others down; only people who are completely miserable will do that. I had a time in my life where I was at a corporate job and a co-worker was mean to me for absolutely no reason. Another co-worker pointed out that it was so obvious they were completely jealous of everything I was (especially because my talents got me promoted over them) … so that person would try to tear me down just because I shone. Again, people who are miserable will always try to drag others down to their level. They’re so twisted in their own brains that if they can’t win no one can. So, just remember, if someone is trying to tear you down, it’s because you’re shining and they’re not. Have pity on them and don’t let them win because all it shows is that they’re unhappy. You keep being you, you keep shining bright regardless of others.
“We’re happy, free, confused, and lonely at the same time. It’s miserable and magical.” - 22
Not only is this line super accurate to being age 22, but I find it’s accurate to all of us at any age. I think it’s just life. We’re complicated humans with a billion emotions and sometimes we are happy, sad, mad, excited, and anxious all at the same exact time. Life is stressful and hard, but it’s also really magical. The only thing we can do is just kind of go with the flow. Feel our emotions, process them, and try to focus more on the good. Understand that you’re just a divine soul having a human experience and you’re going to get the FULL human experience! The human experience is very much simultaneously miserable and magical!
“It's like I got this music in my mind, Sayin', "It's gonna be alright …” 'Cause the players gonna play, play, play, play, play ,And the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate Baby, I'm just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake, I shake it off, I shake it off” - Shake it Off
I think deep down we all have this little voice of hope inside of us that tells us everything is going to be okay. Even if we don’t know how or we don’t outwardly feel it, deep down we know *someday* it is going to be alright, despite it all. Similar to the “people throw rocks at the things that shine” lyric, this one reminds us that people who are mad and miserable are gonna keep being mad and miserable no matter what. So, why let someone who is mad and miserable bring you down? All we can do is shake it off (and cleanse our energy + cut the cords) let them go and choose to not let them drag us down to their level.
“I've been spending the last eight months, thinking all love ever does is break and burn, and end. But on a Wednesday in a cafe, I watched it begin again” - Begin Again
I always loved this line because it’s so relatable in heartbreak. After the end of a romance (and especially after a series of failed romances) it really does always feel like love is constantly fated to end. But then out of nowhere, on one random day, someone new pops into your life and you start the cycle all over again. You forget about the hurt and the pain, and you’re reminded with hope once more. It almost reminds me of Michael Scotts quote “No question about it, I am ready to get hurt again.” 🤣 So, this line is a great message to those feeling down about love, yeah it ended now, but one day, it will begin again! And maybe that new beginning will be the one you’ve been looking for.
“Past me, I wanna tell you not to get lost in these petty things, Your nemeses, Will defeat themselves before you get the chance to swing” - Long Story Short
Not only do I love this song for the Alice in Wonderland reference, but because it shows that we all go through bad times, but eventually we all come out of it on the other side, alright, stronger and wiser. This line is a great life lesson. Some fights and conflicts are just not worth getting involved in and not worth soaking up all of your energy. They’re not worth dwelling on and stealing a second of your own mental wellbeing and happiness. Karma is a real thing and most likely, your enemies will in fact cause their own downfall. So you focus on your own well-being and let the Universe sort things out.
“Say it in the street, that's a knock-out, But you say it in a Tweet, that's a cop-out, And I'm just like, "Hey, are you okay?”, And I ain’t, trying to mess with your self-expression, But I've learned the lesson that stressin’, And obsessin' 'bout somebody else is no fun” - You Need to Calm Down
The entirety of You Need to Calm Down is an amazing anthem that all rings so true, but I especially love this beginning. It reminds us that people on the internet who intentionally are mean… clearly are not okay! Once again, happy people are NEVER mean! People who are so obsessed with what everybody else is doing and spreading meanness are literally just trolls who have nothing better in their own life. Let them go… and just them same, we ourselves sometimes need to be reminded to let go of caring so much about what others are doing, or what others think about us.
“I'm the only one of me, Baby, that's the fun of me” - ME
There truly is only one of you on this planet! You were made to be you for a reason, so embrace that! The absolute fun-ness of you is that you are one of a kind. Appreciate how unique, how beautiful, how wonderful, how talented, how quirky, how cute, how very you you are! Celebrate being you! I personally believe in reincarnation, so while I believe we have many lives, I know that we only spend one life as the person we are now… and we chose to be this person now! So clearly our soul thought being this person would be exciting and fun … so truly, deeply appreciate every Ince of you, because you are amazing!
“Because these things will change, Can you feel it now? These walls that they put up to hold us back will fall down, It's a revolution, the time will come, For us to finally win” - Change
Life is cyclical and these lyrics (and this song in general) remind us that nothing lasts forever… (But this is getting good now… hehehe had to!) Any walls or blockades in your path, will come down eventually. You’re not going to be stuck forever. Things absolutely are going to change and one day the time will come for your victory. You will come out on top, you will win, you will achieve all the successes and reach all the the goals you’ve ever dreamed of. Just keep having faith, keep on the path and know things are destined to change sooner or later…and they very well may be changing in your favor.
“My heart's been borrowed and yours has been blue, All's well that ends well to end up with you” - Lover
& finally, another one of my favorite songs: Lover. This line in particular I love because it just reminds us that while we’ve experienced sadness in love, one day, we do wind up with our person; we do experience true love. Everything that ever happened in our love lives doesn’t seem as bad because it all led us to finding this person and being with this person. So, in our love lives, all’s well that ends well, because the journey took us to the greatest ending possible - our true love!
Hope you enjoyed these! <3
