Swiftature–Top Fifty Taylor Swift Songs for Fiction Writers Ranked: 10-1!!!

Swiftature — Top 50 Taylor Swift Song... My Winter Song to You (Sneak Peek)

Swiftature–Top Fifty Taylor Swift Songs for Fiction Writers Ranked: 10-1!!!

It’s finally here! What we’ve all been waiting for–for weeks! The release of Life of a Showgirl!!

Oops–no. Sorry. That’s not for another day. Which is why I HAVE TO post my top ten Taylor Swift Songs for Fiction Writers today. I created my list months ago, and it’s taken me this long to post it all. Who knows how the list might change though, after Life of a Showgirl is released?! If it does, I will make updates. But for now, here are the winners…

#10 thanK you aIMee

All that time you were throwing punches

It was all for nothing

And our town, it looks so small from way up here

Screamed, “Thank you, Aimee” to the night sky

And the stars are stunning…

‘So I pushed each boulder up that hill

Your words were still just ringing in my head, ringing in my head

Thank you, Aimee

If you’re at all invested in Taylor Swift’s personal life or the stories behind her songs, you know this one is directed toward Kim Kardashian—or at least, that’s what her fans assume. To me, it’s the least interesting part of “thanK you aIMee.” I included this song in my top ten because it’s like a culmination of a hero’s journey to self-discovery. Throughout, she alludes to Sisyphus, pushing the boulder up the hill. Only unlike the tragic, permanently defeated Sisyphus, Taylor gets herself and the boulder up the hill, and discovers the benefits of her struggle. She finds a way to heal and gains new perspective. Whoever Aimee is in real life, in the song, she can represent any number of demons. And the struggle isn’t just external, but internal as well. It’s the ultimate victory, where the reward is hard-earned and cathartic.

#9 Mean

You

are pointing out my flaws again

as if i dont already see them

i’ll walk with my head down

trying to block you out

cause i’ll never impress you

i just wanna feel okay again

i bet you got pushed around

somebody made you cold

but the cycle ends right now

cause you cant lead me down that road

and you dont know what you dont know

That’s right. “Mean” earns a place in my top ten at #9—and the reason has nothing to do with writing, at least not when it comes to the elements of fiction. However, if you’ve been putting yourself and your books out there, it’s sorta inevitable that one day, you’ll get a mean reader review. One that hits below the belt and feels amazingly personal. Because writing fiction is a personal process. You’re laying bare the inner workings of your mind, and nothing hurts like someone ripping into a book you’ve poured your heart and soul into. But when that happens, you ABSOLUTELY cannot respond. There are horror stories about writers who responded to negative reviews that they got on Goodreads, and it’s just a VERY. BAD. IDEA.

Here’s what I suggest instead. Buy a punching bag (if you don’t already have one.) Put on your gloves and put in your earbuds. Punch out all your aggression while listening—and maybe even singing along—to Taylor Swift’s “Mean.” And then, move on.

#8: New Year’s Day

P lease, don’t ever become a stranger

Whose laugh I could recognize anywhere

There’s glitter on the floor after the party

Girls carryin’ their shoes down in the lobby

Candle wax and Polaroids on the hardwood floor

You and me forevermore

Don’t read the last page

But I stay when it’s hard or it’s wrong or we’re makin’ mistakes

I want your midnights

But I’ll be cleanin’ up bottles with you on New Year’s Day

“New Year’s Day” is a quiet, seemingly simple love song with a minimalist feel. Taylor sets the stage by using details—glitter, candle wax, and Polaroids littering the hardwood floor after their New Year’s Eve party. But it makes a subtle shift to promises and pleas: don’t ever become a stranger whose laugh I could recognize anywhere (so beautiful) and I want your midnights, but I’ll be cleaning up bottles with you on New Year’s Day. This song is the opposite of showy. Other than imagery, Swift doesn’t employ language devices. But it communicates an understated yet powerful message of love that’s so pure, I wish I could include something like it in everything I write.

#7: Cruel Summer

Fever dream high in the quiet of the night

You know that I caught it (oh yeah, you’re right, I want it)

Bad, bad boy, shiny toy with a price

You know that I bought it (oh yeah, you’re right, I want it)

Killing me slow, out the window

I’m always waiting for you to be waiting below

Devils roll the dice, angels roll their eyes

What doesn’t kill me makes me want you more

And it’s new, the shape of your body

It’s blue, the feeling I’ve got

And it’s ooh, whoa-oh

It’s a cruel summer

“Cruel Summer” is full of contradictions. Summer, which is supposed to be easy and kind, is cruel, full of devils and danger. Swift sings “I snuck in through the garden gate, every night that summer just to seal my fate…” She’s resigning herself to a toxic relationship, where he wants to keep things light, and keep her a secret. The song is poppy and fun, yet the lyrics put things on an epic scale, like she might just lose her soul (or her heart) in pursuit of this man. It tells the story of unrequited love where the stakes are super high. Such suspense! Such a great way to foster reader engagement!

#6: You’re on Your Own, Kid

From sprinkler splashes to fireplace ashes

I gave my blood, sweat and tears for this

I hosted parties and starved my body

Like I’d be saved by a perfect kiss

The jokes weren’t funny, I took the money

My friends from home don’t know what to say

I looked around in a blood-soaked gown

And I saw something they can’t take away

‘Cause there were pages turned with the bridges burned

Everything you lose is a step you take

So make the friendship bracelets

Take the moment and taste it

You’ve got no reason to be afraid

You’re on your own, kid

“You’re On Your Own, Kid” is the ultimate coming-of-age song. It’s about finding your voice and establishing your independence. Staying connected with friends while being okay alone. Letting go of crushes and loving yourself. Living in the moment and living strong. This is the song that inspired Swifties’ preoccupation with friendship bracelets—a seemingly throwaway line in a song “from the vault.” But it only demonstrates the power of her lyrics. They tap into something personal and universal. Every time I hear this song, I feel a sense of triumph. It’s what I try to insert into every protagonist’s character arc.

#5 Champagne Problems

You booked the night train for a reason

So you could sit there in this hurt

Bustling crowds or silent sleepers

You’re not sure which is worse

Because I dropped your hand while dancing

Left you out there standing

Crestfallen on the landing

Champagne problems

Your mom’s ring in your pocket

My picture in your wallet

Your heart was glass, I dropped it

Champagne problems

You told your family for a reason

You couldn’t keep it in

Your sister splashed out on the bottle

Now no one’s celebrating

Dom Pérignon, you brought it

No crowd of friends applauded

Your hometown skeptics called it

Champagne problems

You had a speech, you’re speechless

Love slipped beyond your reaches

And I couldn’t give a reason

Champagne problems

Your Midas touch on the Chevy door

November flush and your flannel cure

“This dorm was once a madhouse”

I made a joke, “Well, it’s made for me”

How evergreen, our group of friends

Don’t think we’ll say that word again

And soon they’ll have the nerve to deck the halls

That we once walked through

One for the money, two for the show

I never was ready, so I watch you go

Sometimes you just don’t know the answer

‘Til someone’s on their knees and asks you

“She would’ve made such a lovely bride

What a shame she’s fucked in the head, ” they said

But you’ll find the real thing instead

She’ll patch up your tapestry that I shred

And hold your hand while dancing

Never leave you standing

Crestfallen on the landing

With champagne problems

Your mom’s ring in your pocket

Her picture in your wallet

And you won’t remember all my

Champagne problems

You won’t remember all my

Champagne problems

I couldn’t pick just a portion of this song’s lyrics to represent how incredible it is, because the ENTIRE THING is pure poetry. Or, amazingly written prose in the form of flash fiction. Swift uses paradoxes, weaving in and out through the song, telling the story of a failed marriage proposal. She sings from the perspective of the “fucked-in-the-head” potentially lovely bride, describing how she broke her boyfriend’s heart. Somehow, in the space of three minutes, she establishes the setting and describes the reactions of friends and family to her rejection. And she includes how they’ll console him, their predictions of him finding “the real thing”–a woman to “patch up the tapestry I shred.”

This might be Taylor’s most well-written song, if you look at it line by line. It’s sort of like what Shakespearean scholars say about Macbeth—it’s his shortest play, and every word is necessary and well-chosen. But, just like Macbeth isn’t considered Shakespeare’s greatest play (that honor goes to Hamlet, or some would argue, King Lear), “Champagne Problems” isn’t Taylor Swift’s greatest song for fiction writers. It’s only #5.

Which me leads to #s 4 thru 2 in my list. They’re all basically tied because they’re all connected. My ranking really comes down to execution (like how catchy is the tune?) But here we go…

#4: Cardigan

‘Cause I knew you

Steppin’ on the last train

Marked me like a bloodstain, I

I knew you

Tried to change the ending

Peter losing Wendy, I

I knew you

Leavin’ like a father

Running like water, I

And when you are young, they assume you know nothing

But 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

In Swift’s album Folklore, she tells the same story (of a high school love triangle) from three different perspectives. Each song has a single word title, starting with either a, b, or c. “Cardigan” is Betty’s story, about how her boyfriend, James, left her for another girl—but only for a while. She’s sure that he’ll come back to her. The similes & metaphors in this song are just perfect. “I knew you, leaving like a father, running like water…” and comparing herself throughout to an old cardigan under someone’s bed, but “you put me on and said I was your favorite.” The refrain is “When you are young they think you know nothing,” and the song builds to “I knew everything when I was young.” We get the sense that Betty is telling her story after many years have passed, and she now understands what she didn’t know then.

#3: August

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 you meet me behind the mall

So much for summer love and saying, “Us”

‘Cause you weren’t mine to lose

You weren’t mine to lose, no

But I can see us lost in the memory

August slipped away into a moment in time

‘Cause it was never mine

And I can see us twisted in bedsheets

August sipped away like a bottle of wine

‘Cause you were never mine

The narrator in August doesn’t get a name. She’s the other woman who James drives off with, and they end up having a summer fling. She’s a temptress and possibly a villain. Except, after listening to the lyrics, you have to feel bad for her. The bittersweet longing communicated is both raw and refined. Lots of people have had an ill-fated love affair that they’ve tried to hang onto; lots of us haven’t. But most people understand the desire to stop time, and to cling to something (or someone) that cannot last. It’s like sand slipping through your fingers. August represents a perfect moment when the end is near. It’s a month full of Sundays, when you know that school will start soon and real life will resume. “August slipped away like a bottle of wine, cause you were never mine…”

#2: Betty

I was walkin’ home on broken cobblestones

Just thinkin’ of you when she pulled up like

A figment of my worst intentions

She said “James, get in, let’s drive”

Those days turned into nights

Slept next to her, but

I dreamt of you all summer long

Betty, I’m here on your doorstep

And I planned it out for weeks now

But it’s finally sinkin’ in

Betty, right now is the last time

I can dream about what happens when

You see my face again

The only thing I wanna do

Is make it up to you

My daughter thinks that “Betty” is an unlikely choice for my #2 spot. It doesn’t have the same poetry as “Cardigan” and “August,” so shouldn’t it be #4, if not further down the list? While I admit that the harmonica and country, folksy vibe of “Betty” is part of the reason why I love it so much, I have other reasons for making it my #2. Remember, this list is for fiction writers, and in “Betty” Swift achieves something that many seasoned novelists can’t. One, she writes in a convincingly male voice. Two, he’s an unreliable narrator who never apologizes or takes responsibility for the damage he’s done. And three, he becomes a compelling antihero who we root for in spite of ourselves. “Betty” is pure genius, and I believe it’s Taylor Swift’s most underrated song.

#1: All Too Well (10 Minute Version)

Was there every any doubt that “All Too Well” would be #1? I mean, come on—Swift actually went all meta and wrote another song about “All Too Well” where she describes its genesis and how the story is no longer hers. (I’m talking about “The Manuscript.”) “All Too Well” has its very own short film, where at the end, the protagonist writes a novel that’s supposedly about her song? It is a pop culture touchstone, and I’ll die on this hill: Not only is “All Too Well” Swift’s magnum opus, it’s a musical, lyrical masterpiece. The song follows the standard plot diagram flawlessly, with exposition, an inciting incident, rising action, a climax, and denouement. There’s character arcs and themes, setting, figurative language, and symbolism. (I mean—the red scarf?) The song screams of autumn, first love, and first heartbreak. It tells a story where it’s impossible not to get sucked in.

Okay, Folks. There you have it!

Please check back in a while, to see if any songs from Life of a Showgirl knocks any of my original choices for The Top 50 Taylor Swift Songs for Fiction Writers off the list. In the meantime, if you haven’t already, here are the posts for my first 41 choices (there’s a tie at #50.)

Read Top 50 Taylor Swift Songs for Fiction Writers, #s 50-41

Read Top 50 Taylor Swift Songs for Fiction Writers, #s 40-31

Read Top Taylor Swift Songs for Fiction Writers, #s 30-21

Read Top Taylor Swift Songs for Fiction Writers, #s 20-11

And, as a special treat, I created a Spotify Playlist of all 51 Top Taylor Swift Songs for Fiction Writers. Follow it here.

Also, make sure to read “Love and Poetry,” my short story written while reading Taylor Swift. It’s free to download, and you don’t even have to subscribe to my newsletter! (But if you’d like to subscribe, I’d love to have you. Click here!)