I don't care what anyone says about her. I love Taylor Swift and think she's one of the most talented song writers ever. People are always whining about how she writes too many break-up songs. Okay...
A) Who doesn't? Love and heartbreak are extremely relevant and popular topics to write about.
B) They're damn good break-up songs if you ask me.
This list isn't based on her most popular or controversial songs. It's simply based on what I believe to be her best break-up songs yet---the ones that have personally punched me in the soul over the years, whether I was going through a relationship woe or not. Some of these I can relate to and some of them I cannot. Either way, they're all great songs.
Let the countdown begin!
12. Tim McGraw
This was her first single ever, and the lyrics are so brilliant and bittersweet. It's about having to say goodbye to someone you know you can't be with anymore. In the song, she documents everything that will help the person it was written about remember her---like the fact that her favorite song is a Tim McGraw song and she wore old faded blue jeans. I can't help but feel a little pang when I listen to this song.
11. Forever & Always
This song is fast-paced, which I think is kind of symbolic of the fast-paced manner in which the relationship it was written about unraveled. It really sucks when someone seems genuinely invested in you and you become genuinely invested in them as well, and then they just change their mind out of nowhere. No more phone calls, no more texts, no more acknowledgment of your existence or your broken heart. It's an ouch, and I've certainly been there before.
10. Cold As You
This song is so emotional and raw. I think it's one of her best songs ever, yet it's so underrated. It starts off soft and then builds to a soul-shattering bridge. It's all about giving parts of yourself away to a person who couldn't care less about them...or you.
9. You're Not Sorry
This is one of my favorite Taylor Swift songs ever. I love the sad piano and violin sounds that are incorporated in it, and the lyrics are so relevant, bold and heartbreaking. When someone says they're sorry, you so desperately want to believe them and continue giving them chances. But I think that moment where you realize that they're not sorry and that you're not going to let them hurt you anymore is a beautiful moment. It's an incredibly brave and vulnerable moment. This song was clearly written about one of those moments, and the message is portrayed beautifully and flawlessly.
8. Breathe (ft. Colbie Caillat)
This song is so sad and pretty. It's about having to say goodbye to somebody, even if you can't breathe without them. And one of the things I love about it is that it doesn't specify who did what wrong. It's just about knowing that it's time for two people to go their separate ways and accepting that it just didn't work out.
7. If This Was a Movie
I think almost everyone is guilty of expecting romantic comedy outcomes in their relationships. For example, the guy of your dreams dumps you and then shows up on your porch in the pouring rain two hours later to tell you he made the biggest mistake of his life and can't live without you. Or the object of your affection epically hurts your feelings and then stands outside your bedroom window tossing pebbles until you come out and accept their sincerest apology. But real life relationships rarely work out that way. This song is about pining away for a happy ending that will never come. I've been there as well, and it's a terrible feeling. It's very difficult to separate the way you want things to be from the way things actually are---and will remain.
6. I Almost Do
This song is very simple, but very relevant. I think the lyrics are so universally applicable, which is what I love about it. One of the most difficult things ever is restraining yourself from contacting the person who broke your heart because you know that they will just break your heart again if you willingly re-open your doors. It can be so tempting to send that "I miss you" text or make that midnight love declaring phone call. And every time you don't send that text or make that call, you almost do. And that's what this song is about.
5. Dear John
Coming in at 6 minutes and 46 seconds, this is one of Taylor's longest and most lyrically rich songs. I love it so much. One of my favorite lyrics in it is, "Don't you think I was too young to be messed with? The girl in the dress cried the whole way home." You can just see her sitting in the back of a cab, wearing a dress and crying the whole way home...or a similar vision. It's scathing, it's raw, it's beautiful, it's honest, and ultimately, it's triumphant. "I took your matches before fire could catch me, so don't look now. I'm shining like fireworks over your sad, empty town."
4. White Horse
This is a classic Taylor Swift song. There's a vulnerability, innocence and naivety about it that I think we can all relate to. It makes me think about the first time I realized that not all love stories have happy endings and that people are going to disappoint you when it's the last thing you expect. It's such a sad, simple little song.
3. Back to December
The interesting and unique thing about this song is that Taylor is singing about breaking someone else's heart instead of someone breaking hers. She longingly looks back on a good, loving relationship that she gave up and apologizes to the other person for the way things ended. She also admits that she misses this person and wishes she could make things right again. By breaking his heart, she kind of ended up breaking her own as well. This song is raw, relevant, and beautifully confessional.
The interesting and unique thing about this song is that Taylor is singing about breaking someone else's heart instead of someone breaking hers. She longingly looks back on a good, loving relationship that she gave up and apologizes to the other person for the way things ended. She also admits that she misses this person and wishes she could make things right again. By breaking his heart, she kind of ended up breaking her own as well. This song is raw, relevant, and beautifully confessional.
2. Last Kiss
I saw Taylor's Speak Now show back in 2011, and when she performed this song, I pretty much cried throughout the entire performance. You could feel the sadness and profound sense of connection in that arena. Everyone was so quiet and everyone was crying and Taylor was crying and it was just really intense and beautiful at the same time. This song is really difficult to listen to. It's about losing someone that you will always love. It's about looking back on when everything was good and real. I love how Taylor always builds up to epic, heartbreaking bridges. This song has one of those. When she belts out lines like, "I'll watch your life in pictures like I used to watch you sleep, and I feel you forget me like I used to feel you breathe," you can't help but die a little inside. I do, and I've never even gone through a break-up like this before.
I saw Taylor's Speak Now show back in 2011, and when she performed this song, I pretty much cried throughout the entire performance. You could feel the sadness and profound sense of connection in that arena. Everyone was so quiet and everyone was crying and Taylor was crying and it was just really intense and beautiful at the same time. This song is really difficult to listen to. It's about losing someone that you will always love. It's about looking back on when everything was good and real. I love how Taylor always builds up to epic, heartbreaking bridges. This song has one of those. When she belts out lines like, "I'll watch your life in pictures like I used to watch you sleep, and I feel you forget me like I used to feel you breathe," you can't help but die a little inside. I do, and I've never even gone through a break-up like this before.
1. All Too Well
It's hard for me to get through this song without crying. She said in an interview that this song followed a 6-month creative dry spell. She was so numb and devastated by this break-up that she couldn't even write about it at first. When she finally did sit down to write a song about it (for the sake of closure), she had a hard time putting her thoughts and feelings into words. So she just started telling the story and recounting the memories one by one. Eventually, this song was born. And again, I've never gone through a break-up like this before---the earth-shattering kind that almost feels equivalent to losing a loved one. (Which kind of scares me because doesn't everybody go through at least one of those in their lifetime?) But this song still makes me incredibly sad because it's just so eloquent, raw and descriptive. When you listen to it, you can't help but picture yourself in every experience that is being re-told. I think it's her best break-up song to date.
Do you have a favorite Taylor Swift break-up song that didn't make the list?
<3 Madison
It's hard for me to get through this song without crying. She said in an interview that this song followed a 6-month creative dry spell. She was so numb and devastated by this break-up that she couldn't even write about it at first. When she finally did sit down to write a song about it (for the sake of closure), she had a hard time putting her thoughts and feelings into words. So she just started telling the story and recounting the memories one by one. Eventually, this song was born. And again, I've never gone through a break-up like this before---the earth-shattering kind that almost feels equivalent to losing a loved one. (Which kind of scares me because doesn't everybody go through at least one of those in their lifetime?) But this song still makes me incredibly sad because it's just so eloquent, raw and descriptive. When you listen to it, you can't help but picture yourself in every experience that is being re-told. I think it's her best break-up song to date.
Do you have a favorite Taylor Swift break-up song that didn't make the list?
<3 Madison
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