Love her or hate her, Taylor Swift has been a household name since 2007. Many of us idolize the 25-year-old and would do anything to be invited to the exclusive parties featuring Kendall Jenner, Cara Delevingne, and anyone who’s anyone in show business. However, the other half of us swear she’s bat-sh*t crazy, but secretly love blasting her songs on any given day during a long drive.
Even though her songs are about her personal experiences, her audience can relate to what she’s saying because many of us have gone through sort of similar things. Here are the top 10 Taylor Swift lyrics that we can relate to. Oh, and don’t expect to see “Darling, I’m a nightmare dressed like a daydream” anywhere on here.
What Taylor Says: “In your life you’ll do things greater than dating the boy on the football team.”
Song: "Fifteen"
What It Means To Us: We all idolized the older boy we would see walking in school, acting like the big man on campus because he was the big man on campus. When you’re 15, you’d do anything to catch his eye, hoping for the least bit of an eye contact. If he talks to you? Forget it. Nothing in life matters anymore because you just reached the ultimate goal and no other accomplishment will ever matter.
What Taylor Says: “You paint me a blue sky and go back and turn it to rain. And I lived in your chess game but you changed the rules every day.”
Song: "Dear John"
What It Means To Us: Every guy we meet has a metaphorical "representative." Every guy. You don’t really get to know a guy until about a couple of weeks into talking with him. The facade that he puts up shows us how head-over-heels we can be, and how picture-perfect they can make our lives. Then you really get to know them, and sometimes that picture-perfect image you once had is ruined by the sad reality that not everything is always sunshine and rainbows.
What Taylor Says: “10 months sober, I must admit. Just because you’re clean don’t mean you don’t miss it.”
Song: "Clean"
What It Means To Us: There’s never a specified measurement of time regarding how long is too long to get over someone. Taylor says just that when she articulates that a long duration of 10 months doesn’t mean the problem is solved and we’re over an ex. She also reminds us that we’ll always have the one special someone we’ll miss and love. That feeling probably isn’t going away anytime soon.
What Taylor Says: “She’s not a saint and she’s not what you think, she’s an actress. She’s better known for the things that she does on the mattress.”
Song: "Better Than Revenge"
What It Means To Us: Classy Taylor uses a much nicer way to describe a promiscuous girl. When we see pictures of our exes with their new girlfriends, this is the exact thought running through our heads. That, and the fact they obviously downgraded.
What Taylor Says: “‘Mary me, Juliet, you’ll never have to be alone. I love you, and that’s all I really know. I talked to your dad -- go pick out a white dress.”
Song: "Love Story"
What It Means To Us: No, our name isn’t Juliet, and not all of us have had our Hollywood love story happen yet. What we can relate to is the fantasy and the anticipation we have for when the one we love asks us to marry him. Let’s face it: Every girl has their picture-perfect engagement planned out. What girl doesn’t find it so darn cute when your boyfriend is respectful enough to ask your dad for your hand in marriage? You’re lying to yourself if you say you haven’t thought about this at least once.
What Taylor Says: “You said you never met one girl who had as many James Taylor records as you, but I do.”
Song: "Begin Again"
What It Means To Us: Not all of us are nostalgic enough to have a collection of James Taylor records like Taylor. The relation we have to this line is the memory of that one thing we had in common with a special someone that separated us from all the other girls. It’s a proud moment when we were able to set ourselves apart from everyone else because we shared something in common that most people don’t.
What Taylor Says: “I hate that stupid old pickup truck you never let me drive.”
Song: "Picture To Burn"
What It Means To Us: Aren’t all boys obsessively, weirdly, creepily in love with their cars? It’s like they spend more time staring at it, spending money on it, and talking about it more than they ever would with us, right? The fantasy we have in our head is to go Carrie Underwood on their car with a nice Louisville Slugger, but for now we’ll just stick to the PG lyrics Taylor gives us.
What Taylor Says: “I don’t know why all the trees change in the fall. I know you’re not scared of anything at all. Don’t know if Snow White’s house is near or far away.”
Song: "The Best Day"
What It Means To Us: The depiction of the innocent wonders we possess in our youth is what Taylor brings to life. This specific line takes the audience back to their childhood when these were the most complex questions we would ask ourselves. Brings back memories, doesn’t it?
What Taylor Says: “Everything will be all right if we just keep dancing like we’re 22.”
Song: "22"
What It Means To Us: It’s not necessarily the age 22 that we connect with— although on our 22nd birthday, I guarantee all of us will caption these lyrics on our Instagram pics— but rather it is the idea that we’re at an age where we’re old enough to be responsible but still young enough to not take ourselves too seriously. This song brings out everyone’s favorite Taylor Swift because she represents women who are carefree and living in the moment. Feeling 22 is more of a lifestyle than a bold statement.
What Taylor Says: “I might be OK but I’m not fine at all.”
Song: "All Too Well"
What It Means To Us: At one point or another every single girl has told herself/others that she was “fine.” This one word is the biggest lie that will come out of a girl's mouth, and we use it to bandage up a broken heart and loose words. Taylor strikes again when she says what all us girls are thinking.
So the next time you hear a Taylor Swift song, don’t try to pinpoint if it was Joe Jonas, a Kennedy, one of the Johns or any other star. Remember that she’s a normal girl just like us who has the ability to put her frustration and heartbreak into songs. For that matter, we should be thanking Taylor for stating all the words and emotions we’re feeling but we’re too afraid to admit. Remember to keep your emotions classy and snappy like Taylor, and if you absolutely must, go ahead and send a psycho text to your ex saying you’re his "nightmare dressed like a daydream."
