These 18 Taylor Swift Songs Are Mildly Chaotic In The Best Way
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Throughout her various eras, Taylor Swift has written about every human emotion in the book. One of the reasons she is such an outstanding songwriter is she holds nothing back — from the pain of a broken heart to the desire for revenge.
Taylor Swift / Via tenor.com
Some of her songs are polar opposites. The same artist who wrote "Anti-Hero," a resounding anthem for self-sabotagers, also wrote "ME!" a song about embracing every element of yourself.
Taylor Swift / Via giphy.com
This chaos isn't a bad thing. It's unabashedly real. Prepare your emotions, Swifties. Here are 18 Taylor Swift songs that embody this energy.
18."Mastermind"
Taylor Swift / Via giphy.com
This Midnights track is a confession from one woman to her lover, as she admits their connection was no accident. It's pretty romantic, but with a mildly chaotic flare: "What if I told you none of it was accidental / and the first night that you saw me, / nothing was gonna stop me? / I laid the groundwork and then, / just like clockwork, the dominoes cascaded in a line."
17."Mean"
Taylor Swift / Via giphy.com
Even back in her Speak Now days, Swift knew that she was destined for great success. "Mean" tells the world that while her bullies might enjoy petty drama, Swift will some day be living in a big old city, leaving these clowns behind to become washed-up drunks who love to rant about how she can't sing... probably while they watch her win a Grammy.
16."Forever & Always"
Taylor Swift / Via giphy.com
In one of Swift's earliest breakup tracks, she calls her ex a "scared little boy" because her honesty made him "run and hide." It remains one of the most notable songs from Fearless and has a healthy dose of chaotic energy. Centered around a broken promise of "forever and always," this tune is understated savagery.
15."Mad Woman"
Taylor Swift / Via giphy.com
This hauntingly beautiful ballad from Folklore talks about a wronged woman who is perceived as crazy when her ex belittles her hurt ("Every time you call me crazy I get more crazy, / what about that? And when you say I seem angry, I get more angry"). It quite literally discusses a woman in chaos, but only because she is pushed to her limit.
14."Bad Blood"
Taylor Swift / Via giphy.com
This powerhouse single from 1989 is rumored to be about a female artist who tried to sabotage Swift's tour. The pain of betrayal isn't sugar-coated: "Still got scars on my back from your knife, / so don't think it's in the past. These kind of wounds they last and they last." No forgiving and forgetting here! It's pure chaos and one of Swift's best revenge tracks.
13."Style"
Taylor Swift / Via giphy.com
This 1989 tune is low-key chaotic. It took me years of jamming out to this song in the car to actually listen to the lyrics and realize that "Style" is about two people in a rocky relationship who continue to make their way back to the other. The cycle of "crashing down" followed by "[coming] back every time" never goes out of style for this toxic pair.
12."Karma"
Taylor Swift / Via giphy.com
This Midnights track is chaotic in the best way. It is the energy that we all need every single day. Swift says her good karma has resulted in her boyfriend (love you, Joe Alwyn), the breeze in her hair on the weekends, relaxing thoughts, and, of course, her cats. To the person who wronged Taylor Swift, beware: "Karma's on your scent like a bounty hunter, / karma's gonna track you down..."
11."ME!"
Taylor Swift / Via giphy.com
Consider "ME!" the opposing soliloquy of "This Is Me Trying" (Folklore) or "Anti-Hero" (Midnights). While the latter two songs describe feeling like a failure, Swift's Lover single is all about embracing every element of yourself, good and bad. The lyrics take a wild turn when Swift describes herself as a psycho on the phone who can't leave well enough alone, but there's just no one like her!
10."Picture to Burn"
Taylor Swift / Via giphy.com
In Taylor Swift's debut album, one of the very first songs that garnered popularity was "Picture to Burn." The track says that even if her ex-boyfriend starts to tell his friends she's acting obsessive and crazy, she doesn't care. She hated his truck anyway. Now, she's going to burn his picture.
9."Don't Blame Me"
Taylor Swift / Via giphy.com
"Don't blame me, love made me crazy, / if it doesn't, you ain't doin' it right. / Lord, save me, my drug is my baby, / I'll be usin' for the rest of my life." Need I say more? This wild Reputation anthem is one of Swift's fiercest songs to date.
8."Blank Space"
Taylor Swift / Via giphy.com
1989's most satirical track, "Blank Space" talks about the magic, madness, heaven, and sin that Taylor embodies — at least according to the tabloids. She intentionally plays up the song's chaotic energy to poke fun at the way she was presented by the media at the time: "Got a long list of ex-lovers, they'll tell you I'm insane. / 'Cause you know I love the players and you love the game."
7."I Knew You Were Trouble"
Taylor Swift / Via giphy.com
That feeling when you simply look at a person and know chaos will ensue... Swift's popular Red track talks about just that, as it reminiscences on a love that was destined to end poorly from the start: "'Cause I knew you were trouble when you walked in, so shame on me..."
6."Vigilante Shit"
Taylor Swift / Via giphy.com
This dark Midnights tune is giving "No Body, No Crime" vibes but with a little less murder. Swift talks about enacting revenge on a man by providing his wife evidence that he's unfaithful, so "she gets the house, gets the kids, gets the pride." She then makes it personal by saying, "Picture me thick as thieves with your ex-wife." Things are about to go down. (And fans speculate the song may be about the dispute with Scooter Braun.)
5."The Last Great American Dynasty"
Taylor Swift / Via giphy.com
One of the best elements of Folklore is Swift's storytelling ability. "The Last Great American Dynasty" sheds light on the life of Rebekah Harkness, the socialite who previously owned Swift's Rhode Island home. As Swift's song says, Rebekah married Bill Harkness, "the heir to the Standard Oil name and money," before moving into a home they called Holiday House. In the song, Rebekah is a free and slightly chaotic spirit who dyes her neighbor's dog green after a feud, and has "a marvelous time ruinin' everything."
4."Look What You Made Me Do"
Taylor Swift / Via giphy.com
Personally, I love this Reputation treasure. Swift tells us she's been through struggles but has overcome and gotten smarter and harder in the nick of time... so watch out. There are some pretty intense lyrics in this one, from "I got a list of names, and yours is in red, underlined" to the memorable "I'm sorry but the old Taylor can't come to the phone right now. Why? Oh, 'cause she's dead!"
3."I Did Something Bad"
Taylor Swift / Via giphy.com
Now that there's a new Taylor in town, this song on the Reputation album talks about justice for her enemies: "I never trust a narcissist but they love me. / So I play 'em like a violin and I make it look oh so easy. / 'Cause for every lie I tell them, they tell me three. / This is how the world works, now all he thinks about is me." Chaos has been unleashed, and the world is now ruled by Queen Swift.
2."No Body, No Crime"
Taylor Swift / Via giphy.com
Evermore's "No Body, No Crime" chronicles the tale of a cheating husband who murders his wife, Este, and then gets killed by Este's best friend. When her pal doesn't show up for Tuesday night dinner at Olive Garden, the best friend goes into total sleuth mode. She discovers that the husband is guilty, and because she has a boating license, kills him and dumps him into a body of water.
1."Anti-Hero"
Taylor Swift / Via giphy.com
Swift's iconic Midnights single is where this list culminates. Its wild popularity is no doubt due to the song's reliability factor: We are the problem; the self-sabotaging anti-heroes in our own lives; depressed and getting older but never wiser. The song is utter chaos but also makes complete sense. We just needed Taylor Swift to put the feeling into words: "Sometimes I feel like everybody is a sexy baby, / and I'm a monster on the hill."
