Oof, right in the feels! Welcome to MsMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the most emotional, devastating lyrics Taylor Swift has ever given us.
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00:00 "We will try to take away my pain, and it just might make me smile."
00:06 Welcome to Ms. Mojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the most emotional, devastating
00:11 lyrics Taylor Swift has ever given us.
00:14 "Please don't ever become a stranger who's lost."
00:20 Number 10 should have kept every grocery store receipt.
00:23 Marjorie.
00:24 "I didn't know better, I think you were still around."
00:31 Processing a loved one's passing is unbearably hard.
00:34 Feeling like you didn't have the chance to properly know them doesn't make it easier.
00:38 Swift explores the complex emotions that accompany such loss in Marjorie.
00:42 Throughout the ballad, she sings about her late grandmother Marjorie Finley, recounting
00:46 memories that keep the woman alive within her.
00:49 It's incredibly moving, and once we reach the bridge, we're left breathless.
00:53 "Should have kept every grocery store receipt, 'cause every scrap of you would be taken from
00:59 me."
01:00 The grief inherent in the lyrics becomes fully palpable here.
01:03 This is especially true when Swift sings about wishing she had held onto something as normal
01:08 as grocery store receipts, because one day, Marjorie herself would be gone.
01:12 It's a powerful reminder to cherish simple moments and mementos, because we never know
01:16 how long we have with someone.
01:18 "I think you were singing to me now."
01:25 Number 9.
01:26 The Whole Bridge - Death By A Thousand Cuts
01:28 "It's okay when it's not.
01:31 It's death by a thousand cuts."
01:36 As far as epic Taylor Swift breakup songs go, this one is up there.
01:40 Sure, the production is pretty up-tempo, but once you stop and actually listen to the words,
01:44 well, you notice there are plenty that cut deep.
01:47 "I ask the traffic lights if it'll be alright, they say I don't know."
01:53 We've asked the traffic lights.
01:54 They don't think we'll ever get over it.
01:56 "One for the ages.
01:57 So if the story's over, why am I still writing pages?"
02:03 If we have to pick just one part, though, it's got to be the bridge.
02:07 Lyrics about everything from a haunted club to paper cuts convey just how deeply the narrator
02:11 has been irrevocably changed by a failed romance.
02:14 "My heart, my hips, my body, my love, tryna find a part of me that you didn't touch."
02:20 Thanks to vivid descriptions and clever wordplay, we can practically see the tragic story play
02:25 out in front of our eyes.
02:26 "United we stand, our country, 'cause it was a lawless land.
02:30 Crying my fears at the touch of your hand."
02:33 Did someone just nick us a thousand times over?
02:36 It hurts so good.
02:38 Number 8.
02:39 I've Never Been A Natural, All I Do Is Try Try Try - Mirrorball
02:42 "I'm a mirrorball, I can change everything."
02:49 Taylor Swift has always had a knack for creating songs that get us in our feelings, as evidenced
02:54 in folklore.
02:55 The album has a slew of songs, like "My Tears Ricochet," that devastate us.
03:00 "I can go anywhere I want, anywhere I want, just not home."
03:06 There's also Exile, a duet that knows a lot about sad endings.
03:10 "I think I've seen this film before, and I didn't like the ending."
03:17 And Peace's fear surrounding love and lack of privacy is nothing short of touching.
03:21 "The devil's in the details, but you got a friend in me."
03:27 Then there's the heart-wrenching masterpiece that is Mirrorball, which is full of lyrics
03:31 that hit close to home.
03:33 "I'm 'cause they watch my shadow, and she's listening."
03:38 Still, no part resonates quite like the one about doing your best to impress others.
03:43 We all know what it's like to try, try, try, without it looking like we are, of course.
03:48 Excuse us, we need a minute to ball our eyes out.
03:51 "I've never been a natural, all I do is try, try, try, I'm still on that trapeze."
03:58 The Whole Bridge - You're On Your Own Kid
04:00 "You're on your own, kid, you always have been."
04:04 On nights when we're wide awake, we turn to midnights for understanding.
04:07 Nothing is sure to make any overachiever feel seen.
04:11 "And the voices that implore, you should be doing more, to you I can admit."
04:17 Antihero, for its part, wraps our insecurities in pop production.
04:20 "I'll stare directly at the sun, but never in the mirror."
04:25 That's saying nothing of Maroon, which makes us see shades of red everywhere.
04:30 And hits different?
04:31 Well, hits different.
04:32 "Is it you, or have they come to take me away?"
04:38 Still, we have to give The Bridge of You're On Your Own Kid its flowers.
04:41 "Start my body like I'd be saved by a perfect kiss."
04:47 Hearing Swift sing about going above and beyond only to end up hurt and lost is all too relatable,
04:53 and destroys us at every turn.
04:55 Yet there's also a reminder that adversity allows growth, so we shouldn't be afraid
05:00 to make the friendship bracelets.
05:02 "Take a moment and taste it, you've got no reason to be afraid."
05:07 Simultaneously painful and filled with hope, this is a bridge we'll never tire of crossing.
05:13 6.
05:14 Your Heart Was Glass, I Dropped It - Champagne Problems
05:18 "Your heart was glass, I dropped it, champagne problems."
05:23 It's one thing to feel broken when a romantic partner ends things, but what if you're the
05:28 one doing the breaking?
05:29 That's the story Champagne Problems tells, from the point of view of a woman who rejected
05:33 her boyfriend's proposal.
05:35 As you can imagine, the ballad is chock full of passages that level us.
05:39 "Evergreen, our group of friends, don't think we'll say that word again."
05:44 The Bridge alone has multiple we could point to.
05:47 "You would have made such a lovely bride, what a shame she's f*cked in the head, they
05:51 say."
05:52 But the lyric that might hurt the most actually comes earlier in the song, when our narrator
05:56 uses striking imagery to describe hurting her former lover.
06:00 It conveys just how sensitive and fragile a heart is, and how easily it can shatter
06:04 if mishandled.
06:06 Needless to say, when Champagne Problems is on, we're singing passionately through a sea
06:10 of tears.
06:11 "You won't remember all my champagne problems."
06:17 5.
06:18 Give Me Back My Girlhood, It Was Mine First - Would've, Could've, Should've
06:29 In the Speak Now-era track "Dear John," Swift sings about a past romance with someone older
06:34 in harrowing fashion.
06:36 "Praying the floor won't fall through again."
06:42 Midnight's "Would've, Could've, Should've" is widely believed to be a continuation of
06:46 this story, with the once 19-year-old protagonist now grown and reflecting on the relationship's
06:51 toxicity.
06:52 "Now that I'm grown, I'm scared of ghosts.
06:53 Memories feel like weapons."
06:58 From the moment it starts, our chests tighten as we take in each loaded word.
07:03 One lyric in particular stops us dead in our tracks, utterly gutting us.
07:07 "Give me back my girlhood, it was mine first."
07:14 Being robbed of one's youthful innocence or girlhood, and longing to reclaim it in adulthood,
07:18 is a trauma many know intimately.
07:21 The vulnerability and strength in Swift's voice as she delivers the line only adds to
07:25 its impact, making it one of her most unforgettable creations yet.
07:29 "I missed her legs to be the two warm girls.
07:34 Stainless windows in the ride."
07:36 4.
07:37 I've Been Having a Hard Time Adjusting - I Had the Shiniest Wheels, Now They're Rusting
07:41 "I've been having a hard time adjusting.
07:45 I had the shiniest wheels, now they're rusting."
07:49 If you ask any Swifty to name folklore's most soul-stirring song, we're betting a
07:53 fair few would pick "This Is Me Trying."
07:56 The somber dream-pop number is an ode to the strength it takes to live, and validates the
08:00 importance of pushing past mistakes and self-doubt.
08:03 And yes, it leaves us reeling from the jump.
08:06 "They told me all of my cages were mental, so I got wasted like all my potential."
08:13 If you've ever found yourself struggling, and believed that your metaphorical wheels
08:16 had lost their shine, these opening lyrics are sure to hit you extremely hard.
08:21 The words flawlessly evoke what it's like to feel like your life has gone off course.
08:26 The track doesn't get any less candid as it goes on, either.
08:29 We haven't been the same since we first heard it.
08:32 "I just wanted you to know that this is me trying."
08:37 Number 3.
08:38 "Who am I supposed to talk to?
08:40 What am I supposed to do if there's no you?"
08:43 Soon you'll get better, featuring the Chicks.
08:45 "Desperate people find faith, so now I pray to Jesus too."
08:49 It's no secret that Taylor Swift and her mom Andrea are extremely close.
08:53 The best day never fails to move us, as Swift brings their bond to sweet life.
08:58 "I had the best day with you today."
09:04 As lovely as that is, though, we have to spotlight Soon You'll Get Better.
09:08 The ballad touches upon Andrea's journey with cancer, and emphasizes how deeply Taylor
09:12 hopes for recovery.
09:13 So it's impossible for us to maintain our composure when it plays.
09:17 "Who am I supposed to talk to?"
09:21 The number reaches an emotional climax at the bridge, where, through two seemingly simple
09:26 questions, the singer captures the immense, unconditional love she has for her mom.
09:31 "What am I supposed to do?"
09:36 We immediately grasp how much she means to her, and it's beautifully poignant.
09:41 It doesn't get much rarer or realer than that.
09:44 "You'll get better soon.
09:46 'Cause you have to."
09:50 Number 2.
09:51 "I'm begging for footnotes in the story of your life.
09:54 Tolerate it."
09:55 "My life should be celebrated, but you tolerate it."
10:02 Few things hurt like being ignored.
10:04 In Tolerate It, the protagonist sings about giving everything to an older man, only for
10:08 him to take her for granted and toss her to the side.
10:11 It's a heart-rending premise that comes to a head once the gripping bridge rolls in.
10:15 "While you were out building other worlds, where was I?
10:18 Where's that man who threw blankets over my barge wire?"
10:22 We can sense the narrator has had enough of merely being tolerated by her partner, as
10:27 she recounts how he created a life she has no real part in anymore.
10:31 "Now I'm begging for footnotes in the story of your life."
10:35 Though she made him the center of her universe, she's forced to plead if she wants the smallest
10:39 bit of affection.
10:41 Gut-wrenchingly poetic, this passage features just the right blend of anger and hurt.
10:46 The effect is earth-shattering, stinging in ways we didn't even think were possible.
10:50 "More weight of you than losing.
10:53 Believe me, I could do it."
10:57 Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.
11:01 Hope It Never Ends, I'd Never Walk Cornelia Street Again
11:04 Cornelia Street.
11:06 Great loves really do make you feel this way.
11:08 "Hope it never ends, I'd never walk Cornelia Street again."
11:15 I've Been the Archer, I've Been the Prey.
11:17 The Archer.
11:18 Just one in a series of poignant lyrics we could never leave behind.
11:22 "I've been the archer, I've been the prey."
11:28 My Love Had Been Frozen, Deep Blue But You Painted Me Golden
11:31 Dancing With Our Hands Tied.
11:33 A reminder that healing and love exist.
11:35 "My love had been frozen, deep blue but you painted me golden."
11:41 Some Things You Just Can't Speak About, Epiphany.
11:44 A haunting encapsulation of the tragedies we can't bear to discuss.
11:48 "I think she's crashing out."
11:52 What Do You Do When The One Who Means The Most To You, The Moment I Knew, Taylor's
11:56 Version.
11:57 Disappointment and heartbreak rolled into one.
11:59 "When the one who means the most to you is the one who didn't show."
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12:22 Number 1.
12:23 All Of It - All Too Well, 10 Minute Version, Taylor's Version, From The Vault
12:27 "Had you called me up again just to break me like a promise."
12:33 Red, Taylor's Version has several songs that make us curl up in a ball.
12:36 We'd be remiss not to mention Nothing New and its painfully familiar look into young
12:41 adulthood.
12:42 "How can a person know everything at 18, but nothing at 22?"
12:48 But of course, no tune wrecks us like the 10-minute version of All Too Well.
12:53 It's dripping in everything from hurt to fury as Swift processes a defunct relationship.
12:58 We swear there's not a passage that doesn't make us audibly gasp.
13:02 "You kept me like a secret, but I kept you like an oath."
13:07 The bridge in particular comes at us like a ton of bricks, with fervent talk of casual
13:11 cruelty completely taking us out.
13:13 We don't get a chance to recover either, as more devastating lyrics soon enter the
13:18 picture.
13:19 "Maybe it would have been fine, and that made me want to die."
13:25 You could say the power ballad proverbially maims us.
13:28 "Just between us did the love affair maim you too."
13:33 Which Taylor Swift lyric always has you screaming, crying, throwing up?
13:37 Let us know in the comments.
13:38 "Screaming, crying, perfect storms, I can make all the tables turn."
13:44 Do you agree with our picks?
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13:53 [music]