Get ready for an emotional rollercoaster as we dive into Taylor Swift's most heart-wrenching ballads. From raw confessions to poignant tributes, these songs showcase Swift's unparalleled ability to capture the essence of heartbreak and loss. Grab your tissues and join us as we explore the tracks that have left Swifties in tears.
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00:00What a sad, beautiful, tragic love.
00:07Welcome to Ms. Mojo, and today we're counting down our picks
00:11for the Taylor Swift songs that will have you clutching a tear-soaked pillow.
00:14If you know it in one glimpse, it's legendary.
00:19Number 10. Back to December, Taylor's version.
00:23I'm so glad you made time to see me. How's life? Tell me, how's your family?
00:30We've all heard that same old tired line about Taylor's songwriting,
00:33that she only ever sings about hating her ex-boyfriends.
00:36Back to December was an early rebuttal of these shallow critiques,
00:40serving as an emotional effusive apology to a spurned partner.
00:43This is me swallowing my pride, standing in front of you,
00:47saying I'm sorry for the night.
00:52Actor Taylor Lautner has gone on the record claiming that Back to December is about him.
00:56And if so, we desperately want to know the Taylor-squared lore
01:00that led to this song being made.
01:02To be clear, we're not complaining.
01:03Back to December is one of Taylor's hardest-hitting breakup songs.
01:06I go back to December, turn around and make it alright.
01:13Swift said herself in a pre-Speak Now interview,
01:15quote,
01:16"...there was someone who was absolutely wonderful to me and I dropped the ball,
01:20and I needed to say all that."
01:21Now, dear John, on the other hand,
01:24see it all now that you're gone.
01:30Number 9.
01:31Last Kiss, Taylor's Version
01:33I still remember the look on your face, lit through the darkness at 158.
01:41It feels almost impossible to believe that Speak Now was released
01:44when Swift was just nearing 21 years of age.
01:48Her heart-wrenching Last Kiss lyrics belie her youth,
01:51demonstrating the powerful wisdom of someone years older.
01:54I never thought we'd have a last kiss.
02:00Last Kiss is an emotional gut punch,
02:02hitting you squarely in the chest with its recounting of a painfully unexpected breakup.
02:07The song captures the unresolved longing and heartache that come with a left-field parting,
02:12when you're left to pick up the pieces while your ex-partner seems to be Mr. Perfectly Fine.
02:17Reckoning has long been one of Taylor's specialties.
02:20I feel you forget me like I used to feel you breathe.
02:28Number 8.
02:29All Too Well, 10-Minute Version
02:31Left my scarf there at your sister's house and you've still got it in your drawer.
02:39Swifty or not, chances are you've heard of this one.
02:42Rumors swirled for years around this stirring anthem,
02:45with fans claiming that an extended version with even juicier verses
02:48had been withheld from Swifty's.
02:50Taylor indulged fans by releasing the now-famous 10-Minute version of
02:54All Too Well alongside other re-recordings from Red.
03:02And ask any Taylor fan, the nearly decade-long wait was well worth it.
03:07All Too Well quickly went from underrated fan favorite to yet another one of her signature
03:12songs.
03:13The new All Too Well is the rare sequel that improves upon the original.
03:17Even more bittersweet, open-hearted and tear-jerking this time around.
03:30Number 7.
03:31You're On Your Own, Kid
03:40We mentioned a little earlier that Taylor is no stranger to the music industry,
03:44with her first album having been released in 2006.
03:47But we've almost never heard her address her meteoric rise to fame
03:50in such stark, unambiguous terms.
04:01Compared by music critics to songs like You Belong With Me,
04:04Fifteen, and Hey Steven,
04:05You're On Your Own, Kid finds Taylor openly reflecting on how her fame has,
04:09for better or worse,
04:10changed her pre-existing relationships.
04:13The song is an uncomfortable reminder that nothing lasts forever,
04:16and sadly but inevitably,
04:18all good things have to come to an end in order for new doors to open.
04:25Number 6.
04:26Champagne Problems
04:36Over the course of her career,
04:38Taylor became known not only for her mastery of songwriting,
04:41but also for her expansive, maximalist instrumental arrangements.
04:45However, when it came to folklore and evermore,
04:48the Champagne Problems singer took a radically different approach.
04:57This was, of course,
04:58partially necessitated by the limits imposed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
05:03While we could have gone with Tolerate It or Right Where You Left Me,
05:06this song stands as a perfect example of Swift's attempt at a more minimal sound,
05:11consisting only of her vocals and a bare-bones instrumental
05:14courtesy of co-producer Aaron Dessner.
05:16That decision allows Taylor's vocals and rich,
05:19deeply felt songwriting to shine through,
05:21and leave us reaching for the nearest box of Kleenex.
05:29Number 5.
05:30Soon You'll Get Better, featuring The Chicks
05:33The buttons of my coat were tangled in my hair
05:37In doctor's office lighting
05:40This lover deep cut, co-written and co-produced by Swift and Jack Antonoff,
05:44is a heart-rending tribute to the singer's mother, Andrea.
05:47Specifically, the song conveys Swift's hopeful optimism
05:50regarding Andrea's multiple cancer diagnoses over the years.
05:57Even if you've never dealt with a disease on a personal level,
06:00it's almost impossible to stay unmoved by the lyrics of Soon You'll Get Better,
06:04which describe the difficulty Taylor faces with her mother's illness and mortality.
06:09Featuring gorgeous backing harmonies courtesy of country legends The Chicks,
06:12Soon You'll Get Better finds Taylor revisiting her roots in more ways than one.
06:23Number 4.
06:24L.O.M.L.
06:25Who's gonna stop us from waltzing back into rekindled flames?
06:31No one has ever faulted Taylor for being too relatable.
06:34L.O.M.L., a low-key highlight from the tortured poet's department,
06:37laments the demise of an all-too-brief relationship.
06:40We were tempted to go with So Long London and The Prophecy, both from this album.
06:45That said, through her raw, bluntly sentimental songwriting,
06:55L.O.M.L. is like a four-and-a-half-minute journey right into her thought process.
06:59The song proves that, even after nearly 20 years in the limelight,
07:03Taylor Swift still has a remarkable gift for poetically describing her feelings of heartbreak.
07:08Clearly, Taylor knows better than anyone else that sometimes,
07:12wallowing in your sadness is the first and most crucial step to healing.
07:21Number 3.
07:22My Tears Ricochet.
07:31Reportedly the first song written for folklore, My Tears Ricochet finds Swift taking a stab at
07:36addressing her feud with Scooter Braun and Big Machine label head Scott Borchetta.
07:40However, the song is less about Braun and Borchetta specifically,
07:43and more about Taylor's bitter, conflicted feelings on the matter.
07:53Said Swift of the song,
07:54quote,
07:55"...all of a sudden this person that you trusted more than anyone in the world
07:58is the person that can hurt you the most.
08:00Then all of a sudden the things that you have been through together hurt."
08:03My Tears Ricochet demonstrates Taylor's singular ability to make her pain feel universal.
08:09Check out This Is Me Trying if you're looking for a good cry in the shower song.
08:18Number 2.
08:19Marjorie.
08:26Did you think you were out of the woods yet?
08:28Another addition to Swift's canon of songs about female family members,
08:32Marjorie is a tribute to her maternal grandmother Marjorie Finley,
08:35an opera singer by trade.
08:37The song finds Taylor mourning Marjorie,
08:39as well as lamenting the fact that she couldn't get to know her better.
08:50As such, Marjorie's chorus consists of a series of affirmations,
08:54life lessons from Taylor's grandmother to her.
08:56Featuring uncredited backing vocals from Bon Iver's Justin Vernon,
09:00the song's empowering nature is underscored by
09:02the bittersweet realization that its namesake didn't live to hear it.
09:07Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.
09:17Better Man, Taylor's version from The Vault.
09:26Bigger Than The Whole Sky.
09:33Exile featuring Bon Iver.
09:37White Horse, Taylor's version.
09:48You're Losing Me.
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10:15Ronin, Taylor's version.
10:22It's gonna be hard to get through this entry without tearing up, but we'll try.
10:26Although it might not be the number one you would have expected,
10:29we think you'll understand the logic behind placing Ronin at the top of our list.
10:33For this song, Taylor found inspiration from blogger Maya Thompson, whose three-year-old
10:37son Ronin tragically died from neuroblastoma, a cancer of the nerve tissue, in 2011.
10:49Of course, writing a charity song intended to benefit the families of children with cancer
10:53is a noble pursuit, but how does one capture the feeling of mourning a child without having
10:58experienced it firsthand?
10:59Taylor answered this difficult question by sourcing the song's lyrics straight from
11:03Thompson's blog.
11:05Ultimately, that's Taylor's superpower, her seemingly endless well of empathy.
11:14Do you agree with our picks?
11:16Which Taylor song makes you weep the hardest?
11:18Let us know in the comments.
11:20Will you still want me, when I'm nothing new?
11:27Do you agree with our picks?
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