Top 10 Taylor Swift Lyric Parallels That Are Frankly Gutting

It feels contradictory that one of Taylor Swift’s most gut-wrenching breakup songs would be on an album called “Lover.” Upon release in 2019, “Death by a Thousand Cuts” quickly became a fan favorite. Some may not have noticed that the word “my” plays an important role in two songs on the album. At the start of “Death by a Thousand Cuts”, a haunting repetition preludes the first verse. Later, it returns as Swift lists the parts of herself affected by the loss. In the album’s title track, the same repetition is used, but this time to refer to Swift’s lover. The parallel makes the songs even more emotional, especially given that they appear on the same album.

Across Swift’s discography, there are countless references to being awake in the middle of the night. In fact, she even released an entire album devoted to it! Long before reflecting on sleepless nights, Swift alluded to the idea of watching your partner sleeping, but in very different contexts. In “Paper Rings”, she sings about the lead up to her relationship, and how she finally gets to wake up and see her partner sleeping beside her. However, years earlier, she wrote a similar line in “Last Kiss”, where the same sentiment is expressed as a memory after a breakup. Is it too on the nose to say the duality of the lyrics keeps us up at night?

Over the years, Swift has spent a lot of time discussing her view on love in interviews and messages to fans, but mainly through her lyrics. Two of her love songs that are among the most vulnerable are “You Are in Love (Taylor’s Version)” and “peace”. While the albums they originate from are completely different, the messages in both tracks are quite similar: she discusses the idea of love being quiet rather than boastful. She identifies “silence” as being a comforting place to be with your loved one, and much louder than any words. In essence, it’s the antithesis of her own very loud and often chaotic professional life.

They don’t call “folklore” and “evermore” sister albums for nothing! While the albums share many similarities, there are no two songs more different than “invisible string” and “tolerate it”. The enchanting “folklore” track uses fate to explain how small circumstances lead to discovering the one you’re destined to be with. Meanwhile, its “evermore” counterpart is a darker song of disillusionment in a relationship. However, both songs are tied together by their use of imagery, particularly barbed wire. “invisible string” describes how a partner discards the protagonist’s past behind barbed wire. “tolerate it”, on the other hand, wonders where that man has gone. Just like the edges of barbed wire, these lyrical parallels reopen old wounds every time we hear them.

“Call It What You Want” has been linked to multiple songs over the years. Whereas “Nothing New” describes Swift feeling outdated and unwanted, “Call It What You Want” triumphantly declares that her lover views her as “brand new”. Meanwhile, the track, “Clean” uses the imagery of dying flowers to describe a dead relationship, a theme the singer also adopted to describe her thorny outlook on life. However, the standout parallel is easily between the “reputation” track and “New Romantics.” The latter describes building a castle with bricks that her cynics have thrown, whereas the former declares that the castle fell apart in the end. It’s a great way to bridge the two albums with the turbulent period that came between.

Taylor Swift is no stranger to the cost of fame. Throughout her career, she has often drawn attention to the negative side effects of celebrity status. “Mirrorball” is a vulnerable track that explores the feelings of isolation associated with stardom. She describes being in a solo performance on a tightrope, an image that is paralleled in the “1989” vault track, “Say Don’t Go”. The themes of trying to stay relevant are also closely mirrored in the “Red” vault track “Nothing New”. The idea of being a mirrorball in the center of the room, cracked and displayed for entertainment, is a strikingly visceral sentiment. But what happens when a new, shinier version replaces you above the dance floor? This fear is a raw and emotional confession that gets us in our feels every time.

Hours after the release of her 10th album “Midnights,” Swift surprised fans by giving them the deluxe version, “Midnights (3am Edition)”. Out of seven bonus tracks, one in particular stood out as being a callback to an earlier tune. Listeners instantly recognized the similarities between “Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve” and the fan favorite song, “Dear John.” Swift looks back on a relationship with an older man from a more mature perspective. In both songs, paint is used as a metaphor to literally create a picture of the toxic relationship. She also directly references being 19 years old at the time of the relationship, leaving very little question as to exactly what or rather who she is singing to.

This might just be the most famous lyric callback in Swift’s discography. In 2012, the artist released the original version of her album “Red”, with an accompanying title track. The lyrics of “Red” describe the romance at the heart of the album, matching colors to the songstress’s feelings and ultimately describing her love as “burning red.” Years later, Swift concluded her album “Lover” with “Daylight”. Here, she reflects on her previous ideas about love, concluding that it’s actually golden. Not only is this lyric an Easter egg for Swifties, but it also shows how Swift’s perspective on the intricate topic has evolved as she has matured.

Which lyrical parallel do you love to belt out through your tears? Let us know in the comments.