To help those trying to find more of her past music, I've compiled a list of what song to listen to based on your favorite evermore track. The only rule? No folklore. If you're a fan of any evermore song, you'll probably be a fan of every folklore song.
1. "willow" - "Mary's Song (Oh My My My)," Taylor Swift
This relatively unknown debut album song has an acoustic guitar opening and a country sound similar to "willow." "Mary's Song" tells the story of high school sweethearts destined to be together since childhood. It's nostalgic and hopeful, and while the lyrics aren't as well done as those on "willow," it'll surely bring a smile to any fan of the evermore lead single.
2. "champagne problems" - "All Too Well," Red
This one is obvious to any Swiftie. Before evermore's release, "All Too Well" was undoubtedly the saddest song Swift had ever written. The only one even close is "champagne problems," an easy favorite of fans of the album, which describes a woman turning down a proposal because of her mental health issues. "All Too Well" is also about a lost relationship, this one remembered "all too well," and how the ex still has the narrator's scarf. Both songs have been praised as having her greatest bridges of all time.
3. "gold rush" - "Gorgeous," reputation
Here me out on this one. I know they couldn't be further apart, musically speaking. But listen. "gold rush" is about someone feeling like everyone loves the person they secretly admire, so they give up on the notion of a relationship with them. "Gorgeous" is a drunken confession about how this person is "so gorgeous [she] can't say anything to [their] face." "Gorgeous" is just a drunken version of "gold rush." Thank you for your time, I will not be taking questions.
4. "tis the damn season" - "Back to December," Speak Now
While the evermore track is closer to alternative-pop and "Back to December" is country-pop, both are reminiscing a lost relationship and, as "tis the damn season" puts it, "the roads not taken." In the evermore song, Swift has the narrator suggest a short fling during the holidays, while "Back to December" is more of an apology letter, wanting to go back and stop the breakup.
5. "tolerate it" - "You're Not Sorry," Fearless
"You're Not Sorry" is how I imagine the story continued after "tolerate it." In the evermore track five (famously the saddest song on an album), the narrator is in a relationship with an unhealthy power dynamic and wants to be with someone who doesn't just "tolerate" them. In "You're Not Sorry," Swift sings about not forgiving an ex who isn't truly sorry and doesn't want to change. Both are emotional piano ballads that a Swiftie can always cry to (speaking from experience).
6. "no body, no crime (feat. HAIM)" - "I Did Something Bad," reputation
Similar to the "tolerate it-You're Not Sorry" relationship, "I Did Something Bad" is also, in my opinion, from the same perspective as "no body, no crime." In the track featuring sister trio singers HAIM, the narrator avenges her friend Este, who they think was killed by Este's husband. In "IDSB," the narrator is being told she did something bad but doesn't understand why, and "would do it over and over and over again if [she] could." She also sings that "they're burning all the witches even if you aren't one," telling them to "light [her] up," which gives the same energy as "no body, no crime."
7. "happiness" - "Daylight," Lover
While the evermore song is more bittersweet than the always-peaceful "Daylight," both are a detached "things are going to get better" kind of song. They recognize the past while looking to the future while knowing where they are now. They also both feel entirely Taylor Swift, if that makes sense. Stripped back to show off exemplary lyricism, complex ideas, and reminiscing about an unattainable past. The only thing that could make it more Swift is a killer bridge - oh wait, they have that, too. "happiness" talks about a "glorious sunrise" but also recognizes that sometimes you need to "leave it all behind." The Lover finale recognizes how she "used to think love would be burning red, but it's golden, like daylight." They also both touch on how she "reinvents" herself to please the public, something she was vocal about during her Lover era.
8. "dorothea" - "State of Grace," Red
The pining lost love evermore track and the grand Red opener aren't exactly the same conceptually. I mean, "dorothea" is secretly sad, while "State of Grace" is about how right she feels about a relationship. Still, I connect the two in my head. Both are secret gems, I think. When people think of evermore, "willow," "champagne problems," or even "no body, no crime" comes to mind. When people think of Red, they probably think of one of her early pop anthems like "WANEGBT" or "22," some sad Taylor fans maybe thinking of "All Too Well." But the lyrics in "dorothea" ("making a lark of the misery" is genius) and "State of Grace" (don't even get me started on "mosaic broken hearts") make these two songs similar in a different way than most of the others on this list.
9. "coney island (feat. The National)" - "The Last Time," Red
These songs are literally the exact same thing, musically. Taylor and a guy with a deep voice sing a stripped-down, emotional duet that everyone ignores for reasons I can't comprehend. I die every single time I hear the "coney island" lyric, "we were like the mall before the Internet / It was the one place to be / The mischief, the gift wrapped suburban dreams." And "When I got into the accident / The sight that flashed before me was your face / But when I walked up to the podium / I think that I forgot to say your name"? Poetry. "The Last Time," with Gary Lightbody, is also gorgeous. The lyrics aren't as overwhelmingly amazing, but the vocals are so raw. Both of these songs are slept on for no reason.
10. "ivy" - "Call It What You Want," reputation
While the styles of these two songs are pretty different, both are a hopeless love story. They also recognize and ignore the slander they could or do have from the people around them because of this relationship. In "ivy," the narrator worries about her husband breaking up her secret relationship ("he's gonna burn this house to the ground"). In "CIWYW," the narrator has let go of all of the pressure and judgement ("All the drama queens taking swings / All the jokers dressin' up as kings / They fade to nothing when I look at him"). "ivy" fans will definitely enjoy the subtle storytelling and themes in "Call It What You Want."
11. "cowboy like me" - "Don't Blame Me," reputation
In both of these low-alto, lesser known songs, there's a doomed sound, in a way. "Don't Blame Me" contains lyrics like "For you, I would cross the line / I would waste my time / I would lose my mind" and "Don't blame me, love made me crazy / If it doesn't, you ain't doin' it right," while "cowboy like me" has "It could be love / We could be the way forward / And I know I'll pay for it." They also both show off Swift's incredible vocals, especially in the bridges, where the orchestra and harmonies in the rep track especially contrast the simplicity of "cowboy like me."
12. "long story short" - "I Forgot That You Existed," Lover
The underrated Lover opener has the same almost peaceful moving on from problems that "long story short" has. Both songs recognize pain in the past - in "IFTYE," she sings, "How many days did I spend / Thinkin' 'bout how you did me wrong, wrong, wrong? / Lived in the shade you were throwin' / 'Til all of my sunshine was gone, gone, gone," while in "long story short," she sings, "Fatefully / I tried to pick my battles 'til the battle picked me / Misery / Like the war of words I shouted in my sleep," but they both also move on with a shrug. In the Lover track, her resolution is literally forgetting about everyone awful. In the most upbeat evermore track, she just pushes it off with a, "Long story short, it was a bad time / … / Long story short, I survived."
13. "marjorie" - "The Moment I Knew," Red
"The Moment I Knew" is the most underrated Taylor Swift song of all time. There. I said it. When the chorus starts with "It was like slow motion," the music actually sounds like it's in slow motion. It's that good. The lyrics are also some of the best, saddest ones on Red (other than "All Too Well," of course), similar to "marjorie" and its heartbreaking themes of extreme loss. "The Moment I Knew" goes, "You should've been there / Should've burst through the door / With that 'Baby, I'm right here' smile" while the evermore track has the tear-jerking "I should've asked you how to be / Asked you to write it down for me / Should've kept every grocery store receipt / 'Cause every scrap of you would be taken from me." Both songs are heartbreaking, talking about loss and letting go of loss.
14. "closure" - "Clean," 1989
Much like a few others on this list, I imagine "Clean" as a continuation of "closure." In the evermore track, the narrator is bitter about a relationship that ended poorly. Their ex is trying to "smooth" them over, and they're angry about it. In "Clean," the narrator feels as if they've been washed of a past relationship and are "finally clean." Both are also very similar, sonically. In each song, the percussion cuts in distinctly, described by some as sounding like a big machine breaking down. Fans of "closure" will definitely like one of the least-known 1989 tracks, "Clean."
15. "evermore (feat. Bon Iver)" - "Begin Again," Red
When you first listens to evermore's titular track, it sounds like the most hopeless song on the album. One lyric even goes, "Hey December / Guess I'm feeling unmoored / Can't remember / What I used to fight for." But then you really start to understand it. You notice how peaceful it becomes in the end, much like track seven, "happiness." She sings, "In the cracks of light / I dreamed of you / And it was real enough / To get me through." The Red track chosen is similar to this. The song starts hopeless about a past relationship, even saying in the chorus, "I've been spending the last eight months / Thinking all love ever does / Is break and burn, and end." "Begin Again" then talks about a new relationship giving the narrator a newfound confidence and happiness. Swift sings, "But you throw your head back laughing / Like a little kid / I think it's strange that you think I'm funny, 'cause / He never did." Both are complex acoustic tracks.
16. "right where you left me - bonus track" - "Haunted," Speak Now
I know these are two very, very different songs, sonically. Just hear me out. The themes? Exactly the same. In the fan-favorite evermore bonus track, the narrator is frozen in time after a breakup, "still sitting in the restaurant" they had their heart broken (or as Swift puts it, "glass shattered on the white cloth"). In the powerful and moving Speak Now track, the narrator is "haunted" by an ex who put their head in a bad place. It's literally the same theme! Fans of "right where you left me" should definitely listen to the full-orchestra, heart-wrenching number "Haunted."
17. "it's time to go - bonus track" - "Never Grow Up," Speak Now
Even though "Never Grow Up" is better-known than many recommendations on this list, I think it goes really nicely with the final bonus track. Where the Speak Now ballad is about a fear and sadness in growing up, "it's time to go" is about accepting change and knowing that letting go of things and moving on is right. Both songs are wise beyond their years, looking back on past mistakes and feeling bittersweet but also okay. In the evermore track, Swift sings, "Now he sits on his throne in his palace of bones / Prayin' to his greed / He's got my past frozen behind glass / But I've got me." In "Never Grow Up," she sings about a fear of a future where she loses people. It goes, "Remember the footsteps, remember the words said / And all your little brother's favorite songs / I just realized everything I have is someday gonna be gone." People who enjoy evermore's "it's time to go" should definitely give "Never Grow Up" a listen.
There you have it, the best Taylor song to listen to based on your favorite evermore track, told by a real Swiftie. Find any good recs? What's your favorite Taylor Swift song?