Any Swiftie knows just how powerful Taylor’s music can be. She covers topics from love and heartbreak to coming of age, to even more serious conversations on mental health and recovery. She has gone through some tough times, but she is able to expertly transform her difficult experiences into beautiful songs. It’s the poetry of these songs that often helps us to keep going when we face hard times too.
Many of us know what it’s like to experience difficulties with our mental health. If you are in that position, there is no shame in getting some help. Online therapy can be a great way to learn techniques that boost your mood and help you to better process your emotions. To learn more, you may consider checking out the mental health resources available at MyTherapist.
Part of the reason that Taylor’s music is so important to so many people is due to her lyrics about mental health and recovery. Even when Taylor admits to any faults, she encourages the listener to grow from the experience and overcome challenges. We can all relate to what it is like to feel sad, angry, scared, and even depressed, but Taylor is able to bring us some catharsis with lyrics such as these:
(1) I Knew You Were Trouble
“No apologies. He’ll never see you cry,
pretends he doesn’t know that he’s the reason why
you’re drowning, you’re drowning, you’re drowning”
In the second verse, Taylor expresses just how much pain this unhealthy relationship has caused her. She has been put through a lot of distress, yet for some reason stays much longer than she should. She finally comes to understand just how bad the relationship was for her in a first step toward moving on.
(2) Clean
“Rain came pouring down
When I was drowning, that’s when I could finally breathe
And by morning
Gone was any trace of you, I think I am finally clean”
In this song from her ‘1989’ album, Taylor expresses that although she was previously drowning from the harm her ex has caused her, once he’s gone she feels a sense of relief. This goes to prove that she was able to recover from the pain and sadness the relationship brought on and realize she is worthy of positive love.
(3) Blank Space
“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”
Here, Taylor expresses to a potential new partner that she has been manipulated and subsequently teased by her exes. She is hurt by the fact that so many people she once cared about think she is crazy just for wanting equal respect and attention from them. Her scornful use of the word “insane” shows her dislike of the stigma around mental health and the way such words are thrown around without any regard for actual mental health care.
This satirical song, making fun of the people who try to label her in an attempt to keep her down, shows her attempts to maintain her self-confidence in the face of criticism and judgment. People who experience mental health struggles can likely relate to this feeling of needing to push aside negative thoughts and reactions from others.
(4) This is Me Trying
“They told me all of my cages were mental
So I got wasted like all my potential
And my words shoot to kill when I’m mad
I have a lot of regrets about that”
In this song from one of her newest albums, ‘Folklore,’ Taylor writes from a different perspective, but one that she still has great insight on. She is expressing the anxiety that comes from wasting one’s potential because of the limits you might put on yourself. In addition, she expresses the pain and regret that comes from reacting with hurtful words, even if those words came from you.
When she wrote these lyrics during the pandemic, she was finally allowed to distance herself from her critics and the media and use her introspection to explore her own thoughts and feelings more fully.
For so many people, Taylor’s music can be relatable, cathartic, and even exemplary in the path to finding yourself. She shows that the people around us may continuously try to bring us down, but it is possible to build ourselves back up again.