Taylor Swift’s birthday is on Dec. 13, so in honor of her, here are my top 11 Swift songs.

If someone says they’re not a Swiftie, they must like at least one song by her. If they tell you otherwise, they’re lying.

Taylor speaks to everyone. You don’t even have to be in love to enjoy her music. I don’t know about you, but for this December break, I will be listening to Taylor on repeat.

1.) “This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things”

“So why’d you have to rain on my parade?
I’m shaking my head, I’m locking the gates.”

Taylor is known for putting Easter eggs in her songs and music videos. The rumor goes that this is a reference to the Kanye, or I should say, “Ye” situation…but “ye” you get the picture.

2.) “The Man”

“I’d be a fearless leader.
I’d be an alpha type.
When everyone believes ya, what’s that like?”

This has personally got to be one of my most favorites. Of course it’s about Scooter Braun, but every Swiftie has had to deal with at least one Scooter in their life.

For my self-identifying women out there, who was your Scooter? Ever felt that you were silenced, overlooked or dismissed by a man? Be fearless and share your story in the comments below!

3.) “Red (Taylor’s Version)”

“Loving him was red.”

When “Red (Taylor’s version)” was released, I was reminded of one of the New York School poets that I learned in my English 450: Studies in Poetry class taught by my English professor, Jennifer Ryan-Bryant, Ph.D.

“New York School poet Barbara Guest frequently included color words in her poems as a way of denoting emotional tones, physical textures and even actions,” she said. “This synesthetic approach may have originated in the techniques of contemporary abstract expressionist painters, with whom the NYS poets often collaborated, but also indicates Guest’s creation of a unique compositional vocabulary, much as Swift does in ‘Red.’”

4.) “I Forgot That You Existed”

“Would’ve been right there, front row, even if nobody came to your show, but you showed who you are. Then one magical night, I forgot that you existed.”

Swifties are torn between whether this is a song about Calvin Harris or Ye. Either way, I highly recommend this song for anyone getting over their ex or any type of relationship that just didn’t last.

It’s sort of counterintuitive though because if it is a representative song of someone that you’re trying to forget or you thought you forgot, would this not bring them up again?

5.) “New Romantics”

“The best people in life are free.”

This is such an empowering song for anyone. For some, it may be about heartbreaks, independence, but how I interpret it is that it’s a song about life in general and the obstacles that come along the way.

6.) “New Year’s Day”

“Hold on to the memories. They will hold on to you.”

This is such a beautiful tune to listen to during the holiday season. It’s very nostalgic, I must say.

7.) “August”

“August sipped away like a bottle of wine
’cause you were never mine”

“August” is a chill song to listen to in general, regardless of the time of year. The audio brings this really cool crisp summer feel as it slowly turns to Autumn.

8.) “Everything Has Changed (Taylor’s Version)”

“All I know is a simple name,
and everything has changed.”

This is such a cute song about the moment when one first falls in love. It can be bittersweet because not all love stories last.

9.) “Begin Again (Taylor’s Version)”

“I’ve been spending the last eight months
thinking all love ever does is
break and burn, and end,
but on a Wednesday, in a cafe, I watched it begin again.”

This is a song representative of the fear of falling back in love again after a failed relationship. Skeptics will say that it will begin again, and again and again….just hopefully not every Wednesday.

10.) “London Boy”

“They say home is where the heart is, but GOD, I LOVE THE ENGLISH.”

Of course it’s about, as fans suspect, Joe Alywn. You don’t need to be in a relationship with someone who has a British accent for this to instantly be on repeat on your playlist.

It sure wants me to be with someone from London, so that way it would actually make sense when I listen to it.

11.) “All Too Well”

“But maybe this thing was a masterpiece ’til you tore it all up.”

Jake, just give her back that scarf. All of her songs are stories, but this story about, as fans suspect, Jake Gyllenhaal is just so authentic and well illustrated, especially in this extended 10 minute version!

If you listen to this song six times, you would have listened to it for over an hour. This must especially touch the heart of Swifties who were once in a relationship with someone older, and it just didn’t work out.

My favorite lyric is, of course, “F— the patriarchy.”

What are some of your favorite Taylor songs? Have a Scooter Braun story? The Record wants to know.

Let us know in the social media comments!

This article is also featured on typeawaycait.blogspot.com!