The fifth track onTaylor Swift’s albums has been celebrated by fans for always being the most raw track. While track 5 isn’t always devastatingly heartbreaking, it is always the song where Swift is the most vulnerable. While it likely began as a coincidence, once Swifties noticed the pattern, she took note,making track 5 something for her fans to get excited abouteach time Swift released an album. Initially, a lot of Swift’s track 5 songs were ballads about heartbreak, but things changed when she released her first official pop album,1989.
Since the album was more upbeat than her past work, track 5 evolved too. However, that doesn’t mean Swift abandoned what she and theSwifties have coined “track 5 syndrome.“It simply means she expanded on the phenomenon, which only got her fans more excited. While some track 5 songs made it ontothe Eras Tour setlist, Swift honored others during her acoustic surprise song section of the tour. From the iconic “All Too Well” toReputation’s “Delicate,” here’s a breakdown of every track 5 song Swift has released.
11Cold As You - Taylor Swift
Written by Taylor Swift and Liz Rose
Taylor Swift was only sixteen years old when she released her debut album, which included the heartbreak ballad “Cold As You.“She wrote the song with her co-writer, Liz Rose, and it follows Swift’s relationship with an emotionally closed-off ex-boyfriend. The lyrics “I’ve never been anywhere cold as you” are a metaphor for how her partner lacked affection and emotional depth, which ended up hurting her. Throughout the song, she sings about how much she gave and how many times she tried to make the relationship work while he continued to shut her out.
The song was a sneak peek at just how capable Swift was at writing emotional breakup songs at such a young age. Her lyricism would improve drastically throughout her career, but “Cold As You” is undeniably powerful, especially given how young Taylor Swift was when she wrote it.
“You put up walls and paint them all a shade of grey
and I stood there loving you and wished them all away.”
10White Horse - Fearless
Swift dug deeper for track 5 onFearlesswith another heartbreak ballad called “White Horse.” Once again, the song chronicled Swift’s disappointment when her expectations in her relationship were not met.TheFearlessalbum was very whimsical, and with songs like “Love Story” felt very fairytale-esque. At this point, the singer-songwriter was still in her teens and holding onto hope that Prince Charming really was out there somewhere. “White Horse” saw Swift accept that real life is not the same as the stories she read about growing up.
Swift sings about her naivety, realizing that her boyfriend was not a prince and she doesn’t live in a fairytale where she’ll ride off into the sunset. Instead, she was left heartbroken again, dealing with the consequences of believing this person was the one. WhileSwift continues to write love songs, one of the most recent being “So High School” onThe Tortured Poets Department,“White Horse” felt like the end of an era. As she was reaching the end of her teens, she was forced to grow up and face reality.
9Dear John - Speak Now
Written by Taylor Swift
By the time Taylor Swift releasedSpeak Now, she’d reached a new height of fame. She was no longer releasing songs about boys from high school but instead about her relationships with high-profile celebrities. While Swift rarely confesses who her songs are about, “Dear John” was pretty self-explanatory. From late 2009 into early 2010, Swift wasreportedly dating fellow singer-songwriter John Mayer. They were quite a controversial pair as Swift was only 19 at the time while Mayer was already in his early 30s. When things ended, Swift told the story in her best track 5 yet.
According to “Dear John,” the relationship was pretty manipulative, with the male partner seemingly having the upper hand. Swift sings about ignoring her mother’s warnings, her partner’s mind games, and her blind optimism that made her think somehow this would actually work out. The highlight of the song comes at the bridge when Swift breaks down all the things her partner did wrong, including treating their relationship like a test she just couldn’t pass. However, it ends on an empowering note as Swift lets him know that, unlike the other girls, she took his matches and is “shining like fireworks” over his town.
“Dear John
I see it all now that you’re gone
don’t you think I was too young to be messed with
the girl in the dress cried the whole way home
I should’ve known”
While Swift never confirmed the song was about John Mayer, in a 2012 appearance on Katie Couric’s talk show,Katie, the host mentioned Mayer found the song insulting. “Oh, come on,” Swift responded, rolling her eyes, which made the audience burst into laughter. Another clue isthe similarities between John Mayer’s style of musicand the guitar rifts throughout “Dear John.” However, despite the pain he may have caused, before playing the song as a surprise song on the Eras Tour, Swift kindly asked her fans not to cyberbully anyone they assumed the song might be about.
8All Too Well - Red
“All Too Well” is undoubtedly Taylor Swift’s most iconic track 5. The song is so iconic, in fact, that whenSwift let it slip that there was a 10-minute version, fans harassed her about it for nearly a decade until she finally released it as a vault track onRed (Taylor’s Version.)Once again, Swift never confirmed who the track was about, but everything lines up with her past relationship with actor Jake Gyllenhaal. Most notably,Swift sings about a scarf that she left at her partner’s sister’s houseand how he kept it even after their breakup.
It wasn’t long after the song’s release that fans spotted a photo of Gyllenhaal wearing the same Gucci scarf that Swift wore on a date with him. “All Too Well” is certainly one of Taylor Swift’s most devastating tracks, and for years, singing it live brought her to tears. Swift described the song as being so difficult to write that she had to call Liz Rose to help conceptualize her ideas. Swift confessed she found it easier to simply tell the story from start to finish.
She opens the track with, “I walked through the door with you. The air was cold, but something about it felt like home somehow,” as if reading the opening line of a novel. By the bridge, Swift breaks down trying to justify what might have happened, wondering if she asked for too much or if simply their relationship was a masterpiece that her ex-boyfriend tore up.The ten-minute version of the song added extra verses, an extended second chorus, a longer bridge, and a new outro. It also added further context to the song and Swift’s toxic relationship.
Written by Taylor Swift and Max Martin
With1989, Taylor Swift did what she does best and pivoted in a direction her fans didn’t see coming. Instead of a heartbreaking ballad, Swift included an upbeat pop hit as the 5th track on her album. However, “All You Had To Do Was Stay” is far from a happy, love song.The idea came to Swift in a dreamwhere she kept begging her partner not to leave, but all that came out was a high-pitched screech of the word “stay.” With help from Max Martin, Shellback, and Mattman & Robin, Swift incorporated the sound into the song’s production.
At the time of 1989’s release, Swift was living in New York and spending more time with her “squad” than on dates with heartbreakers. This resulted in a much more light-hearted album, which explains whytrack 5 wasn’t as devastating as it was in the past. However, take away the synths, and there’s actually a pretty heartbreaking message in “All You Had To Do Was Stay.” Lyrics like “I’ve been picking up the pieces of the mess you made” prove Swift was hurt by her ex-boyfriend’s exit from their relationship.
Swift mentioned several times in Versus and the Choruses that her ex-boyfriend tried to get back with her, but it was too late. She knew taking him back would ultimately lead to him making the same mistakes and hurting her again. However, Swift’s heart was clearly breaking as she had to turn down something she really wanted in order to do what was best for her. “All You Had To Do Was Stay” wasSwift’s first shot at something different for track 5, and she ultimately succeeded.
6Delicate - Reputation
Written by Taylor Swift, Max Martin, and Shellback
On the surface,Reputationwas an album full of vengeanceand fury. However, a full listen to the record reveals that it’s also aboutSwift falling in love in secret at a time when she was hiding away from the public. After her internet cancelation in 2016, Swift escaped the public eye, fell in love with Joe Alwyn, and decided to keep their relationship private for six years. Unlike her past relationships, where she jumped in headfirst, Swift was terrified of her feelings. In “Delicate,” she narrates her paranoia about falling for someone while the world was against her.
How Taylor Swift Hinted At Reputation And Debut Taylor’s Versions At The Final Eras Show
At the final Eras tour show, Taylor Swift teased the upcoming release of her final two rerecordings, Reputation and Debut Taylor’s Versions.
Swift sings about her bad reputation and how she fears it could ruin the relationship she was craving. The song was also co-written with and produced by Martin and Shellback, once again giving it an upbeat sound. However, the lyrics are incredibly raw, with Swift repeatedly singing, “Cause I like you.” The simple lyric signifies just how much Swift liked Alwyn when they first met and how nervous she was about ruining things. The most vulnerable part of the song is certainly the bridge.
Sometimes I wonder when you sleep
are you ever dreaming of me
sometimes, when I look into your eyes
I pretend your mine
all the damn time
cause I like you
In the song, Swift seems to be pleading for her love interest to return her feelings. For her past few albums, she was a big enough star to get any famous man she wanted. With “Delicate,“she returned to the writing style of her early albums, where she often wrote about unrequited love in high school. “Delicate” is vulnerable and unsure, which is why, despite its synth beats, it fits right in with Swift’s other track 5 songs.
5The Archer - Lover
Written by Taylor Swift and Jack Antonoff
“The Archer” was a return to ballads that Swift hadn’t visited for track 5 since “All Too Well.” However, this time around, the focus wasn’t on a relationship. “The Archer” is aboutTaylor Swift’s own insecurities and fears that she might accidentally sabotage her relationship. She sings about pacing the room at night, making enemies of former friends, and being so broken that even all the king’s horses and men couldn’t put her back together.
Swift also sings about her obsession with looking for problems in her relationship. Whether she’s picking unnecessary fights or looking for her partner’s dark side, she’s always waiting for the other shoe to drop.She knows her behavior will lead to the end of her relationship, but she keeps begging her partner to help her “hold onto” him so she won’t let him get away like she’s done in past relationships. “The Archer” was the first time Swift really admitted her deepest insecurities, making it a very memorable track 5.
4My Tears Ricochet - Folklore
In 2020, Swift released her pandemic albumFolklore, the first album recorded after Scooter Braun bought her former record label, owning all her past work. “My Tears Richochet” is a song of betrayal not in a romantic relationship but from a man she viewed as family. Taylor Swift admitted she always thought Scott Borchetta, the founder of Big Machine Records, viewed her as an unofficial niece. Whenhe refused to sell her music back to her, instead selling the label to Braun, who he knew Swift disliked, that fantasy faded.
Swift compared her situation to an abusive husband showing up to his wife’s funeral, pretending to be sad to see her go but knowing how much pain he had caused her when she was here. At first, it might be hard to understand what Swift is actually singing about, given the metaphor. However, the lyrics at the end of the bridge give it away. “When you can’t sleep at night, you’ll hear my stolen lullabies” seems to point to Swift’s music being stolen from under her.
3Tolerate It - Evermore
Written by Taylor Swift and Aaron Dessner
Swift channeled a fictional story forEvemore’s fifth track, “Tolerate It.” While in quarantine, Taylor Swift spent a lot of time reading books and watching movies.She then translated those stories into songsfor many of the tracks onFolkloreandEvermore. “Tolerate It” wasinspired by Daphne Du Maurier’s book Rebecca. The story is about a woman whose husband doesn’t appreciate her, no matter how much she tries to prove her love to him. Whether or not Swift related to this in her own relationship remains private. However, Swift put on a convincing performance during the Eras Tour.
“If it’s all in my head, tell me now
tell me I’ve got it wrong somehow
I know my love should be celebrated
but you tolerate it.”
Before the song was cut to make room forThe Tortured Poets Departmentset, Swift sang at a dinner table, with one of her dancers playing the role of her husband. Swift sings about waiting at the door for her partner to come home, painting him in a positive way, and setting the table with fancy china only for her husband to tolerate her in return. It is certainly a painful song to listen to and, in some ways, parallels the relationship Swift wrote about back in “Cold As You.” No matter how much she gives, she keeps getting shut out.
2You’re On Your Own Kid - Midnights
When Swift released “You’re On Your Own Kid,” no one could have predicted the cultural phenomenon it would become. The lyrics “make the friendship bracelets"led to fans trading friendship bracelets at Eras Tour shows, which would becomea staple of the Eras tour. Like “The Archer,” this track 5 was less about relationships and more about Swift herself. The song takes listeners through Swift’s life, from her days of school crushes and writing songs in her room to her later years when she’d gain massive success.
It’s a bittersweet song where Swift looks back retrospectively on various times in her life, including the 2016 drama where media outlets made countless jokes about her. She even calls herself out for the times when she “took the money” and when her friends from home had no idea how to react to her lifestyle. However, it ends on a positive note when she realizes “there were pages turned with the bridges burned,” and even the bad times led her to where she is today.
