Ranking Taylor Swift's Most Savage Songs of All Time
"Look What You Made Me Do" is NOT No. 1.
Taylor Swift's latest single, "Look What You Made Me Do," cut deep, but she's no stranger to revenge tracks. Where does this latest send up fit in her vengeful repertoire? Here are all of Taylor's most savage songs, ranked.
9. "Shake It Off"
Revenge doesn't get much sweeter—literally, in the sugary sense—than bopping around to "haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate." "Shake It Off" barely qualifies as a revenge track, but since it does take aim directly at her haters, we'll include it.
8. "Forever & Always"
Taylor's first breakup track targeted at a famous ex was "Forever & Always," from her second album, Fearless. She definitely does some calling out in the song, which is about Joe Jonas, with lyrics like, "Was I out of line? Did I say something way too honest? Made you run and hide—like a scared little boy?" But her infamous callout on The Ellen DeGeneres Show was more savage than the song itself.
7. "Should've Said No"
When it comes to expressing anger in song, Taylor started early, on her debut album. Her cheating-boyfriend-takedown, "Should've Said No," is brutal and it's not even the harshest song on that album.
6. "Dear John"
Widely believed to be about John Mayer (even by Mayer himself), "Dear John," isn't just a breakup song, it basically labels its subject a terrible person, too. "Don't you think nineteen's too young to be played by your dark, twisted games?"
5. "Mean"
What better way to take on your bullies than by reminding them that someday your life will be glitter and theirs will be trash?
4. "Bad Blood"
Did you think "Bad Blood" would be higher on this list? Then you clearly don't listen to enough of Taylor's back catalogue. Just acknowledging that there ever was mad love is enough to bump this out of the top three.
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3. "Picture to Burn"
Have you heard "Picture to Burn" from Taylor's debut album? Did you know the original lyrics included a reference to her lying about an ex being gay?
Album lyrics: "So go and tell your friends that I'm obsessive and crazy. That's fine. You won't mind if I say, by the way..."
Original lyrics: "So go and tell your friends that I'm obsessive and crazy. That's fine! I'll tell mine you're gay. By the way..."
2. "Look What You Made Me Do"
We'll give "Look What You Made Me Do" the No. 2 spot because A for effort on the angry front. It just SOUNDS angry and dark.
1. "Better Than Revenge"
Allegedly about actress Camilla Belle, who Joe Jonas dated after Swift, the song is an uninhibited trash-talk session, the kind of venting that you do to your best friend and then regret saying out loud after you've cooled down. Actual lyrics: "She's not a saint and she's not what you think—she's an actress, whoa. She's better known for the things that she does on the mattress, whoa."
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Kayleigh Roberts is a freelance writer and editor with over 10 years of professional experience covering entertainment of all genres, from new movie and TV releases to nostalgia, and celebrity news. Her byline has appeared in Marie Claire, Cosmopolitan, ELLE, Harper’s Bazaar, The Atlantic, Allure, Entertainment Weekly, MTV, Bustle, Refinery29, Girls’ Life Magazine, Just Jared, and Tiger Beat, among other publications. She's a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.
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