December 14, 2023 | ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT | By Katie Rowley
As someone who cannot stand change, hates endings and has less than one week before walking across a stage and putting her educational career on an indefinite hiatus, it’s safe to say these last days have been filled with dread, tears and attempts to find any sort of joy in what feels like the end of my life as I know it. In my reflections, I’ve been thinking about Taylor Swift and all the different eras she has begun and ended. So, for my last article in The Catalyst, I thought I’d sum it all up, and rank Swift albums based on their closing song.
Now, Swift has released a lot of albums, and a lot of different versions of those albums. So, for the purpose of these rankings, when applicable, I am going to use the “(Taylor’s Version)” of albums while also taking the standard version end song into account. With some of the albums, I’ll be looking at the deluxe version of the albums while with others, I think the deluxe songs are not the best, so I won’t be considering them.
From worst to best, let’s get started. “folklore” is a wonderful album, and the deluxe version album ends with “the lakes – bonus track,” which is a beautifully poetic song, but I don’t think it concludes the album well. The album is filled with hopeful, yet tragic, love triangles and self-loathing ballads, and “the lakes – bonus track” feels almost too hopeful to encompass the tragic lyrics of “mirrorball” and “this is me trying,” and it is too autobiographical to call back on the aforementioned love triangle between James, Betty and August. It could have been placed anywhere on the album and fit in with the rest of the songs, which I think diminishes the power of its closure.
The penultimate worst last song comes from my favorite Swift album, “Taylor Swift,” more commonly called, “Debut.” “Debut” ends with “A Perfectly Good Heart,” a sweet song with an attempt at heartbreaking lyrics. But it’s obvious that a young teenager wrote this song. In the same vein of “the lakes – bonus track,” this song could be placed anywhere on the album and listeners wouldn’t even bat an eye.
Now, here the ranking gets very blurry. Having to consider the re-recordings and their conclusions really affected my positions, especially when considering the next album: “Red (Taylor’s Version).” Now, it is also a great album and many people’s favorites, and the standard version ends with the song “Begin Again.” If I weren’t considering the vault songs, “Red” would be much higher. “Begin Again” turns the heartbreak and betrayal that fills much of the album for the better. Swift leaves listeners with hope which I think is one of the best ways to end an album.
I flipped back and forth between my rankings for six and seven, ultimately deciding “Daylight” landed the album, “Lover,” at spot seven and “New Year’s Day” elevated “reputation” to spot six. Both songs are fantastic and wrap up the albums very cohesively, but I think they lack the emotional pull that the following albums have. Although, I do believe love has become golden over my three and a half years.
Coming in at spot five is “Fearless (Taylor’s Version).” The standard album ends with “Change,” which is such a powerful ballad, and y’know, things have changed, and graduating is sort of like a revolution. Cohesively, I think “Change” wraps up “Fearless” thematically quite well, expressing the fights and hope that come with first relationships. The ending vault track is “Bye Bye Baby,” which in a sense, she is saying goodbye to the album, similarly to how I am saying goodbye to this school.
“Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)” receives the prize for fourth best ending song due to the standard album ending with “Long Live” and the vault track ending with “Timeless.” “Long Live” is such an amazing song and after seeing it live, getting to point to my photos and tell my children all of my friends’ names is something I look forward to. “Timeless” falls in the same vein and reminds me that my friends and I will ultimately be timeless.
We’ve reached the top three, and receiving the bronze is “1989 (Taylor’s Version).” “Clean” wraps up with the standard version, while “Is It Over Now?” is the final vault song. Maybe it’s a recency bias, but “Is It Over Now?” is one of the best songs Swift has ever released and poses a good question: is the album over? I wish it wasn’t. I think “Clean” is also just such a great closing song and just a great song overall. Both songs are great to cry to when reflecting on your college career.
“Midnights (3am Edition),” Swift’s latest new studio album, is the runner-up. “Dear Reader,” is the best self-reflecting “please don’t listen to my advice” song and I really relate to it. When she talks about her fourth drink in her hand, I get it.
In case you’ve gotten wrapped up in the ranking and forgot the point of this article, I am coming up on my own ending, which probably explains our first-place winner. That’s right folks, Swift’s ninth album, “evermore,” which ends with “it’s time to go – bonus track.” Unfortunately, the “old familiar body ache” has returned and I, “know…it’s time to go.” I cannot listen to this currently without crying. But unfortunately, I must go.