All Of Taylor Swift's "Track 5" Songs Ranked By How Emotionally Devastating They Are (2024)

"Delicate" accurately describes the rollercoaster of emotions you experience when falling in love. Instead of pain, this song makes me want to dance in my room with the lights off, thinking of all the sweetness I imagine love can be.

Best Lyric: "Handsome, you're a mansion with a view / Do the girls back home touch you like I do?"

"The Archer" is painstakingly haunting. Unlike most of her "Track 5" songs, "The Archer" feels more optimistic. In this song, she is saying: I'm wounded, but I want to fight for you.

Best Lyric: "And I cut off my nose just to spite my face / Then I hate my reflection for years and years."

Okay, sonically, "All You Had To Do Was Stay" is not the most tearjerking Taylor Swift track, but because this is a Taylor Swift song, the lyrics are where the heart of the song lies. This "Track 5" is where she sets her boundaries and realizes her worth: you left and that's okay, classic f*ckboy sh*t. But then she screams, "You ended it!" and something in my heart hurts.

Best Lyric: "I've been picking up the pieces of the mess you made."

Taylor's debut album hits every spot when you're 16 and heartbroken. "Cold As You" hits different because it reminds me of all the mess and tears that being 16 had to offer.

Best Lyric: "And you come away with a great little story / Of a mess of a dreamer with the nerve to adore you"

In the same album that she sings about dreaming of Romeo and Juliet, Taylor ends that dream with a reality check in "White Horse". This song hurts. "White Horse" invokes all of the wishful thinking and bathroom floor crying pain that hurts so bad but feels oh, so good.

Best Lyric: "This ain't Hollywood, this is a small town / I was a dreamer before you went and let me down."

The newest member of the "Track 5" songs has a simple premise: wanting the same amount of love you give to the person you love most. It's painful in its ability to narrate such specific situations and yet stays universally relatable for so many.

Best Lyric: "I made you my temple, my mural, my sky / Now I'm begging for footnotes in the story of your life."

From its title alone, "Dear John" is a MOVE on Taylor's part. It's the email you never sent that one ex that ripped your heart out and broke you apart. Listening to "Dear John" will turn you inside out and make you want to write one last letter while crying your heart out at 3 a.m.

Best Lyric: "Don't you think nineteen's too young to be messed with? / The girl in the dress cried the whole way home."

"My Tears Ricochet" poignantly describesthe emotional turmoils of being stabbed in the back by someone you so deeply trust. This song is a solid addition to Swift's "Track 5" discography, along with its eulogy analogy and well-crafted rage.

Best Lyric: "And if I'm dead to you, why are you at the wake?"

"All Too Well" is not only the star of the "Track 5s" but also the star of Taylor's entire discography. The honesty she evokes in this track as she illustrates a relationship's downfall is something out of the books. As a Swiftie, I'm still waiting for the 10 minute version to drop. Any time now! But, let's be real, what we actually want to know is where is that damn scarf!

Best Lyric: "And you call me up again just to break me like a promise / So casually cruel in the name of being honest"