19 Best Taylor Swift Songs About Friendship

Even non-Swifties know about Taylor’s songs about her exes. But what many don’t know is she has a lot of songs about her friends too.

Check out these Taylor Swift songs about friendship that will inspire you, make you cry, and remind you how much of a lyrical powerhouse Taylor is.

22 by Taylor Swift

Song Year: 2012

One of Taylor’s poppiest songs, 22, is an anthem to youth and partying with your friends without care. This bright and happy song is the perfect tune for a girls’ night out or a birthday party and captures the spirit of being 22 and feeling free and fabulous as long as you have your besties by your side.

As Taylor says in the song, everything will work out if they keep dancing together! When with your friends, you don’t have to 100% know who you are or what you want. You can just be you.

It’s Nice To Have A Friend by Taylor Swift

Song Year: 2019

Easily one of the best Taylor Swift songs about friendship, this track is about having someone to hang out with. The eerie but ethereal background vocals make this one of her more unique songs.

While the song is mostly about friendship, some romantic elements bleed through in the lyrics, but the main message is undeniably the joy of having someone you can do nothing with; when you find that someone, they feel like home to you.

You Belong With Me by Taylor Swift

Song Year: 2008

You Belong With Me was one of Taylor’s big singles. It’s about how she’s in love with one of her best friends and struggles to watch him be with another girl.

The line between friendship and romance can be thin, and this anthem attests to the tortuous feeling of wanting to be with someone you’re just friends with. The song has pop and country elements, which showcases the beginning of Taylor’s transition into pop music.

Breathe by Taylor Swift

Song Year: 2008

Unfortunately, friendships don’t always last forever. Breathe is a solemn song about how sometimes friendships fall apart, and people change in ways you didn’t expect. Colbie Caillat joins her on this track, delivering soft and light vocals that capture the quiet melancholy of a friendship that ends.

When friendships end, they’re not usually as dramatic as a romantic breakup, which in many ways, makes them more painful and hard to accept.

seven by Taylor Swift

Song Year: 2020

A sad and beautifully written song, seven is about domestic violence and the fragility of childhood. In the song, one of Taylor’s friends has an angry father, and her friend often cries and hides in the closet from him.

In a few lines that perfectly capture the innocence and naivety of childhood, Taylor tells her abused friend that they can live together and play make-believe so neither of them ever has to be sad or hurt again. It’s a heart-shattering song that exemplifies Taylor’s unmatched songwriting skills.

dorothea by Taylor Swift

Song Year: 2020

In one of Taylor’s most tender and heartbreaking songs about friendship, she sings about Dorothea, an old friend whom she has fallen out of touch with. Dorothea moved out of their small town to chase her Hollywood dreams.

Taylor tells her she will always be there for her no matter how long they’ve been apart or what happens. She can return to Taylor’s door anytime, and they can pick up right where they left off. A song about how genuine friendship never dies, even when people may grow apart.

no body, no crime by Taylor Swift

Song Year: 2021

This song is one of Taylor’s edgier tracks. It tells a fictional story (supposedly) of one of her close friends, Estie, who suspects her husband is cheating and plans to confront him. But before she does, Estie goes missing, and Taylor knows the husband killed her. So, in an illegal act of true friendship,

Taylor and Estie’s sister kill the husband and dump his body in a body of water, getting the revenge that Estie couldn’t. It’s a fierce anthem about female friendship that will give you chills.

Fifteen by Taylor Swift

Song Year: 2006

Her first big hit, Fifteen, is a wistful song about starting high school, looking for that first love, and trying to figure out who you are. While the song has romantic themes, such as going on your first date and getting your first kiss, the most mighty aspect of the song is Taylor’s friendship with a redhead named Abigail.

Taylor sings about comforting Abigail when she gets her heart broken by an older guy who plays football. The song ends with Taylor saying that Abigail and her cried together after Abigail’s heartbreak, showing the true power of friendship.

The Outside by Taylor Swift

Song Year: 2006

One of Taylor’s lesser-known songs from her first album, this song is about a lack of friendship and the feeling of loneliness. She sings about seeing everyone else in their groups, and she feels isolated.

She tries to make friends but struggles to break into these groups as they keep her on the outside. The song drips with the emotional confusion of middle and high school when cliques and popularity are everything.

Tied Together With a Smile by Taylor Swift

Song Year: 2006

Taylor has opened up about the meaning behind Tied Together With a Smile. She wrote this track about one of her close friends who struggled with an eating disorder and remains unnamed.

Taylor sings about how much she loves her friend and how beautiful she is, even if she can’t see her beauty in the mirror. Her friend craves love, but Taylor tries to tell her that she loves her and she doesn’t need anyone else.

Forever Winter by Taylor Swift

Song Year: 2021

Forever Winter is one of Taylor’s “from the vault” songs. The song is extremely meaningful, as she sings about one of her friends struggling with depression and other mental struggles.

She didn’t realize how much he was struggling until he broke down on the phone with her, and she tries to comfort him by saying the sun will come out soon. The song is a troubling depiction of how we don’t always know what is going on with the people we love because they act fine.

Dear Reader by Taylor Swift

Song Year: 2022

A song that talks directly to the listener, Dear Reader, is about caring for yourself. Taylor sings to her listeners as if they’re her friends, offering them advice to ignore people who don’t know what they’re talking about and that it’s okay to reinvent yourself if that’s what you need.

The song is a mix of ballad and light pop, with lovely poetic lyrics that you can always rely on Taylor for.

Paper Rings by Taylor Swift

Song Year: 2019

A funky and fast song, Paper Rings is about how she’d marry her lover with paper rings and doesn’t need anything fancy. She just wants to be with them. But the song has underlying themes of friendship as she sings about how much she loves how they accidentally fell in love because they were friends before this.

In theory, this could be the follow-up song to You belong With Me or Hey Stephen, where she gets the guy, and they go from friends to lovers.

Hey Stephen by Taylor Swift

Song Year: 2008

Hey Stephen is one of Taylor’s cutest songs, as she sings to Stephen, a close friend she has a crush on but can’t muster the courage to let him know that she’s in love with him, until now.

This song is another one where Taylor captures the exciting but terrifying feeling of being in love with a friend and wanting to gush out all your feelings to them. The song is impossibly catchy and upbeat and instills a bubbly feeling when you hear it.

I’m Only Me When I’m With You by Taylor Swift

Song Year: 2008

Many people assume I’m Only Me When I’m With You is about a love interest, but Taylor’s loyal fans believe it’s a song about friendship, best friends to be exact! Taylor sings that no one understands her as her best friend does, and she wouldn’t want to go anywhere without them. When they’re happy, she’s happy, and when they’re sad, she’s sad.

It’s a charming song with plenty of country sounds and elements, like most of the songs on her first album. But as always, Taylor perfectly captures a familiar human feeling of feeling incredibly connected to someone.

Long Live by Taylor Swift

Song Year: 2008

Long Live is an inspiring and rebellious song that Taylor wrote to her fans and friends. It’s about breaking traditions and trying something new, even if it makes people angry. The song has strong themes of friendship and unity that make you want to stand up and fight alongside Taylor.

Taylor is all about breaking down barriers, pushing the envelope, and doing whatever she wants, but this song reminds us that she does all of this with her friends and fans by her side.

Bad Blood by Taylor Swift

Song Year: 2014

Unlike Breathe, Bad Blood is about a friendship that went down in flames. The consensus is that the song is about Katy Perry, who was once one of Taylor’s friends, but they had a falling out. With a rap verse from Kendrick Lamar, it’s one of Taylor’s edgier songs and has a strong focus on revenge.

In the super fun and action-packed music video, she fights side by side with other famous ladies from Ellie Goulding to Zendaya to Paramore’s Hayley Williams to SVU’s Mariska Hargitay and many more.

this is me trying by Taylor Swift

Song Year: 2020

In this song, Taylor desperately tries to explain that she’s doing her best and that she knows it’s never enough. She feels like she can’t do anything right and everyone will abandon her, but then she turns to her friend for comfort.

She sings about how she feels like she’s wasting her life and her time and just needs someone to help her through this, ideally, the friend she’s turned to. The soft, slow song from the album folklore will bring a tear to your eye.

You Need To Calm Down by Taylor Swift

Song Year: 2019

Taylor’s bouncy and upbeat pride anthem is about telling the homophobic trolls to shut up and keep their thoughts to themselves. However, the theme of friendship is powerful, as she says about defending her friends from these mean and bigoted people.

With one of the funniest music videos, it’s an easy song to sing along to and will put a smile on your face. In this song, Taylor Swift makes it clear that she’ll throw down for her friends, and she and Katy Perry even reunite in the video following their feud.

Top Taylor Swift Songs About Friendship, Final Thoughts

As you can see, Taylor doesn’t just feel romantic feelings deeply, she’s also written powerful songs about her friends and former friends. And a few songs about the friend-to-lover pipeline that is oh-so-common (hi Harry). Her poetic lyrics and sensational voice can lift you and give you hope, but the next song pulls you into a melancholy moment.

No matter what she writes about, she captures the authenticity of the human experience and how painful and beautiful all kinds of love can be.

While you’re here, why not take a look at Taylor Swift’s net worth?