19 Best Taylor Swift Songs About Friendship

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?