The Ultimate Ranking of every song on folkmore and evermore

Taylor Swift’s Evermore and Folklore changed the game in 2020 and hit most people’s albums of the year. Here, to celebrate the release of evermore – deluxe we put together our definitive ranking of our favourite tracks from the two records (from our favourite to least favourite).

1. no body, no crime

Crime and Taylor Swift? Need we say more, this is the 2020 ‘Goodbye Earl.’

2. the last great american dynasty

We’re betting you Googled ‘Holiday House’ and ‘Rebekah Harkness’ after one listen to this track – right? Swift manages to create a Gatsby meets Rebecca-esque stunning track here that offers the perfect bridge between the Lover era and folklore.

3. the 1

The first single from folklore, this is a stunningly wistful track about could-have-been love, with Swift pondering about life if ‘you would have been the one.’

4. long story short

We think this is a sleeper of a track that has flown under the radar, but is bound to be one of those that sticks. ‘And I fell from the pedestal / right down the rabbit hole / Long story short / It was a bad time.’ Swift has the ability to twist lyrics like no other, it’s a sweet, fun track that is more uplifting than a lot of the record.

5. champagne problems

Ever dealing in mystery, Swift sings about a couple dealing with the fall-out of a failed proposal, though the family have already popped the champagne – it’s a deliciously delicate decadent track.

6. august

On august, Swift falls into the role of the ‘other woman,’ singing about an illicit affair in summertime and the scrapbook of memories she is looking back. ‘August slipped away like a bottle of wine, because you were never mine.’ It’s the most poetic take on an illicit love affair, delicately done.

7. cardigan

There’s much speculation about this one, about Swift’s fandom and the love for her fans and her fans love for her. The magic is in the mystery (as always).

8. willow

The first song on evermore, willow is a folkloric love song, mystical in its power and light touch and entrancing in its delivery.

9. happiness

This must be the ultimate bittersweet track of empowerment, causing you to see your own self-worth after a breakup – ‘There’ll be happiness after you, there was happiness because of you, both of these things can be true. There is happiness.’ Swift’s vocal is pure and elegant on this devastating, powerful track.

10. gold rush

Rumours are rife that this is another about Swift’s friendship turned sour with Karlie Kloss or is it about Harry Styles? Regardless, Swift pours vitriol on the protagonist in the track, ‘At dinner parties I won’t call you out on your contrarian shit.’

11. ’tis the damn season

On ’tis the damn season, Swift tells the story about someone returning to their hometown and falling back into a relationship with someone from their past. There’s a nostalgic bittersweetness to the track that is sweetly painful.

12. cowboy like me

This sweet track feels like a nod to Swift’s country days, singing of two young bandits falling in love. It’s a wild love story and again there’s been a lot of speculation on the identity of the male backing singer.

13. my tears ricochet

A hauntingly sad track (what tracks from these two records aren’t?), ‘my tears ricochet’ tells the story of a lost romance and the permanent mark of lost young love.

14. marjorie

Named after Swift’s grandmother, the track is a powerful tribute to Marjorie and is a brutally poignant reminder that the dead remain among us in our memories and through the lessons they teach us.

15. it’s time to go

Released as the last track on the deluxe version of evermore, ‘it’s time to go’ tells the moment of knowing when is the best time to let something go and when a relationship (in any form) is over – it’s a gut punch, but a necessary one.

16. dorothea

Rumoured to be about Selena Gomez – her long-time friend, ‘dorothea’ is a stunning ode to friendship and growing up together, it’s sweet, pure and stunning.

17. mirrorball

Swift uses the idea of a ‘mirrorball’ to sing of herself and how she is unique to a lover. It’s elegantly and subtly done, both vocally and lyrically.

18. mad woman

Picking up where ‘The Man’ left off, ‘mad woman’ takes on the idea of woman being labelled ’emotional’ and ‘crazy,’ it’s delicately done, but no less powerful, drawing her lines and an anthem for many.

19. betty

Part of a trilogy of songs about a love song, Swift plays with the rumours of her own sexuality, playing with her audience and the romance with ‘betty.’ It’s open-hearted, vulnerable but playful.

20. tolerate it

‘tolerate it’ is an aching track about the disintegration of a love that isn’t celebrated but ‘tolerated.’ It’s almost gloriously painful.

21. epiphany

On ‘epiphany,’ Swift revisits her grandfather on the WWII battlefield, the track is dreamlike, later comparing the battle to 2020 – it’s rammed with an empathy that feels limitless and a powerful reminder of why Swift is such a remarkable songwriter.

22. this is me trying

Sonically, this track is a stand-out from the record, intensely vulnerable, it’s plaintive and wounded.

23. illicit affairs

Swift with poise packs the mess of an affair into one intricate tapestry of a track.

24. coney island (feat. The National)

Unlike many of the duets, this with The National is a seamless and poised fit that enhances Swift’s vocal rather than masking it – a tour de force.

25. evermore (feat. Bon Iver)

The second duet with Bon Iver, ‘evermore’ is a gently floating ballad that is as sad as earlier tracks like ‘Back to December,’ poignant, heart-aching.