Taylor songs that resonate in your 30s

I'm a Taylor fan in my 30s, still a bit younger than her, but in a very similar place to where I'm now newly married, gone through ups and down with love and I now have a less dramatic but actually deeper feeling about love, life and people. While I listen to her older songs for fun, I don't emotionally connect with the dramatic flair of her earlier songs as I did when I was younger, or the composure which was often cinematic or intense. I think Taylor has struggled sometimes to bring her authentic mature feelings into her music and she even admits to holding on to that intensity she had in her younger years to make her music more dramatic. However, when she leans into her mature, more insightful and self-reflective side, I personally think that's where she shines the most for me now and I can once again see myself in her music.

So here are the Taylor songs I can honestly relate with at this stage in life and I feel are written for people at this stage and probably some of her most authentic recently (as well as some songs that also feel written for older people to enjoy as much as younger people):

Down Bad = the fun little obvious fantasy aspect of aliens mixed with the everyday banality of doing life (being at the gym) speaks to a wild fling or short lived romance in your later life as feeling less common to when you're younger and everything is dramatic. Also the lyrics are written in a tongue in cheek way yet being very raw, instead of 'dying for you' or big romantic movie type show of it like her earlier songs, it's simply 'fuck it if I can't have him', 'like I lost my twin'. Also the understated yet dance-able music composure is nice to my ears.

Guilty as Sin = an exploration of sexual fantasy that harkens back to a younger dramatic feeling of sex and romance paired with the very real dilemma people who are older feel about having these 'wrong' impulses. It speaks to those in long standing relationships who might feel an itch to get out and tear up everything on a fantasy or impulse for escape with someone else. Also the pairing with religiosity is actually a great analogy of living in the status quo of what's expected of older people, 'if long suffering propriety is what you want from me' is something older people also experience often.

I Look in People's Windows = the art song that feels musically mature with the nostalgia that does resonate when you feel far away emotionally from another part of your life but a sort of last ditch desire to experience it again for the final time.

The Prophecy = this was the only song of hers in the past few years that actually stopped me in my tracks and had the same effect as 'Out of the Woods' did when I was in my younger 20s. This is probably the most poignant and emotionally mature she's written in a while with excellent musical and vocal composure that hits different. The lyricism is excellent, peppered with mature references and the message being so beautifully painful and raw for many people who are older and are lonely, worried and tired.

Would've, Could've, Should've = a retroactive look at a relationship from your younger years that was clearly abusive or had an unbalance of power and the rage of finally being older and able to see it what for what is.

Sweet Nothing = an actually brilliant little song of what it feels like to be in a stable, calm and quiet older love. The love references seem quite banal and boring, a pebble they found at a beach, humming in the kitchen but that's more meaningful when you're tired of the car crash fights and big gestures. And the 'I love you' in it is in, 'you say what a mind' because that's more important as we get older than purely being seen as physically beautiful or sexy or cool. Also the vulnerability of being able to express your fears, big and small, to someone and not feeling ashamed of not being 'perfect'. This is the best song she's written about mature happy love in my opinion.

Bigger Than the Whole Sky = the message of this would have gone over my head in my 20s but as people around me have started trying for children, and some experiencing miscarriages, the meaning was clear, beautiful and devastating.

Anti-Hero = fun, clear and very much a real experience of dealing with your darker sides and self-reflection. It also engages in the weird fantasies and thoughts we have as we get older that are diabolical and strange which we feel we can never say.

the last great american dynasty = this one stands out for the Scott Fitzgerald type storytelling and the fun of routing for older women in the past who stepped out of line.

seven = I don't know how she managed to write an outstanding song like this, but it is brilliant encapsulation of childhood feelings and emotions that I think resonates with people from all ages and stages of life.

ivy = gorgeous writing, beautiful storytelling, great composition and a reference to La Boheme 'my pain fits in the palm of your freezing hand' which I appreciate as a nice 'adult' reference.

right where you left me = I don't think I need to explain it, it's got a raw, tongue in cheek view of heart break from a long time again, 'she's still 23 in her fantasy'.

You Are in Love = I still feel the same way about this song as I did when I first heard it, this is a beautiful description of good love that I nearly played at my wedding.

I Almost Do= I have to admit I didn't like this song when I was younger because I didn't understand why she didn't just do it and reach out?? But now, I get it, and it's also not necessarily about a romantic relationship, I see it as also relating to a friendship that dies or grows apart over time.

Everything Has Changed = this sounds like it should be an 'immature love at first sight' type song, but this is the exact same feeling I had after I met my husband for the first time, not love, but an inner knowing something big enough to change everything has changed.

Ruin the Friendship = I didn't want to enter a TLOAS song because that album makes me feel gaslit (just when I think I can relate to her, she regresses about 15 years in this album?) but this one is a song I can get on board with as memory, regret and wonder.

Two songs not included but I think people would feel should be here are 'All Too Well' and 'My Tears Ricochet' and the reason is, while they resonated at the time of coming out to me, now they do feel like songs written and for a younger person. There's a sort of drama, or style of writing in them that just feels a little too young for me to resonate with now, which is not to say they're bad, just to say I've moved on from those places. Many of Taylor's songs speak to a specific time in life, and are absolutely perfect for that time in life. It's a shame I'm not seeing as much coming from her recently that speaks to the time in life she's in now, which I'm also in, but hopefully will see more soon.