Need a Good Cry? These Devastating Taylor Swift Songs Should Do the Trick

Every dedicated Swiftie knows that Taylor Swift is a musical genius. While she certainly knows how to craft a "sick beat," her true talent is writing devastatingly emotional and soul-crushing lyrics. See: her new track "The Archer" from her upcoming album, Lover. Listening to her music on blast and crying your eyes out really is the perfect therapy, in my honest opinion. Even though the singer has written a lot of breakup songs in her day, not all of her sad songs are about love. Some of them are about self-reflection, anxiety, and overcoming painful loss. If you're looking for a good cry session, I suggest setting aside a few minutes to listen to her saddest songs ahead.

01
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"Cold as You"

This song from Swift's debut album first introduced us to her incredible songwriting. The comparison of a cold-hearted person to the cold, dreary weather will absolutely give you chills every single time.

Standout lyric: "You put up walls and paint them all a shade of gray / And I stood there loving you and wished them all away."

02
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"Tied Together With a Smile"

This track, which Swift wrote for a friend dealing with an eating disorder, is the self-encouragement we all need to hear sometimes. The second verse where Swift compares love to loose change is simply brilliant.

Standout lyric: "Hold on, baby, you're losing it / The water's high, you're jumping into it / And letting go / And no one knows."

03
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"The Last Time"

Swift's duet with Gary Lightbody is one of the most underrated songs on her RED album. Since the song is about two people who constantly keep going back to each other even though they know they shouldn't, the duet basically reads like a conversation.

Standout lyric: "You find yourself at my door / Just like all those times before / You wear your best apology / But I was there to watch you leave."

04
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"Sad Beautiful Tragic"

Since the melody in "Sad Beautiful Tragic" is completely stripped down, it really makes you feel every single emotion in the lyrics — and let me tell you, they are all beautifully sad.

Standout lyric: "And time is taking its sweet time erasing you / And you've got your demons, and, darling, they all look like me."

05
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"White Horse"

Swift really deconstructs the idea of fairy tales with this beautiful ballad. Not to mention the music video features the singer crying on her bedroom floor (aka all of us while listening to this song).

Standout lyric: "'Cause I'm not your princess, this ain't a fairy tale / I'm gonna find someone someday who might actually treat me well / This is a big world, that was a small town / There in my rear-view mirror disappearing now."

06
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"Breathe"

While most of Swift's breakup songs detail a cheating ex or getting revenge, "Breathe" actually takes a different approach by detailing how hard it is to say goodbye to someone you really love. Plus, Colbie Caillat's beautiful harmonies just really pull the whole thing together.

Standout lyric: "People are people, and sometimes we change our minds / But it's killing me to see you go after all this time."

07
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"Come in With the Rain"

This song is so sad it will make you want to stare out your own window and contemplate each moving lyric one by one.

Standout lyric: "I've got you down / I know you by heart / And you don't even know where I start."

08
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"The Archer"

Swift opens up in a whole new way with her latest single. While the song is about finding true love, it's also about overcoming self-doubt and anxiety and learning to forgive yourself for past mistakes. Each verse is its own little masterpiece.

Standout lyric: "I wake in the night / I pace like a ghost / The room is on fire / Invisible smoke / And all of my heroes / Die all alone / Help me hold on to you."

09
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"Last Kiss"

With each lyric in this song, Swift gives us little snapshots of her memory, while the faint drum feels like a steady beat of her heart.

Standout lyric: "So I'll watch your life in pictures like I used to watch you sleep / And I feel you forget me like I used to feel you breathe."

10
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"Forever & Always (Piano Version)"

While the original "Forever & Always" will always be a jam, there is just something so beautiful about the piano version. Swift sounds like she's holding back tears with each note.

Standout lyric: "Everything is wrong / It rains when you're here / And it rains when you're gone."

11
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"New Year’s Day"

Unlike some of the other songs on this list, "New Year's Day" will actually make you shed happy tears for a change. It's about love and all the happy and sad times that come with that.

Standout lyric: "Don't read the last page / But I stay when it's hard, or it's wrong / Or we're making mistakes / I want your midnights / But I'll be cleaning up bottles with you on New Year's Day."

12
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"Never Grow Up"

I can't tell you how many times I played (and sobbed to) "Never Grow Up" when I was a senior in high school. And now that I'm an adult and living in the big city, the lyrics about not wanting to grow up and stay little forever are that much more relatable.

Standout lyric: "Take pictures in your mind of your childhood room / Memorize what it sounded like when your dad gets home / Remember the footsteps, remember the words said / And all your little brother's favorite songs / I just realized everything I have is someday gonna be gone."

13
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"Clean"

"Clean" is yet another Swift song that I have openly cried to. From the hypnotizing beat to the gorgeous lyrics, it should come as no surprise that this song was co-written by Imogen Heap. The storm imagery is just so good!

Standout lyric: "Rain came pouring down when I was drowning / That's when I could finally breathe."

14
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"All Too Well"

Let's be real, this is probably the best song Swift has ever written. In under six minutes, she paints a vivid picture of a relationship that was doomed from the start. Even after all this time, I still get chills when she sings that powerful bridge.

Standout lyric: "You call me up again just to break me like a promise / So casually cruel in the name of being honest / I'm a crumpled up piece of paper lying here."

15
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"Ronan"

This single, which Swift released for charity to fight cancer, tells the emotional story of a 4-year-old boy named Ronan, who died from neuroblastoma in 2011. The lyrics are crafted together from the blog of Ronan's mother Maya Thompson, and will definitely make you weep.

Standout lyric: "What if I'm standing in your closet trying to talk to you? / What if I kept the hand-me-downs you won't grow into? / And what if I really thought some miracle would see us through? / What if the miracle was even getting one moment with you?"