Music has always been a huge part of my life. I grew up going to church and quickly fell in love with how music (especially live music) can emotionally impact us from the moment that the first chord is played. One of my favorite things about music is lyricism — the words that songwriters meticulously choose to have in their songs to authentically express an emotion, a personal life experience, or even building a fictional universe in order to tell a story. I fell in love with punk rock and emo music at the young age of 9 years old, and I didn’t really pay much attention to other genres because I was perfectly content with the music I was already listening to. 

Up until a few months after I turned 15 years old, I was still only listening to punk rock and emo music, but that all changed in October of 2010. One day after school, my friend dragged me to Walmart so we could peruse through the CD section. She ended up finding Speak Now, Taylor Swift’s third album, and quickly went to the check–out to purchase it. We ended up putting Speak Now in my friends’ CD player and listened to the entire album. I had only heard Taylor Swift’s popular hits like “Teardrops On My Guitar,” “Love Story,” and “You Belong With Me” before we listened to the entirety of Speak Now. 

I was shocked by how much I liked Speak Now, because Taylor Swift’s music is so sonically different from any of the bands that I was already listening to. As I was reading the Speak Now lyric booklet, I noticed there were very similar themes and subjects that Taylor was exploring that are very consistent within the emo scene: heartbreak, feeling misunderstood, and insecurity. Not only were the themes similar, but Swift’s emotionally raw vocal delivery throughout the album reminded me of so many vocalists within the emo scene. Since that day, I have been a Swemo (a Swiftie emo). 

When Taylor Swift said that Pete Wentz (Fall Out Boy’s lyricist and bassist) is one of her favorite lyricists during her interview with Apple Music in 2019, I was not surprised to say the least. In fact, I thought it was pretty obvious how similar her songwriting was to emo music from a thematic and lyrical standpoint. Even though Taylor’s music does not sound anything like emo music, the vulnerable and emotionally charged lyrics that are embedded within Taylor’s songs bring these two unconventional worlds together in a seamless way.

This playlist is specifically for the Swemos, but it is also for those that are in denial that there is an invisible string between Taylor Swift and emo music. Every Taylor Swift song I chose reminds me of emo music from a thematic and lyrical point of view. Some of the Taylor Swift songs I chose also sonically align with emo music, “Better Than Revenge (Taylor’s Version)” and “Haunted (Taylor’s Version),” for example. The emo songs I chose remind me of Taylor’s songwriting style and lyricism. As you listen to this playlist that I have carefully crafted, you will be able to pick up on the parallels between all of the songs that I have chosen.

So press play, turn up the volume, and get ready for your nervous system to be emotionally overwhelmed (but like, in the best way).