How has Taylor Swift referenced marriage in her music over the years? From 'Love Story' to 'Paper Rings'

Taylor Swift has written songs about many stages of love. Some songs explore the beginning of relationships, while others look at heartbreak. Another theme that has also come up often in her music is marriage.

From her early albums to her more recent work, Swift has used marriage as a way to describe hope, rejection, or even conflict in love. Sometimes, she sings about dreaming of a wedding. Other times, she talks about walking away from it.

Looking at her lyrics over time shows how her view of marriage has changed. Early in her career, Swift often wrote about fairytale endings. Later, she began to share more complex and realistic ideas about what marriage means.

Taylor Swift wrote about fairytales and young love

Taylor Swift first referenced marriage in her debut album with Mary’s Song (Oh My My My). In this track, she tells the story of two people who grow up together and get married. The lyrics imagine a life where they raise a family and grow old together. It is a picture of a lifelong bond.

Her song Love Story from Fearless also includes marriage as a happy ending. Inspired by Romeo and Juliet, the track changes the tragic ending of the play into a proposal. In this version, love wins and the couple gets to be together.

In Fifteen, also on Fearless, Taylor Swift reflects on teenage hopes. She sings about believing she would marry her high school crush. Later in the song, she admits that life turned out differently. This shows a young view of marriage as something imagined but not certain.

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Recent shifting views and new meanings

By the time of Lover in 2019, Taylor Swift used marriage to describe a steady and lasting relationship. In the title track, she even writes the lyrics like wedding vows. The song Paper Rings from the same album adds a playful take, saying that the relationship matters more than the ring itself.

But in later albums, marriage appears in less idealistic ways. Champagne Problems tells the story of a proposal that is turned down. The song shows how one person may dream of marriage while the other is not ready. In Midnight Rain, she sings about choosing her career over becoming someone’s bride.

Other songs also use marriage to describe conflict. In High Infidelity, Swift mentions dragging her feet down the aisle, linking it with regret. In You’re Losing Me, she questions if she could even marry herself, showing doubt in love. These songs show that marriage in her music is no longer just about happy endings.

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Taylor Swift’s references to marriage have moved from fairytales to reality. Early in her career, she sang about weddings as the final step in a love story. As time went on, her songs began to explore the challenges and choices around marriage.

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