I Knew It From The First Old Fashioned We Were Cursed

The Drinking Spectrum of Taylor Swift Lyrics

“You are somebody that I don’t know. But you’re takin’ shots at me like it’s Patrón, and I’m just like, damn. It’s 7 a.m.” 

If you’ve followed me a while, you know I’m a Taylor Swift fan. I’ve been to two of her concerts and I’ve been buying her music since Fearless. In many ways I’ve grown up with her, even though I’m 10 years older. Fearless played a crucial role in my healing from a bad breakup. Reputation was my soundtrack for overcoming hard times or betrayal.

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So many of us dove into Folklore/Evermore fever to get through the crushing days of Covid. And Midnights was my resurrection after early sobriety, learning how to stop white knuckling the steering wheel and trust my cruise control. Lately, I’ve embraced her songs on mental health and self-sabotage as I learn how to finally love and embrace my badassery in midlife. Her music over the years has always felt like alchemy to my soul.

And just as Taylor’s music has paralleled the evolutions in my life, so have we had a front seat to the evolution in her life too. I saw a graph of the rise in swear words from Taylor’s albums over the years as they’ve consistently increased in the last few albums. This shouldn’t be surprising for someone who is now in her mid-30’s. Yes, her fanbase spans multi-generations, but does that mean she has to edit out her own artistic license to accommodate?

In that same vein, we have seen Taylor’s inclusion of alcohol over the years grow remarkably. Again, this isn’t surprising for someone who started her music career in her teens.

Last week her album The Tortured Poets Department came out, and while there are similar vibes to Midnights, I feel a change in the air, including around the lyrics on alcohol and drugs. It feels darker; less playful. It made me again consider this evolution of the narrative around alcohol and drugs in our youth and how that changes over time. The partying and glorification in the younger years which slowly transitions to bleak, foggy sadness of lost moments as well as the heartbreak of our ever-growing rolodex of loved ones struggling in addiction.

I’m not going to speculate on Taylor’s relationship with alcohol, because that would be gross. But I do want to talk about some of her lines on alcohol and drugs because they’ve grown increasingly profound and sometimes heart-wrenching. And the evolution of her lyrics tells the story so many of us are familiar with: how alcohol starts out as fun and harmless and darkens over time and loss.

PS - I’m only offering a sampling of alcohol/drug lyrics in these albums leading up to TTPD, but I did list every alcohol or drug lyric I could find for the TTPD Anthology.

The “Debut” of Alcohol

Taylor’s first four albums do not mention alcohol at all that I’m aware. It wasn’t til her album 1989 (when Taylor was 24) that she first introduced it to the cast of characters. Even then, it was in the song Clean, which Taylor says is a song about the parallels between break-ups and addiction recovery: “You’re still all over me like a wine stained dress I can’t wear anymore.”

The Reputation album takes a remarkable turn from Taylor’s more straight-laced persona with at least six references to alcohol.¹ As I mentioned earlier, the dynamic makes alcohol feel sexy, fun and playful, like an alcohol ad.

“I’m spilling wine in the bathtub. You kiss my face, and we’re both drunk” - Dress

“Up on the roof with a schoolgirl crush, drinking beer out of plastic cups.” - King of My Heart

“Island Breeze and lights down low. No one has to know.” - Ready for it (Island Breeze presumably refers to the cocktail by that name.)

Lover of Liquor

The Lover album continues the theme of alcohol as a take it or leave it supporting character in Taylor’s story-telling. She pops in mentions of Patron shots (You Need to Calm Down) and her love of Tennessee whiskey (London Boy) in ways that feel more like filler than substance. There are a few wine mentions in this album that seem less playful but not in terms of the alcohol itself but in the metaphors they try to expand upon.

“The wine is cold like the shoulder that I gave you in the street.” - Paper Rings

“My time, my wine, my spirit, my trust. Tryna find a part of me you didn’t take up.” - Death by a Thousand Cuts

“I'm drunk in the back of the car. And I cried like a baby coming home from the bar. “ - Cruel Summer

The Folklore Vibe

Folklore and Evermore are two beautifully-crafted albums Taylor made in Covid lockdown, a time when so many us felt stuck and used alcohol to drink away fears and solitude. Here is where I see a more nuanced approach to alcohol. And while there are still lighthearted references to booze, they are matched with thought-provoking lines about using alcohol to escape and perhaps my favorite song ever about recovery!

“August slipped away like a bottle of wine, ‘cause you were never mine.” - August

“Pouring out my heart to a stranger, but I didn’t pour the whiskey.” This is Me Trying. Taylor mentions the theme of addiction and recovery when discussing this song in the Long Pond Studio Sessions documentary.

“I’m fine with my spite and my tears and my beers and my candles.” - Closure

Meet Me At Midnights

Midnights is one of my favorite albums for a reason. I love how it walks us through the timeline of passionate lover to stranger. And that journey is heavy with alcohol metaphors to express moods, experiences, and connection.

“‘How’d we end up on the floor, anyway?’ You say. Your roommate’s cheap-ass screw-top Rosé, that’s how.” - Maroon

“I’m the wind in our free-flowing sails and the liquor in our cocktails.” - Mastermind

Tortured Poets

As I said before, I hear a turn in the overall vibe on this album. Maybe it’s related to Taylor’s alleged muse for many of the songs, Matty Healy, who has allegedly struggled with drugs in the past. This album is one of the only times she mentions drugs as much (if not more) than alcohol. There’s even a heroin reference. And of course, one of the first lines of her single, Fortnight, she describes herself as a functioning alcoholic but it’s safe to assume it’s a metaphor because that’s what Taylor does so well! Here are all the references about alcohol and or drugs that I could find on this double album:

“I was a functioning alcoholic. 'Til nobody noticed my new aesthetic.” - Fortnight

“I took the miracle move on drug. The effects were temporary.” - Fortnight. This is almost certainly a metaphor for a rebound relationship.

“You smoked then ate seven bars of chocolate.” - TTPD

“All the wine moms are still holdin' out, but fuck 'em, it's over.” - But Daddy I Love Him. Taylor referencing wine moms, ha! Love it.

“And my friends all smell like weed or little babies.” - Florida

“Florida is one hell of a drug.” - Florida. And this is a chorus line, which is interesting. She also sings “Fuck me up, Florida.”

“I got drunk and I dared it to wash me away. Barricaded in the bathroom with a bottle of wine.” - Florida

“I'm always drunk on my own tears, isn't that what they all said?” and “Put narcotics into all of my songs. And that's why you're still singin' along.” -Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?

“The smoke cloud billows out his mouth. Like a freight train through a small town.” - I Can Fix Him. This might just be a reference to cigarettes.

“You tried to buy some pills. From a friend of friends of mine.” - The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived

“You hung me on your wall. Stabbed me with your push pins. In public, showed me off. Then sank in stoned oblivion.” - The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived

“These chemicals hit me like white wine.” - The Alchemy

“He jokes that it's heroin, but this time with an "E"- The Alchemy

“Six weeks of breathin' clean air. I still miss the smoke.” - The Black Dog. Interesting line as she talks about the smoke in several songs on this album and in reference to her song Clean from 1989.

“Only liquor anoints you.” - The Albatross

“You needed me, but you needed drugs more.” - Chloe or Sam or Sophia or Marcus. Oof. This line hits hard.

“I'll drink what you think and I'm high. From smokin' your jokes all damn night.” - So High School

“They have their friends over to drink nice wine.” - Look in Peoples Windows

If I missed something, feel free to let me know and I’ll add it in. After I made this list I found an article attempting to do this same thing (dang it!) but they missed some key lines (ha!).

As Taylor continues to live in the spotlight, I look forward to seeing her discography continue to evolve and expand. And unsurprisingly, I will always find her references to alcohol of cultural and personal interest.

Thank you, Taylor, for this latest souvenir from your trip.

Have you bought my book, It’s Not About the Wine: The Loaded Truth Behind Mommy Wine Culture? Buy it here. And please leave a review on Amazon when you’re finished!

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