April 29, 2026 | By Giannina Fredo

I have been seeing a lot of recent online discourse about the “Emo kid to Swiftie pipeline” (also referred to as being a “swemo”) after Taylor Swift stated how bands like Dashboard Confessional and Fall Out Boy were major musical influences for her. This is unsurprising for those familiar with her music and how melancholic it can get. What else could you expect when she comes up with an album title like The Tortured Poets Department? Many people don’t realize that a ridiculous amount of her discography is full of quintessential angsty emo songs, but with pop productions. Give us all the post-hardcore covers of folklore/evermore tracks!

These are my two worlds colliding and I’m thrilled. I was a very emo kid in middle school when her debut album dropped. (It was 2006. It’s been a long time coming…) I would listen to music on my silver iPod Nano (that I miss very much) during car rides every single day, and alternated between Taking Back Sunday’s “My Blue Heaven” and Taylor’s “Teardrops On My Guitar.”

If you haven’t experienced emo Taylor yet, then here is a collection of some of her most tormented lyrics (spoiler: there are a lot and this isn’t even all of them.)

*Taylor Swift channeling her inner Marceline the Vampire Queen, circa early 2000s MySpace era.*

“You drew stars around my scars
But now I'm bleedin'”

— “cardigan” / folklore

“So I wander through these nights
I prefer hiding in plain sight
My fourth drink in my hand
These desperate prayers of a cursed man
Spilling out to you for free
But darling, darling, please
You wouldn't take my word for it
If you knew who was talking

If you knew where I was walking
To a house, not a home, all alone 'cause nobody's there
Where I pace in my pen
And my friends found friends who care
No one sees when you lose
When you're playing solitaire”

— “Dear Reader” / Midnights

(Had to include the entire bridge for this one.)

“My eyes leak acid rain on the pillow where you used to lay your head”

— “happiness” / evermore

"Do you wanna take a skate on the ice inside my veins?"

— "The Life of a Showgirl" / The Life of a Showgirl

“I'd give you my sunshine, give you my best
But the rain is always gonna come if you're standing with me”

— "peace" / folklore

“I wanna snarl and show you just how disturbed this has made me
You wouldn't last an hour in the asylum where they raised me
So all you kids can sneak into my house with all the cobwebs
I'm always drunk on my own tears, isn't that what they all said?”

— "Who's Afraid of Little Old Me?" / The Tortured Poets Department

“And 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
'Cause I remember it all, all, all too well”

— “All Too Well” / Red

(Please listen to the 10-minute version. The emo lyrics never end.)

“Oh, and it rains in your bedroom
Everything is wrong
It rains when you're here and it rains when you're gone”

— “Forever & Always” / Speak Now

"Take me to the lakes where all the poets went to die
I don't belong, and my beloved, neither do you
Those Windermere peaks look like a perfect place to cry”

— “the lakes” / folklore

“You booked the night train for a reason
So you could sit there in this hurt”

— “champagne problems” / evermore

(This song is the ultimate swemo anthem.)

Case in point: He thought the majority of the TS lyrics were by Bring Me The Horizon.

“I think I've seen this film before and I didn't like the ending
I'm not your problem anymore
So who am I offending now?”

— “exile” feat. Bon Iver / folklore

“I wake up screaming from dreaming
One day, I'll watch as you're leaving
And life will lose all its meaning (for the last time)”

— “Anti-Hero” / Midnights

“And you've got your demons, and darling, they all look like me”

— “Sad Beautiful Tragic” / Red

“I could go back to every laugh
But I don't wanna go there anymore
And I know all the steps up to your door
But I don't wanna go there anymore”

— “Come In With the Rain” / Fearless

“And you can aim for my heart, go for blood
But you would still miss me in your bones
And I still talk to you (when I'm screaming at the sky)
And when you can't sleep at night (you hear my stolen lullabies)”

— “My Tears Ricochet” / folklore

(The song title alone tells you everything you need to know.)

“I would've died for your sins
Instead, I just died inside
And you deserve prison, but you won't get time
You'll slide into inboxes and slip through the bars
You crashed my party and your rental car”

— “The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived” / The Tortured Poets Department

(Tell me these aren’t My Chemical Romance lyrics.)

“I made you my temple, my mural, my sky
Now I'm begging for footnotes in the story of your life”

— “tolerate it” / evermore

“I don't trust nobody and nobody trusts me
I'll be the actress starring in your bad dreams”

— “Look What You Made Me Do” / Reputation

“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
And I'll keep up with our old friends just to ask them how you are”

— “Last Kiss” / Fearless

“You told me all my cages were mental, so I got wasted like all my potential”

— “This Is Me Trying” / folklore

(Honorable mention: “Pulled the car off the road to the lookout / Could've followed my fears all the way down”)

“Romeo, save me, they're tryna tell me how to feel
This love is difficult, but it's real
Don't be afraid, we'll make it out of this mess
It's a love story, baby, just say ‘Yes’”

— “Love Story” / Fearless

(You can imagine this as the response to “Check Yes Juliet” by We The Kings.)

“You put up the walls and paint them all a shade of gray
And I stood there loving you, and wished them all away
And you come away with a great little story of a mess of a dreamer with the nerve to adore you”

— “Cold As You” / Taylor Swift (self-titled)

“And you say I abandoned the ship
But I was going down with it
My white knuckle dying grip
Holding tight to your quiet resentment”

— "So Long, London" / The Tortured Poets Department

“Don't want no other shade of blue but you
No other sadness in the world would do”

— "hoax" / folklore

“Salt streams out my eyes and into my ears
Every single thing I touch becomes sick with sadness”

— “Bigger Than The Whole Sky” / Midnights

“You couldn't understand it
Why you felt alone
You were in it for real
She was in her phone
And you were just a pose”

— “Opalite” / The Life of a Showgirl

“Said ‘I'm fine,’ but it wasn't true
I don't wanna keep secrets just to keep you
And I snuck in through the garden gate
Every night that summer just to seal my fate
And I scream, ‘For whatever it's worth
I love you, ain't that the worst thing you ever heard?’”

— “Cruel Summer” / Lover

“Now I want to sell my house and set fire to all my clothes
And hire a priest to come and exorcise my demons
Even if I die screaming
And I hope you hear it”

— “The Black Dog” / The Tortured Poets Department

“The water filled my lungs, I screamed so loud but no one heard a thing”

— “Clean” / 1989

(This reminds me of Pierce The Veil’s "I'm crying underwater so you don't hear the sound" lyric.)

“And I wake with your memory over me
That's a real fucking legacy to leave”

— “Maroon” / Midnights

“I'd tell you I miss you but I don't know how
I've never heard silence quite this loud”

— “The Story of Us” / Speak Now

“And the old widow goes to the stone every day
But I don't, I just sit here and wait
Grieving for the living”

— “ivy” / evermore

“'Cause darling, I'm a nightmare dressed like a daydream”

— “Blank Space” / 1989

“All the king's horses, all the king's men
Couldn't put me together again
'Cause all of my enemies started out friends
Help me hold onto you”

— “The Archer” / Lover

“Draw the cat eye, sharp enough to kill a man
You did some bad things, but I'm the worst of them”

— "Vigilante Shit" / Midnights

*Taylor playing a troubled emo teen, Haley Jones, in CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (Season 9, Ep. 16)*

“Oh, Lord, I think about jumping off of very tall somethings
Just to see you come running
And say the one thing I've been wanting, but no”

— “Is It Over Now?” / 1989

“And I wouldn't marry me either
A pathological people pleaser
Who only wanted you to see her”

— “You’re Losing Me” / Midnights

“Oh, holding my breath
Won't see you again
Something keeps me holding on to nothing”

— “Haunted” / Speak Now

Bonus: Her most classic Midwestern emo lyrics:

“I hear it in your voice, you're smoking with your boys
I touch my phone as if it's your face
I didn't choose this town, I dream of getting out
There's just one who could make me stay”

— “You’re On Your Own, Kid” / Midnights

“'Cause I'm not your princess, this ain't our fairytale
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 rearview mirror disappearing now”

— “White Horse” / Fearless

Taylor Swift for the Emo Kid Soul: A Guide to Her Most Emo Lyrics

“You drew stars around my scarsBut now I'm bleedin'”

“So I wander through these nightsI prefer hiding in plain sightMy fourth drink in my handThese desperate prayers of a cursed manSpilling out to you for freeBut darling, darling, pleaseYou wouldn't take my word for itIf you knew who was talking

If you knew where I was walkingTo a house, not a home, all alone 'cause nobody's thereWhere I pace in my penAnd my friends found friends who careNo one sees when you loseWhen you're playing solitaire”

“My eyes leak acid rain on the pillow where you used to lay your head”

"Do you wanna take a skate on the ice inside my veins?"

“I'd give you my sunshine, give you my bestBut the rain is always gonna come if you're standing with me”

“I wanna snarl and show you just how disturbed this has made meYou wouldn't last an hour in the asylum where they raised meSo all you kids can sneak into my house with all the cobwebsI'm always drunk on my own tears, isn't that what they all said?”

“And you call me up again just to break me like a promiseSo casually cruel in the name of being honestI'm a crumpled up piece of paper lying here'Cause I remember it all, all, all too well”

“Oh, and it rains in your bedroomEverything is wrongIt rains when you're here and it rains when you're gone”

"Take me to the lakes where all the poets went to dieI don't belong, and my beloved, neither do youThose Windermere peaks look like a perfect place to cry”

“You booked the night train for a reasonSo you could sit there in this hurt”

“I think I've seen this film before and I didn't like the endingI'm not your problem anymoreSo who am I offending now?”

“I wake up screaming from dreamingOne day, I'll watch as you're leavingAnd life will lose all its meaning (for the last time)”

“And you've got your demons, and darling, they all look like me”

“I could go back to every laughBut I don't wanna go there anymoreAnd I know all the steps up to your doorBut I don't wanna go there anymore”

“And you can aim for my heart, go for bloodBut you would still miss me in your bonesAnd I still talk to you (when I'm screaming at the sky)And when you can't sleep at night (you hear my stolen lullabies)”

“I would've died for your sinsInstead, I just died insideAnd you deserve prison, but you won't get timeYou'll slide into inboxes and slip through the barsYou crashed my party and your rental car”

“I made you my temple, my mural, my skyNow I'm begging for footnotes in the story of your life”

“I don't trust nobody and nobody trusts meI'll be the actress starring in your bad dreams”

“So I'll watch your life in pictures like I used to watch you sleepAnd I feel you forget me like I used to feel you breatheAnd I'll keep up with our old friends just to ask them how you are”

“You told me all my cages were mental, so I got wasted like all my potential”

“Romeo, save me, they're tryna tell me how to feelThis love is difficult, but it's realDon't be afraid, we'll make it out of this messIt's a love story, baby, just say ‘Yes’”

“You put up the walls and paint them all a shade of grayAnd I stood there loving you, and wished them all awayAnd you come away with a great little story of a mess of a dreamer with the nerve to adore you”

“And you say I abandoned the shipBut I was going down with itMy white knuckle dying gripHolding tight to your quiet resentment”

“Don't want no other shade of blue but youNo other sadness in the world would do”

“Salt streams out my eyes and into my earsEvery single thing I touch becomes sick with sadness”

“You couldn't understand itWhy you felt aloneYou were in it for realShe was in her phoneAnd you were just a pose”

“Said ‘I'm fine,’ but it wasn't trueI don't wanna keep secrets just to keep youAnd I snuck in through the garden gateEvery night that summer just to seal my fateAnd I scream, ‘For whatever it's worthI love you, ain't that the worst thing you ever heard?’”

“Now I want to sell my house and set fire to all my clothesAnd hire a priest to come and exorcise my demonsEven if I die screamingAnd I hope you hear it”