All of Taylor Swift’s Songs That Aren’t About Dating: ‘The Man,’ ‘Anti-Hero,’ More

If you’re not a die-hard Swiftie like Us, you might think that all of Taylor Swift’s songs are about dating and love — and you’d be wrong. On the heels of the release of The Tortured Poets Department, let Us enlighten you about her dozens of hits about family, friends and more.

Take “The Man,” for example, from her 2019 album, Lover. In the track, Swift sings about how her life and career would be different if she was a man: “They'd say I hustled / Put in the work / They wouldn't shake their heads and question how much of this I deserve.” Throughout the song, Swift dives into her experience of sexism in the music industry.

Swift also has a number of songs about her family, including “The Best Day,” “Never Grow Up,” “Soon You’ll Get Better” and “Marjorie,” where she sings about her relationship with her mom, her late grandmother and more.

Keep scrolling to see every song Swift has written that’s not about dating sorted by album:

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Taylor Swift (Debut)

“I’m Only Me When I’m With You” is about Swift's childhood friend Abigail Anderson. In the music video, she shared clips of the two bonding and having fun together, as well as shots of her family.

Elsewhere on the 2006 album is “A Place in This World,” a song about Swift’s journey moving to Nashville and wanting to become famous.

Fearless

While Fearless is filled with some of her most popular songs, including “You Belong With Me” and “Love Story,” there are also a number of tunes that have nothing to do with her dating life. Swift wrote a love song to her mom, Andrea Swift, named “The Best Day.”

“Change” is also featured on the album, which is about overcoming hardships.

Speak Now

One of Swift’s beloved tracks on Speak Now is “Mean,” which she wrote after receiving a harsh review. The song is rumored to be about critic Bob Lefsetz, who claimed Swift “can't sing” after her 2010 Grammys performance. In response, she sings, “And I can see you years from now in a bar … Washed up and ranting about the same old bitter things / Drunk and grumblin' on about how I can't sing.”

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Other songs on the album not about love are “Never Grow Up,” about aging, “Long Live,” an ode to her fans, “Innocent” about her feud with Kanye West and “Castles Crumbling,” which tackles her concerns about the longevity of her career.

Red

From “22” about navigating life in her early 20’s to “The Lucky One,” following Swift’s understanding of fame, Red is filled with songs that aren't about dating. In the Taylor’s Version of the album, which dropped in November 2021, she included two vault tracks: “Nothing New” and “Forever Winter,” which are about aging and becoming irrelevant, and mental health, respectively.

1989

In her first fully pop album, Swift included “Welcome to New York,” regarding her move to the Big Apple, as well as “Bad Blood” about her former feud with Katy Perry. (Perry hired Swift’s backup dancers to leave The Red Tour and travel with her instead on her Prismatic World Tour. The duo have since made up and Perry was even seen singing along to “Bad Blood” at Swift’s Eras Tour.)

Swift also sings about letting go of haters’ messages in “Shake It Off.”

Reputation

One of Swift’s most talked about songs is “Look What You Made Me Do,” her first drop following a feud with West and Kim Kardashian after the former couple altered a phone call of her approving his offensive lyrics about her in his song “Famous.”

Swift again touches on her relationship with West in “This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things” and “I Did Something Bad.”

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Lover

Swift has a number of songs that aren't about dating in her Lover album, which was released in 2019, including “The Man” and “I Forgot That You Existed,” which is rumored to be about West, “Soon You’ll Get Better” about her mother’s cancer, “It’s Nice to Have a Friend” about her pals and more.

One of her most loved songs is seemingly a dig at Donald Trump, “You Need to Calm Down.” Swift — who released the song on his birthday — sings about LGBTQ+ pride in the song and even hugged Perry in the music video, putting an end to their feud.

Folklore

During the COVID-19 lockdown, Swift created two sister albums featuring fictional story lines, personal tracks, songs about other people and more. One of the biggest hits on Folklore is “The Last Great American Dynasty,” which is about the life of Rebekah Harkness, who owned Swift’s Rhode Island house before her.

The album also includes “Mirrorball,” “Seven,” “Mad Woman,” and “This Is Me Trying,” all of which are not about dating.

Evermore

Swift sang about her late grandmother, Marjorie Finlay, who was an opera singer in “Marjorie.” Finlay’s voice can also be heard on the track.

“Dorothea” is another hit on the album, about a fictional girl who left her town to chase fame.

Midnights

Swift’s 2022 album, Midnights, features perhaps the most amount of songs that are not about dating. From “You’re on Your Own, Kid,” and “Karma” to “Dear Reader,” “Bigger Than the Whole Sky” and “Vigilante S—t,” she explores growing up, her feud about Scooter Braun (Braun buying her former record label and getting the rights to her masters is what led to her rereleases) ) and more.

According to Swift, “Anti-Hero” is about the things she “hates” about herself. “I don't think I've delved this far into my insecurities in this detail before,” she said in an October 2022 TikTok while announcing the track title. “I struggle a lot with the idea that my life has become unmanageably sized, and not to sound too dark, I struggle with the idea of not feeling like a person.”

One of her most popular songs on the album is “Bejeweled,” which is about Swift’s self-worth.

The Tortured Poets Department

Swift’s 11th studio album, which she dropped in April 2024, was largely inspired by her splits from Joe Alwyn and Matty Healy, but a number of songs aren't about dating. “Robin” is about childhood innocence and “I Hate it Here” is about not feeling at home.

She also has two songs referencing her past feuds, including “thanK you aIMee” and “Cassanra.”

“thanK you aIMee” strategically spells out Kim, likely a nod to her feud with Kardashian. “Cassandra” is more cryptic, but fans theorized that the song is about Swift’s drama with West and Braun.

Elsewhere on TTPD — and the double album, the Anthology — is “Clara Bow,” which is about being compared to other artists and “Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?” about society tearing down artists.