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If anyone knows what it’s like to be an independent woman in this world, it’s Taylor Swift. Few female artists have a better phoenix-rising narrative than Swift, whose songs have soundtracked entire generations of millennials and Gen-Zers around the world.
With International Women’s Day (March 8th) around the corner, we’re running back Swift’s most motivating lyrics — from sassy one-liners to spirited stanzas — to inspire and encourage independent women everywhere!
"Bejeweled":
Best believe I'm still bejeweled/ When I walk in the room/ I can still make the whole place shimmer
And when I meet the band/ They ask, "Do you have a man?"/ I can still say, "I don't remember"/ Familiarity breeds contempt/ Don't put me in the basement/ When I want the penthouse of your heart
"Vigilante S—t":
Draw the cat eye, sharp enough to kill a man/ You did some bad things, but I'm the worst of them/ Sometimes I wonder which one will be your last lie
They say looks can kill and I might try/ I don't dress for women/ I don't dress for men/ Lately I've been dressing for revenge
"Sweet Nothing":
Industry disruptors and soul deconstructors/ And smooth-talking hucksters out glad-handing each other/ And the voices that implore, “you should be doing more”/ To you I can admit, that I’m just too soft for all of it
"Lavender Haze":
I feel a lavender haze creeping up on me/ Surreal/ I’m damned if I do give a damn what people say/ No deal/ The 1950s sh—t they want for me
“Shake It Off”:
But I keep cruising / Can't stop, won't stop moving / It's like I got this music in my mind / Saying it's gonna be alright /
'Cause the players gonna play, play, play, play, play / And the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate / Baby, I'm just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake / I shake it off, I shake it off
“22”:
We're happy, free, confused and lonely in the best way / It's miserable and magical, oh yeah / Tonight's the night when we forget about the heartbreaks
“Change”:
Because these things will change / I can feel it now / These walls that they put up to hold us back will fall down / This revolution, the time will come for us to finally win / And we'll sing hallelujah
“I Did Something Bad”:
If a man talks s—t, then I owe him nothing / I don't regret it one bit, 'cause he had it coming
“The Man”:
I'm so sick of running as fast I can / Wondering if I'd get there quicker / If I was a man / And I'm so sick of them coming at me again / 'Cause if I was a man / Then I'd be the man
“Tolerate It”:
Gain the weight of you then lose it, believe me, I could do it
“Long Live”:
Long live all the mountains we moved / I had the time of my life fighting dragons with you
“Stay Beautiful”:
You're beautiful / Every little piece, love / And don't you know / You're really gonna be someone / Ask anyone
“Look What You Made Me Do”:
But I got smarter, I got harder in the nick of time / Honey, I rose up from the dead, I do it all the time / I got a list of names, and yours is in red, underlined
“Don’t Blame Me”:
I've been breakin' hearts a long time / And toyin' with them older guys / Just playthings for me to use
“mad woman”:
And there's nothing like a mad woman / What a shame she went mad / No one likes a mad woman / You made her like that / And you'll poke that bear 'til her claws come out / And you find something to wrap your noose around
“New Romantics”:
'Cause baby, I could build a castle / Out of all the bricks they threw at me
We are too busy dancing to get knocked off our feet
The best people in life are free
“Willow”:
Life was a willow and it bent right to your wind / But I come back stronger than a ’90s trend
“Mean”:
Someday I’ll be big enough so you can’t hit me / And all you’re ever gonna be is mean
“A Place in This World”:
I'll be strong, I'll be wrong / Oh, but life goes on
“Dear John”:
But I took your matches before fire could catch me / So don't look now, I'm shining like fireworks over your sad, empty town
“Ours”:
So, don't you worry your pretty little mind / People throw rocks at things that shine
“Clean”:
Rain came pouring down when I was drowning / That's when I could finally breathe / And by morning, gone was any trace of you, I think I am finally clean