Experienced Taylor Swift lyrical analysts know that the pop star has a few calling cards that pop up semi-frequently in her songs, such as rainy weather, high school and being awake at 2 a.m.
But another, possibly under-appreciated hallmark of the pop star’s music happens to be cars. She by no means mentions them in every song, but they definitely arise a lot in her discography, appearing in at least one track — but usually several — on all 12 of her studio albums. It dates all the way back to when she first debuted with single “Tim McGraw,” which kicked off the automobile trend by singing within the first few lines, “Just a boy in a Chevy truck.” Since then, Swift has been capturing vivid scenes, dreaming up romantic fantasies and inventing clever metaphors using cars at the forefront.
So, to fully show the breadth of her car-focused lyrics, Billboard looked through every single one of her songs and compiled a comprehensive roundup. There were some instances where the Grammy winner mentioned the act of driving without ever actually making reference to the vehicle itself, which didn’t count for this list. But any time she includes the word “car,” “truck,” “taxi” or “cab,” names a specific automobile manufacturer or even alludes to a certain part of a car’s anatomy — headlights, rearview mirrors, etc. — it was fair game.
Whether you’re a Swiftie, a gearhead or both, keep reading to see every time Taylor Swift mentions cars in her song lyrics below. And buckle up!
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“Tim McGraw”
Album: Taylor Swift (2006)
Lyric: “Just a boy in a Chevy truck/ That had a tendency of gettin’ stuck/ On backroads at night.”
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“Picture to Burn”
Album: Taylor Swift (2006)
Lyric: “I hate that stupid old pickup truck you never let me drive.”
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“Teardrops on My Guitar”
Album: Taylor Swift (2006)
Lyric: “He’s the song in the car I keep singing, don’t know why I do.”
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“Mary’s Song (Oh My My My)”
Album: Taylor Swift (2006)
Lyric: “Take me back to the creek beds we turned up/ 2:00 a.m. riding in your truck.”
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“Our Song”
Album: Taylor Swift (2006)
Lyric: “I was ridin’ shotgun with my hair undone/ In the front seat of his car/ He’s got a one-hand feel on the steering wheel/ The other on my heart.”
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“Fearless”
Album: Fearless (2008)
Lyric: “There’s a glow off the pavement/ You walk me to the car.”
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“Fifteen”
Album: Fearless (2008)
Lyric: “And then you’re on your very first date and he’s got a car.”
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“White Horse”
Album: Fearless (2008)
Lyric: “This is a big world, that was a small town/ There in my rearview mirror disappearing now.”
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“The Way I Loved You”
Album: Fearless (2008)
Lyric: “He opens up my door and I get into his car/ And he says, ‘You look beautiful tonight.’”
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“The Best Day”
Album: Fearless (2008)
Lyric: “I don’t know who I’m gonna talk to now at school/ But I know I’m laughin’ on the car ride home with you.”
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“The Other Side of the Door”
Album: Fearless Platinum Edition (2008)
Lyric: “And the faded picture of a beautiful night/ You carried me from your car up the stairs.”
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“Never Grow Up”
Album: Speak Now (2010)
Lyric: “You’re in the car, on the way to the movies/ And you’re mortified your mom’s droppin’ you off.”
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“Red”
Album: Red (2012)
Lyric: “Loving him is like driving a new Maserati down a dead-end street/ Faster than the wind, passionate as sin, ending so suddenly.”
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“Treacherous”
Album: Red (2012)
Lyric: “Two headlights shine through the sleepless night/ And I will get you, get you alone.”
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“All Too Well”
Album: Red (2012)
Lyric: “We’re singin’ in the car, getting lost upstate.”
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“The Lucky One”
Album: Red (2012)
Lyric: “And now, it’s big black cars and Riviera views/ And your lover in the foyer doesn’t even know you.”
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“Begin Again”
Album: Red (2012)
Lyric: “And we walked down the block to my car/ And I almost brought him up.”
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“Come Back … Be Here”
Album: Red (Deluxe Edition) (2012)
Lyric: “Taxi cabs and busy streets/ That never bring you back to me/ I can’t help but wish you took me with you.”
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“Girl at Home”
Album: Red (Deluxe Edition) (2012)
Lyric: “Call a cab, lose my number/ You’re about to lose your girl.”
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“Ronan”
Album: Non-album single (2012)
Lyric: “Race cars on the kitchen floor, plastic dinosaurs/ I love you to the moon and back.”
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“Style”
Album: 1989 (2014)
Lyric: “Midnight, you come and pick me up, no headlights/ Long drive, could end in burnin’ flames or paradise.”
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“I Wish You Would”
Album: 1989 (2014)
Lyric: “It’s 2:00 a.m. in your car/ Windows down, you pass my street, the memories start … It’s 2:00 a.m. in my room/ Headlights pass the window pane.”
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“I Don’t Wanna Live Forever” (with ZAYN)
Album: Fifty Shades Darker (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (2017)
Lyric: “Now I’m in a cab, I tell ’em where your place is.”
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“King of My Heart”
Album: Reputation (2017)
Lyric: “‘Cause all the boys and their expensive cars/ With their Range Rovers and their Jaguars/ Never took me quite where you do.”
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“Getaway Car”
Album: Reputation (2017)
Lyric: “You were drivin’ the getaway car/ We were flyin’, but we’d never get far.”
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“New Year’s Day”
Album: Reputation (2017)
Lyric: “You squeeze my hand three times in the back of the taxi/ I can tell that it’s gonna be a long road.”
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“Cruel Summer”
Album: Lover (2019)
Lyric: “I’m drunk in the back of the car/ And I cried like a baby comin’ home from the bar.”
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“Cornelia Street”
Album: Lover (2019)
Lyric: “We were in the backseat/ Drunk on something stronger than the drinks in the bar … I rent a place on Cornelia Street/ I say casually in the car.”
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“London Boy”
Album: Lover (2019)
Lyric: “Show me a gray sky, a rainy cab ride.”
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“Cardigan”
Album: Folklore (2020)
Lyric: “To kiss in cars and downtown bars/ Was all we needed.”
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“August”
Album: Folklore (2020)
Lyric: “Remember when I pulled up and said, ‘Get in the car.’”
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“This Is Me Trying”
Album: Folklore (2020)
Lyric: “Pulled the car off the road to the lookout/ Could’ve followed my fears all the way down.”
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“Invisible String”
Album: Folklore (2020)
Lyric: “Bad was the blood of the song in the cab/ On your first trip to L.A.”
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“Betty”
Album: Folklore (2020)
Lyric: “Standing in your cardigan/ Kissin’ in my car again.”
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“Champagne Problems”
Album: Evermore (2020)
Lyric: “Your Midas touch on the Chevy door/ November flush and your flannel cure.”
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“‘Tis the Damn Season”
Album: Evermore (2020)
Lyric: “It’s the kind of cold, fogs up windshield glass … I parkеd my car right between the Methodist … Time flies, messy as the mud on your truck tires.”
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“Cowboy Like Me”
Album: Evermore (2020)
Lyric: “Never wanted love/ Just a fancy car.”
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“Marjorie”
Album: Evermore (2020)
Lyric: “And I complained the whole way there/ The car ride back and up the stairs.”
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“Run” (feat. Ed Sheeran)
Album: Red (Taylor’s Version) (2021)
Lyric: “Give me the keys, I’ll bring the car back around/ We shouldn’t be in this town.”
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“The Very First Night”
Album: Red (Taylor’s Version) (2021)
Lyric: “‘Cause they don’t know about the night in the hotel/ They weren’t ridin’ in the car when we both fell.”
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“All Too Well (10 Minute Version)”
Album: Red (Taylor’s Version) (2021)
Lyric: “And you were tossing me the car keys, ‘F–k the patriarchy’/ Keychain on the ground, we were always skippin’ town.”
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“You’re on Your Own Kid”
Album: Midnights (2022)
Lyric: “From sprinkler splashes to fireplace ashes/ I called a taxi to take me there.”
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“Vigilante Shit”
Album: Midnights (2022)
Lyric: “And she looks so pretty/ Drivin’ in your Benz.”
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“Hits Different”
Album: Midnights (The Til Dawn Edition) (2023)
Lyric: “I slur your name ’til someone puts me in a car.”
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“Electric Touch”
Album: Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) (2023)
Lyric: “Just breathe, just relax, it’ll be okay/ Just an hour ’til your car’s in the driveway.”
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“Fortnight”
Album: The Tortured Poets Department (2024)
Lyric: “Move to Florida, buy the car you want/ But it won’t start up ’til you touch, touch, touch me.”
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“But Daddy I Love Him”
Album: The Tortured Poets Department (2024)
Lyric: “Lord knows the words/ We never heard/ Just screeching tires and true love.”
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“I’mGonnaGetYouBack”
Album: The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology (2024)
Lyric: “Small talk, big love, act like I don’t care what you did/ I’m an Aston Martin that you steered straight into the ditch.”
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“So High School”
Album: The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology (2024)
Lyric: “Get my car door, isn’t that sweet?/ Then pull mе to the back seat.”
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“The Bolter”
Album: The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology (2024)
Lyric: “But it always ends up with a town car speeding/ Out the drive one evening.”
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“Father Figure”
Album: The Life of a Showgirl (2025)
Lyric: “Pulled up to you in the Jag’, turned your rags into gold/ The winding road leads to the chateau.”
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“Ruin the Friendship”
Album: The Life of a Showgirl (2025)
Lyric: “Gallatin Road and the Lakeside Beach/ Watching the game from your brother’s Jeep.”
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“Cancelled!”
Album: The Life of a Showgirl (2025)
Lyric: “The situation could be saved, of course/ But they’d already picked out your grave and hearse.”
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