Taylor Swift Lover Album Songs Review (During Running)
How I felt while listening to this album while exercising (>100 times played)
As a super quick backstory, I started listening to this album when it came out. I also began my internship in Austin, Texas, and I was also training for a nice marathon (2:54 result). This resulted in running every day for over around 3 months straight in a training plan that peaked at a 81 mile week.
So what did I do in those dark mornings, before 6am, running to downtown Austin, and back to North-West-ish Austin? Well during those runs I mostly started off with Lover, the album from Taylor Swift, on my apple watch, since it was very convenient to play them on my Powerbeats 3. It was basically top-to-bottom listening, no shuffling or anything. It was a very good album overall. I listened to this album during every run basically. Sometimes I do not carry my phone with me, hence the Apple Watch for music was nice.
For runs that last longer than 1hr 10 min ish, I would play another album after. But I would always start with Lover, specifically I forgot that you existed.
So I will be reviewing every song from that album in this post, mostly based off of exercising with it. As a disclaimer I also listened to this album a lot during running in 2020, back in Canada, usually during long runs when I would play this and some other Taylor Swift albums from top-to-bottom. I also listen to this album when I am shuffling through songs during other tasks, but yeah.
I Forgot That You Existed
This song was something that got me started every morning. The beginning melody and lyrics are super nice. As tired or sleepy as I felt during those runs, this would be the very first song that played, and it did a very good job. Overall a very good song, upbeat, and positive stuff. May not be the best, but because of how it’s song #1 in the album and the way I listened to it, it is very nice. 9/10.
Cruel Summer
The second song is something very good as well, since it is a superb follow up to the first song mentioned above. I enjoy the lyrics, the beat, and everything about it basically. A super awesome sounding song. Keeps my energy levels feeling nice, especially since I am still in the first mile of the run. It is slightly better than the first song, and a super awesome second song 10/10.
Lover
It is the third song in the album, and it has to follow up to very very good songs. And it does. A super good song, just like the previous ones, but it is quite different as well, since it is not quite as upbeat. I like the vocals, and the layout of the song is super good. I usually begin the second mile of the run by the end of the song, and it is very nice sounding. 10/10.
The Man
This song might not be as good as the last few songs overall, but I really enjoy how it is around the 2 mile mark, when I am nicely warmed up and beginning to pick up my pace of the run, when this song comes on. Very upbeat, very good music quality, and very fun to run! Overall it does not sound as nice, but it works very well when listening the album in order still. 9/10.
The Archer
A solid song, but not super upbeat. It does sound super good though. In terms of the run, it still provides good quality music. But compared to the previous four songs, it is not as nice. 7.5/10.
I Think He Knows
I guess this song continues into my bias of upbeat songs while exercising. This song does have pretty high quality though, and I sometimes find myself singing along to it during the run, especially since I am probably in my groove right now, around the 2–3 mile mark. Overall not as ‘nice’ sounding as some of the previous songs, but I love the lyrics and the upbeat-ness of it. 9.5/10.
Miss Americana & the Heartbreak Prince
This is a very very good song from the album. One of my favorite songs of the album when it came out, and always a great song to anticipate after hearing previous few songs when running. It is very upbeat, great music quality and sounds, and overall I love listening to this song! Hard to explain, but I just love listening to this song so much! 10+/10.
Paper Rings
Another very nice positive upbeat song! Although it will be hard to follow up the previous amazing song, I feel tha Paper Rings still does an awesome job. The song order in this album makes it that Paper Rings fits in perfectly after the previous song. I love the lyrics, I sometimes sing along to it as well while running. 10/10.
Cornelia Street
A bit slower in terms of tempo and upbeat-ness compared to the previous few songs, but Cornelia Street is still a very solid and sounds very nice for me. It follows up the previous few near-perfect songs with a very solid and great to listen to song as well. Very very good overall. 8.5/10.
Death by a Thousand Cuts
Overall a nice song, a bit upbeat and downbeat at times. But it seems like it is a slight drop-off compared to the previous few songs. I mean that it sounds very nice still. But during exercise, and the specific ordering of the album, this song does not shine out to me as much as it should. 7/10.
London Boy
Another one of my favorite songs from this album. Very upbeat, fun to listen to, and a great song to anticipate for while listening to this album! I love every single part of this song, and keeps the energy levels high as I am progressing through the run. This song is just awesome! 10+/10.
Soon You’ll Get Better
Much much more downbeat, and a lot more calm vocals used, this song is a pretty good song overall, but not that great during the run, after the previous super nice song. The message and lyrics are very nice, but compared to the other songs in this amazing album, this song is not that nice for me. 6/10.
False God
A solid song as we head into the last third of this very nice album. I enjoy listening to this song since it seems like a transition towards the back end of the album, which is still pretty solid. Not super upbeat, but I enjoy the lyrics, the rhythm, and I think overall that this is a smooth song that is enjoyable. 7.5/10.
You Need to Calm Down
Another one of the hit singles to come out of this album, ‘You Need To Calm Down’ is one of my favorite songs as well. It may seem a bit older to me compared to the other songs since it did get released a bit earlier. But I love the upbeat tempo, the lyrics and messaging, and overall it is something I still listen to a lot! A amazing song! I love the lyrics when she mentions ‘7am’, since sometimes it would be around 7am during the run, as I pass am into the second half of the run, into a nice slight uphill incline, and this song giving me a great boost! 10+/10.
Afterglow
A pretty nice song sandwiched between two relatively ‘hit’ songs in her album. I enjoy listening to Afterglow as a bit of a slowdown between two upbeat-ish songs. Not a super memorable song, but I enjoy listening to it still, it’s still nice. 8/10.
Me!
Another one of the top songs from the album, I love the upbeat-ness of Me!, and the feature is pretty nice as well! The lyrics are cool (good thing they removed the ‘ABC’ part which throws me off a bit), and a very solid song overall towards the end of this album. Gives me good energy, and it’s nice to listen to! 9.5/10.
It’s Nice to Have a Friend
With the piano and bell stuff, this song pretty much signals that the album is almost over. I still really enjoy listening to this song while running though, and the lyrics and rhythm overall is very nice. A very enjoyable, soothing, calm song! 9/10.
Daylight
The final song of the album. It is very solid, I guess the end excerpt outro thing throws me off slightly. But overall I like the beat and vocals. A nice conclusion to an awesome album. Could be slightly improved since I am listening while exercising, but overall it is enjoyable to listen to. 8/10.
Overall, I would give the album 10/10. It is a very very good album to listen to, especially in order while exercising with me, and gives me a nice throwback factor as well. Although some songs are not as 10/10 quality nice, the ordering and the combination of all the songs make this album a very very enjoyable album for me! Great vibes!