Here’s Every Time Taylor Swift Referenced Marriage in Her Song Lyrics

After nearly two decades of releasing love songs, Taylor Swift is living out her fairytale.

On Tuesday, Aug. 26, the “Cruel Summer” singer and Travis Kelce, both 35, announced their engagement in a joint post on Instagram, which featured photos of the couple in a floral-filled garden.

“Your English teacher and your gym teacher are getting married 🧨,” Swift wrote in the caption. The singer also paired the post with her The Tortured Poets Department song “So High School” — which she wrote about Kelce.

Swift’s love story with Kelce began in July 2023 when he attended her Eras Tour show and later revealed that he actually tried — and failed — to meet Swift. Months later, they sparked dating rumors when she made a surprise appearance at his Kansas City Chiefs game in September 2023.

However, long before Kelce came into the picture, Swift had been dreaming up perfect — and not so perfect — romances in her songs.

Below is a breakdown of all of the times Swift references marriage in her song lyrics. (And an honorary mention for the “I Bet You Think About Me Taylor’s Version)” music video, which takes place at a wedding.)

“Mary’s Song (Oh My My My)” (2006)

One day, Swift will look back on the time she walked down the aisle, my my my!

On “Mary’s Song (Oh My My My),” which was featured on her debut album, Swift tells the story of a married couple — who met as kids — from start to finish.

“A few years had gone and come around/We were sitting at our favorite spot in town/And you looked at me, got down on one knee,” she sings. “Take me back to the time when we walked down the aisle/Our whole town came and our mamas cried/You said I do and I did too.”

“Take me home where we met so many years before/We’ll rock our babies on that very front porch/After all this time, you and I,” she sings. “I’ll be eighty-seven; you’ll be eighty-nine/I’ll still look at you like the stars that shine/In the sky, oh my my my.”

“Love Story” (2008)

It’s a love story baby she said… yes!

In “Love Story,” which was featured on Fearless, Swift compares her love to Romeo & Juliet. Similar to the Shakespearean play, Swift sings about a troubled romance — and this one ends with a marriage proposal. The song has became a fan-favorite in the years that followed.

“He knelt to the ground and pulled out a ring/And said, ‘Marry me, Juliet/You’ll never have to be alone/I love you and that’s all I really know,” she sings. “I talked to your dad, go pick out a white dress/It’s a love story, baby, just say, ‘Yes.'”

“Fifteen” (2008)

Also featured on Fearless, Swift details the experience of teenage heartbreak that she and her best friend Abigail went through on “Fifteen.”

“Back then I swore I was gonna marry him someday/But I realized some bigger dreams of mine,” she sings. “And Abigail gave everything she had/To a boy who changed his mind/And we both cried.”

“Speak Now” (2010)

Swift is not the kind of girl to rudely barge in on a white veil occasion. But, on “Speak Now,” she made an exception.

The 2010 track, which was featured on the album of the same name, Swift pleads with her ex-boyfriend to walk out on his wedding. “You wish it was me, don’t you?”

“Don’t say yes, run away now/I’ll meet you when you’re out/Of the church, at the back door,” she sings in the chorus. “Don’t wait or say a single vow/You need to hear me out/And they said, ‘Spеak Now.'”

“Starlight” (2012)

Ever since the singer-songwriter got engaged, fans have been “dancing, dancing… like we’re made of starlight!”

On “Starlight,” which was featured on Red, Swift sings about the teenage summer romance of Ethel Kennedy and Robert F. Kennedy.

“Ooh-ooh, he’s talking crazy/Ooh-ooh, dancing with me,” she sings. “Ooh-ooh, we could get married/Have ten kids and teach ’em how to dream.”

“Lover” (2019)

Swift takes Kelce — or a “magnetic force of a man” — to be her “Lover.”

The singer released the romantic track, which was featured on the album of the same name, in 2019. In the lyrics, Swift romanticizes the little things in a relationship.

“Can I go where you go?/Can we always be this close forever and ever?” she sings. “And ah, take me out, and take me home (forever and ever)/You’re my, my, my, my/Lover.”

“Ladies and gentlemen, will you please stand?/With every guitar string scar on my hand/I take this magnetic force of a man to be my lover,” she adds. “My heart’s been borrowed and yours has been blue/All’s well that ends well to end up with you/Swear to be overdramatic and true to my lover.”

“Paper Rings” (2019)

On “Paper Rings,” Swift doesn’t care for materialism — and she’d marry her man with a paper ring!

“I like shiny things, but I’d marry you with paper rings/Uh-huh, that’s right,” she sings. “Darling, you’re the one I want, and/I hate accidents, except when we went from friends to this/Uh-huh, that’s right/Darling, you’re the one I want/In paper rings, in picture frames, in dirty dreams/Oh, you’re the one I want.”

“Paper Rings” was featured on 2019’s Lover.

“Champagne Problems” (2020)

When writing about love and marriage, Swift hasn’t always taken the happy route — and that shows on her evermore track “Champagne Problems” about a rejected marriage proposal.

“Your mom’s ring in your pocket/My picture in your wallet/Your heart was glass, I dropped it/Champagne problems,” Swift sings.

Later in the song, she sings, “sometimes you just don’t know the answer.”

“‘Til someone’s on their knees and asks you/’She would’ve made such a lovely bride’/’What a shame she’s f—ed in the head,’ they said/But you’ll find the real thing instead/She’ll patch up your tapestry that I shred,” she adds.

“Invisible String” (2020)

On “Invisible String,” Swift sings about the ancient philosophical concept that there is an unbreakable connection between two people that are destined for one another.

“And isn’t it just so pretty to think/All along there was some/Invisible string/Tying you to me?, she sings on the folklore track.

“A string that pulled me/Out of all the wrong arms right into that dive bar/Something wrapped all of my past mistakes in barbed wire,” she sings. “Chains around my demons, wool to brave the seasons/One single thread of gold tied me to you.”

“Lavender Haze” (2022)

On “Lavender Haze,” Swift shows distaste for society’s marriage expectations on women.

“All they keep asking me is if I’m gonna be your bride/The only kind of girl they see is a one night or a wife,” she sings.

“Lavender Haze” was featured on Midnights.

“Midnight Rain” (2022)

Also a Midnights track, Swift’s stance on marriage remains on “Midnight Rain” as the person she’s with wants more.

“He was sunshine, I was midnight rain/He wanted it comfortable, I wanted that pain/He wanted a bride, I was making my own name,” she sings. “Chasing that fame, he stayed the same/All of me changed like midnight.”

“High Infidelity” (2022)

On “High Infidelity,” which was also on Midnights, Swift references marriage one more time.

“Storm coming, good husband/Bad omen/Dragged my feet right down the aisle,” she sings.

“You’re Losing Me” (2022)

On “You’re Losing Me,” Swift sings about the downfall of a relationship.

“I’m the best thing at this party/(You’re losin’ me)/And I wouldn’t marry me either,” she sings. “A pathological people pleaser/Who only wanted you to see her/And I’m fadin’, thinkin.'”

“You’re Losing Me” was featured on Midnights (From the Vault).

“But Daddy, I Love Him” (2024)

“But Daddy, I Love Him,” which is on The Tortured Poets Department, shows Swift rebelling against those around her and going after the love that she wants.

“Now I’m dancin’ in my dress in the sun and/Even my daddy just loves him/I’m his lady,” she sings, before telling her haters they’re not invited to their nuptials.

“And, oh my God, you should see your faces/Time, doesn’t it give some perspective?/And, no, you can’t come to the wedding/I know it’s crazy, but he’s the one I want,” she sings.

“So High School” (2024)

Swift and Kelce’s romance is “So High School.”

The sweet song, which was featured on The Tortured Poets Department, begs questions about the future with her love.

“And in a blink of a crinkling eye/I’m sinking, our fingers entwined,” she sings. “Cheeks pink in the twinkling lights/Tell me ’bout the first time you saw me.”

“Are you gonna marry, kiss, or kill me? (Kill me)/It’s just a game, but really (really)/I’m bettin’ on all three for us two (all three),” she adds.

“Loml” (2024)

Also a song on The Tortured Poets Department, Swift reflects on the loss of a great love on “Loml.”

“If you know it in one glimpse, it’s legendary/You and I go from one kiss to getting married,” she sings.

“You s—-talked me under the table/Talkin’ rings and talkin’ cradles/I wish I could un-recall/How we almost had it all,” she sings.

“The Tortured Poets Department” (2024)

The title track of Swift’s 11th studio album explores a complex relationship with a “tortured” and artistic individual.

“At dinner you take my ring off my middle finger/And put it on the one people put wedding rings on,” she sings.

“Fresh Out the Slammer” (2024)

On “Fresh Out the Slammer,” Swift wrote about feeling trapped in a relationship — and equates it to serving time in jail.

“To the house where you still wait up and that porch light gleams (Gleams)/To the one who says I’m the girl of his American dreams/And no matter what I’ve done, it wouldn’t matter anyway,” she sings.
“Ain’t no way I’m gonna screw up now that I know what’s at stake here/At the park where we used to sit on children’s swings/Wearing imaginary rings.”

She adds, “But it’s gonna be alright, I did my time.”

“Imgonnagetyouback” (2024)

On “Imgonnagetyouback,” Swift is torn with the decision of getting back together with an ex.

“Whether I’m gonna be your wife or/Gonna smash up your bike, I haven’t decided yet,” she sings.

“Imgonnagetyouback” was featured on The Tortured Poets Department.

“How Did It End?” (2024)

On “How Did It End,” Swift is not only coping with the end of a relationship — but also the chatter surrounding it.

“First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes the baby in the baby carriage,” she sings. “Leaving me bereft and reeling / My beloved ghost and me / Sitting in a tree / D-Y-I-N-G.”

“How Did It End” was featured on The Tortured Poets Department.