Embrace the heat with these 4 Taylor Swift tracks

Summer may be cruel, but these songs can be your midnight rain

Happy, free, confused, and lonely at the same time? That’s just summer for you — a season brimming with the thrill of trying something new and embracing regrets with open arms. So as the heat rages on, don’t let your music fall behind. Douse the sweltering season with these four tracks by Taylor Swift.

‘Cruel Summer’

You knew the list had to start with this one. Aside from the obvious mention of the season, this song captures everything summer is about — from the flaming heat to the daring adventures. Take it from a summer lover (allusion to the relevant album not intended), Cruel Summer will keep you on your toes whether it is to jam to the catchy beat, race the fast-paced flow of the lyrics, or motivate you to have late-night excursions. Summer’s a knife, as Swift tells us.

‘Run (Taylor’s Version)’

Sometimes you need a little more than bold excursions, and this song paints the portrait of the verdant getaway you’re aching for. After all, summer is the perfect time for you to bid your home a temporary farewell. Run (Taylor’s Version) croons into your ears like the gentle breeze that drifts past you and your companions on a road trip. And as you dream up a real one, let the mellow vocals of Swift and Ed Sheeran steer you away on an imagined journey.

‘dorothea’

Something about the warm air also pries open a dusty keepsakes box loaded with nostalgia. If you are someone who associates summer with scurrying about your school grounds or flashing your popsicle-red tongue to your friends, this is the song for you. Tears are not guaranteed but a definite possibility for those with fading memories of friends lost through the summers. But for others, who find it easy to warm up to the idea of looking back on simpler times, dorothea is a track laced with bittersweet reminiscence and the possibility of reconnecting with old neighbourhoods and forgotten friends that might be closer than you think.

‘This Love (Taylor’s Version)’

For those bent on believing that the speed of summer doesn’t offer silent, solitary moments, let this song prove you otherwise. This Love (Taylor’s Version) is your soft hum against the waves of the beach as the sun rises over the horizon or, depending on what you prefer, as the night grows quieter. The reflective song kicks off with an image of the tides and how they wash away uninvited heat, be it the heat clinging to your body or the heat of an old flame. The song picks up pace as it goes on, reminding us that time waits for no one. So as you juggle adventures, freedom, nostalgia, and melancholy, here’s your affirmation that you’re treasuring every moment of the long season at your capacity.