Taylor Swift's marriage talk in lyrics explored - what this means for Travis Kelce future

On her latest album, ), Taylor Swift sings repeatedly about her desire to walk down the aisle, cursing a lover who promised her "rings and cradles" before discarding her, and sharing she "died on the alter" waiting for proof that her partner loved her.

While paints a forlorn picture of 34-year-old Taylor feeling disappointed by the lack of marriage proposals, marriage is a theme Taylor has long sung about, with all of her albums, from her debut release, ' to '' to '' all presenting dreams about walking down the aisle.

With fans praying for a proposal from Taylor's love Travis Kelce, take a trip down memory lane with all of Taylor's lyrics about marriage, from wistful and whimsical, to tortured and tired.

Debut

Taylor's been dreaming about marriage since she released her first album, titled ''. The dreamy lyrics in '' read: "We were sitting at our favourite spot in town / And you looked at me, got down on one knee /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"

Fearless

Singing about how we dream of marriage in our teens, '' sees Taylor realise marriage isn't everything, writing: "Back then I swore I was gonna marry him someday / But I realised some bigger dreams of mine."

Taylor's Shakespeare-inspired track, ', is perhaps her most fairytale take on marriage, with the lyrics reading: "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 /I talked to your dad, go pick out a white dress / It's a love story, baby, just say, yes."

On '' Vault Track '' Taylor sings of thwarted plans to marry her teenage sweetheart, wistfully writing: "No one could touch the way we laughed in the dark / Talkin' 'bout your daddy's farm / And you were gonna marry me / And we were happy."

Speak Now

The whole of ''s' title track centres around someone dreaming of interrupting a wedding to tell their love not to get married – a different take on Taylor's normally love-filled lyrics about marriage.

In the Vault Track '' Taylor laments not being the one her lover wants to marry, writing: "Cause you got her on your arm and me in the wings / I'll get your longing glances, but she'll get your ring."

'' sees Taylor tell the tale of lives lived by other couples, singing: "I was forced to marry another man / You still would've been mine / We would have been timeless."

READ: Taylor Swift's ex-boyfriends who are married or engaged following their split

Red

Heartbreak album '' doesn't see 22-year-old Taylor dream of marriage so much – at least not for herself. On '' she sings about Ethel Kennedy, writing: "We could get married / Have ten kids and teach 'em how to dream."

1989

Taylor was living her best single life when she released '', and this is reflected in the lack of marriage-related lyrics, with just one reference to tying the know on her first pure pop album.

' sees Taylor reference wedding vows, singing: "I want you for worse or for better."

Reputation

Despite being super loved up with new man Joe Alwyn, '' had zero references to marriage or engagement – perhaps Taylor was playing it cool, knowing her new romance was ''?

READ: Taylor Swift and Joe Alwyn's relationship timeline

Lover

In contrast to '', Taylor's next album, '', was awash with marriage references.

The title track featured her now-iconic take on wedding vows and is regularly used as a first dance song. "Ladies and gentlemen, will you please stand? / I take this magnetic force of a man to be my lover / My heart's been borrowed and yours has been blue / Swear to be overdramatic and true to my lover."

'' see Taylor telling her partner she'd "Marry him with paper rings."

Folklore

Another album with minimal marriage references, the pandemic release mentions a wedding just once, in '', with Taylor writing: "The wedding was charming, if a little gauche."

Evermore

'' tells the story of a doomed love, with several lyrics about a declined proposal." Sometimes you just don’t know the answer ‘til someone’s on their knees and asks you," Taylor writes, adding: "She would’ve made such a lovely bride, what a shame she’s [expletive] in the head."

Midnights

Taylor seems to have rejected the notion of marriage in '', with several scathing comments about being expected to walk down the aisle included in her 2022 album.

On the opening track of '', '', Taylor bemoans that people expect her to get married, writing: "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."

'' sees Taylor reject the notion of marriage again, singing: "He wanted it comfortable, I wanted that pain / He wanted a bride, I was making my own name," noting that she didn't have any desire to be a bride.

On 'y' she added: "Storm coming, good husband, bad omen, dragged my feet right down the aisle."

Taylor's opinion starts to shift on her jaded heartbreak track, '', in which she sings, "I wouldn't marry me either."

READ: Taylor Swift's changing opinion on marriage amid Travis Kelce romance

The Tortured Poets Department

When Taylor released her latest album in April 2024, the star seemed fixated on the idea of getting married – or the hurt she felt at not yet walking down the aisle, with many songs alluding to how much she wished she was wed.

On the title track, Taylor makes her desires known, singing: "At dinner, you take my ring off my middle finger / And put it on the one people put wedding rings on / And that’s the closest I’ve come to my heart exploding," suggesting she'd be delighted at the idea of marriage.

Hinting she's been waiting for a proposal, on ', Taylor writes: "You swore that you loved me, but where were the clues? / I died on the altar waitin’ for the proof," with her next marriage mention in seeing the singer irritated by someone's promise of a wedding. "You [expletive]–talked me under the table / Talkin’ rings and talkin’ cradles."

On a more positive note, on ', a track about Travis Kelce, Taylor refers to the game of Marry, Kiss, Kill, which sees the player pick what they'd do to three different people.

"Are you gonna marry, kiss, or kill me / It’s just a game, but really / I’m bettin’ on all three for us two," Taylor sings whimsically, predicting a happily ever after for her and Travis.

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