Taylor Swift’s 2020 hidden gem of a song, “tolerate it,” is about falling in love with someone who eventually changes into a person who could care less about you. The song also discusses how it feels to eventually get up and leave said person when it gets to be too much.

The song is from Swift’s album “evermore,” which she wrote out of boredom during the pandemic. The album’s release, however, was overshadowed by the wondrous success of the “folklore” album released a few months prior. 

The composition of the song relies on a heavy piano background and slight layered vocals in the chorus. Swift wrote and produced the song with Aaron Dessner, the founding member of the band “The National.” It is considered to lyrically be one of the most heartbreaking in Swift’s discography.

In the chorus, Swift discusses the childlike wonder she feels around her significant other, and how she fully devotes herself to them just to get nothing in return when that was not always the case. “I wait by the door like I am just a kid / Use my best colors for your portrait” encapsulates the wonder, before the next line contradicts it with the use of a cuss word. She discusses all the things that she does in order to make her lover love her, but expresses how they just “tolerate it.” 

The bridge discusses the time before the significant other changed with Swift asking the question of “Where’s that man who would throw blankets over my barbed wire?” She expresses how his indifference leads her to constantly feeling like she is not wanted or not enough before getting into the details of how it felt to finally leave.

“I / Break free and leave us in ruins / took this dagger in me and removed it” is the heartbreaking visualization Swift gives of how badly her lover left her damaged as daggers always leave stab wounds. She then states how she “know[s] [her] love should be celebrated,” but, at the moment, it was not, so she leaves.

Taylor Swift is an American singer-songwriter, and is considered one of the greats. She has broken well over 100 records, sometimes ones that were previously set by her. Her latest album, “The Life of a Showgirl,” garnered 1.5 billion streams globally within its first week, shattering multiple records.

I chose this song because it is too underrated despite the fact that Swift is such a big artist. It deserves more love for its beautiful lyrics and simple, but effective composition.

You can find “tolerate it” and the rest of Swift’s discography on all streaming platforms.