Continuing my countdown of the songs on Taylor Swift’s folklore…
#9. ‘cardigan’
The album’s first single, and part of a trilogy about a teenage love triangle, ‘cardigan’ is one of several songs on folklore that would fit neatly on a Lana Del Rey album.
#8. ‘august’
The second part of the triangle trilogy, from the perspective of the “other woman,” I like ‘august’ more every time I hear it. This one could crawl up this list over time.
#7. ‘peace’
This slow-burning love song would have been an excellent album closer. It recalls the sublime ‘False God’ from Lover and features some of Swift’s most sensual vocals.
Our coming-of-age has come and gone
Suddenly this summer, it’s clear
I never had the courage of my convictions
As long as danger is near
And it’s just around the corner, darlin’
‘Cause it lives in me
No, I could never give you peace
[Chorus]
But I’m a fire and I’ll keep your brittle heart warm
If your cascade, ocean wave blues come
All these people think love’s for show
But I would die for you in secret
The devil’s in the details, but you got a friend in me
Would it be enough if I could never give you peace?
[Verse 2]
Your integrity makes me seem small
You paint dreamscapes on the wall
I talk shit with my friends, it’s like I’m wasting your honor
And you know that I’d swing with you for the fences
Sit with you in the trenches
Give you my wild, give you a child
Give you the silence that only comes when two people understand each other
Family that I chose, now that I see your brother as my brother
Is it enough?
But there’s robbers to the east, clowns to the west
I’d give you my sunshine, give you my best
But the rain is always gonna come if you’re standin’ with me
[Chorus]
But I’m a fire and I’ll keep your brittle heart warm
If your cascade, ocean wave blues come
All these people think love’s for show
But I would die for you in secret
The devil’s in the details, but you got a friend in me
Would it be enough if I could never give you peace?
Would it be enough if I could never give you peace?
Would it be enough if I could never give you peace?
Meet Me In Montauk 
I think the consensus in our household is that this should have been the album closer as well.
In a number of songs on this album, I hear the influence of Joni Mitchell, but perhaps.no more so than on “Peace.”
august is the trilogy song I like best, and it has bumped up my own list with each additional listen. Peace is also lovely. These songs come after a couple I like less (which you have yet to feature, meaning they’re much higher on your list than mine), so they reenergize the second half of the too long album before it closes with a bit of a whimper.
This is a great trio and I think I’d have all of them a little bit higher on my list. I know “Peace” was an early Daniel favorite which has grown on me the most of any song on the album. The others kind of held their spots from the start.
Love the clouds and the song
You’ve said positive things about all these songs and yet I still feel two of them are ranked too low. I’m alright with “Cardigan” in 9th. This Lana Del Rey esque song is enjoyable and definitely one I can listen to repeatedly, but this is a fair ranking considering how strong the rest of the songs are. “August” and “Peace” however are far too low in my opinion. “August” has one of the catchiest melodies from the record and the instrumentals on this track are so vibey! This is Swift capturing the best aspects of indie music in one track. Definitley would put it higher for the musical breaks alone. As far as “Peace” goes it’s definitely top 3 for me for the lyrical content which I think is the strongest of the record and the simple yet beautiful guitar part that continues throughout.