Some of the tunes feature the pop superstar, others ended up as vault tracks when she released her Taylor’s Versions.
(L-R) Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush of Sugarland perform onstage with Taylor Swift during the reputation Stadium Tour at AT&T Stadium on October 6, 2018 in Arlington, Texas.
Matt Winkelmeyer/TAS18/Getty Images
Taylor Swift’s prolific songwriting skills have endured through the 2000s, 2010s and deep into the 2020s. With 13 Hot 100 No. 1 hits (including “The Fate of Ophelia” with six weeks on top of the chart currently) and 15 Billboard 200 No. 1 albums (her latest release, The Life of a Showgirl, also sits at the top of that chart for its sixth straight week), she’s found great success with her catchy hooks, gorgeous melodies, and storytelling powers.
In addition to her charting accolades, Swift counts the record-breaking Eras Tour on her résumé as the highest-grossing tour of all time, as well as 58 Grammy nods (she and her longtime collaborator Jack Antonoff are tied with the most nominations in the song of the year category with eight), with 14 wins, including four album of the year wins: Fearless in 2009, 1989 in 2005, Folklore in 2021 and Midnights in 2023, the most of any artist.
Her pen is spread throughout not just her own catalog, but others’ work too. She’s written songs for Miley Cyrus’ alter ego Hannah Montana, Boys Like Girls, B.o.B, Calvin Harris, Little Big Town, Sugarland, Big Red Machine (the indie supergroup of Swift friends Aaron Dessner – who produced and wrote with the superstar for Folklore, Evermore, Midnights 3 AM Edition, and The Tortured Poets Department – and Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon, who appears on both of her 2020 albums) and more.
Here are the 13 songs that Swift has penned that either other artists have recorded, she wrote directly for, or on which she appears as a feature.
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Britni Hoover: “This Is Really Happening” (2007)
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}Writers: Taylor Swift and Blu Sanders
Most Swiftian Lyric: “All those kisses up against your car / For all those wishes on planes / We thought were stars / Memories like photographs / Oh, baby, here we are.”
Fun Fact: The “Tim McGraw” starlet, at the time, allegedly intended to record this for herself. -
Kellie Pickler: “Best Days of Your Life“ (2008)
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}Writers: Taylor Swift, Kellie Pickler and Aidan Rowe
Most Swiftian Lyric: “I heard you’re gonna get married, have a nice little family / Live out my dreams with someone new / But I’ve been told that a cheater is always a cheater / So I’ve got my pride and she’s got you.”
Fun Fact: Taylor told The Boot in 2009 that she and Pickler met when they both opened for Brad Paisley’s Bonfires & Amplifiers Tour, which ran from 2007 to 2008. -
Hannah Montana: “You’ll Always Find Your Way Back Home” (2009)
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}Writers: Taylor Swift and Martin Johnson
Most Swiftian Lyric: “You can change your style, you can change your jeans / You can learn to fly and you can chase your dreams / You can laugh and cry, but everybody knows / You’ll always find your way back home.“
Fun Fact: Cyrus, who played the titular Hannah in the TV series and film, joined Swift at the 2009 Grammys for a performance of “Fifteen” from the latter’s Fearless album. -
Shea Fisher: ”Bein’ With My Baby” (2009)
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}Writers: Taylor Swift and Brett Beavers
Most Swiftian Lyrics: “All is quiet in the world tonight / Catching stars and fireflies / The summer sings a lullaby / With just me and my baby / On the hood of his daddy’s car / Pass around his old guitar”
Fun Fact: Brett’s brother Jim Beavers also worked with Swift when she was 14. -
Boys Like Girls: “Two Is Better Than One” feat. Taylor Swift (2009)
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}Writers: Swift, Martin Johnson, and David Campbell
Most Swiftian Lyric: “So maybe it’s true that I can’t live without you / And maybe two is better than one / But there’s so much time to figure out the rest of my life / And you’ve already got me coming undone.”
Fun Fact: Swift performed this track live at the 2009 Jingle Ball with Boys Like Girls, as well as on her Fearless tour. -
Mary Sarah: “Permanent Marker” (2010)
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}Writers: Swift, Nick Brophy and Jennifer Hanson
Most Swiftian Lyric: “I found that picture of you in that green dress / He sure had a good time cleaning up that mess / He found thirty other pieces but he’ll never find them all / Tried to tape it back together, now he knows to keep it off the wall”
Fun Fact: In 2007 before she played this unreleased track at the Jamboree Festival, Swift told the crowd that she intended for it to be on her next album, which sadly did not happen. -
B.o.B: “Both of Us” feat. Taylor Swift (2012)
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}Writers: Taylor Swift, Ammar Malki, Henry Walter, Lukasz Gottwald, Bobby Ray Simmons Jr. and Jamieson Jones
Most Swiftian Lyric: “I wish I was strong enough / To lift not one but both of us / Some day I will be strong enough / To lift not one but both of us.”
Fun Fact: The rapper, who had surprised fans during the Speak Now tour with his hit “Airplanes,” joined Swift on stage for a performance of their collab during the Red tour. -
Calvin Harris & Rihanna: “This Is What You Came For” (2016)
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}Writers: Taylor Swift and Calvin Harris
Most Swiftian Lyric: “We go fast with the game we play / Who knows why it’s gotta be this way / We say nothin’ more than we need / I say, ‘Your place’ when we leave.”
Fun Fact: Not only does Swift provide background vocals on the track – and she originally used the nom de plume Nils Sjöberg in the credits – she delighted fans with her own rendition during the surprise song section of the Eras tour in Liverpool. -
Little Big Town: “Better Man” (2016)
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}Writer: Taylor Swift
Most Swifitian Lyric: “I know I’m probably better off all alone / Than needing a man who could change his mind at any given minute / And it was always on your terms, I waited on every careless word / Hoping they might turn sweet again like it was in the beginning.”
Fun Fact: “We were all at home, one day off the road. We were out with Luke Bryan on tour. I got an email one night, and it was Taylor Swift, so I was like, ‘What is this?’ I read it, and she was like, ‘Hey, I have this song. I’ve had it for a little while. I hear your harmonies on it. If you like it, great. If not, no big deal,’” the band’s Phillip Sweet told People of the origin story. “Better Man” also ended up as a vault track on Red (Taylor’s Version) in 2021. -
Sugarland: “Babe” feat. Taylor Swift (2018)
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}Writers: Swift and Patrick Monahan
Most Swiftian Lyric: “This is the last time I’ll ever call you, babe.”
Fun Fact: Yes, that is Train’s Pat Monahan. And Swift’s solo version of the cut also appears as a vault track on Red (Taylor’s Version). -
Big Red Machine: “Renegade” feat. Taylor Swift (2021)
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}Writers: Swift, Aaron Dessner and Bryce Dessner
Most Swiftian Lyric: Is it insensitive for me to say/ ‘Get your sh– together so I can love you?’ / Is it really your anxiety that stops you / From giving me everything / Or do you just not want to?”
Fun Fact: Following 2020’s “exile” and “evermore,” this is the third time Justin Vernon sings with Swift. -
Ed Sheeran: “The Joker and the Queen” feat. Taylor Swift (2022)
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}Writers: Swift, Sheeran, Fred Gibson, Johnny McDaid, Sam Roman, Matthew Sheeran
Most Swiftian Lyric: “I’ve been played before, if you hadn’t guessed / So I kept my cards close to my foolproof vest / But you called my bluff (But you called my bluff) / And saw through all my tells (And saw through all my tells) / And then you went all in.”
Fun Fact: Swift hopped on the remix for the track, originally a solo endeavor off of Sheeran’s 2021 album =. -
The National: “The Alcott” feat. Taylor Swift (2023)
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}Writers: Swift, Aaron Dessner, Matt Berninger, and Bryce Dessner
Most Swiftian Lyric: “Everything that’s mine is a landmine”
Fun Fact: After the Dessner twins’ band appeared on Evermore for “Coney Island,” Swift returned the favor for 2023’s First Two Pages of Frankenstein.
