22. Innocent
Making its debut on her third studio album, Innocent is a unique song for Swift. This song is not about herself or any ill-fated relationships she’s been in. Rather, it’s about Kanye West. Following the infamous incident at the 2009 VMAs — where West stormed the stage after Swift’s win for Best Music Video, stole the microphone from her, and subsequently announced that he felt Beyoncé should’ve won — most expected Swift to react with outrage.
Instead, she wrote “Innocent” — a slow, melodic song asking people to remember that while what West did was wrong, he was once a young boy chasing fireflies and playing on a school yard. This song is imbued with forgiveness for both West and his inner child, reminding listeners that people are not defined by their bad moments, and should instead be judged by the sum of their parts. While their relationship did not age well, this song has and it stands as a shining example of what real forgiveness and kindness can look like.
Image Source: Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic/Getty Images