“Clean”

“Clean” is one of the less-known songs from 1989. Fun fact: it features a thumb piano (a mbira), which mimics the sound of raindrops falling. This song is another one of Swift’s amazing metaphor tracks. Yes, it is another breakup song, but the concept of being drowned by rain as a cleansing act is perfectly fitting. She explains how her breakup felt like a drought, but when it finally started to pour, she became cleansed of the experience and moved past the person she wanted to forget. The intense shower almost drowns her as she sings “The water filled my lungs / I screamed so loud but no one heard a thing,” but then in the end she is “finally clean.” The stripped track flows with the lyrics so harmoniously, featuring prominent percussion and the mbira melody on a loop.

Best aspect: the mbira

Best lyric: “Rain came pouring down / When I was drowning, that’s when I could finally breathe / And by morning / Gone was any trace of you, I think I am finally clean”