As Milestones and exams quickly approach, students are beginning to study and stress. “tolerate it” by Taylor Swift is the perfect song to listen to, whether you are studying or unwinding after a hard day at school.

“tolerate it”, part of Taylor Swift’s album, “evermore”, is one of Swift’s most vulnerable songs.  Taylor Swift shocked fans in December of 2020 when she posted that she would be releasing an album that night. For her previous albums, she left fans with teasers months before her releases. 

Even though the release was unexpected, listeners’ reactions were no surprise. It quickly became her second top album of the year and was nominated for a Grammy for Album of the Year. “tolerate it”, the fifth song on the album, was admitted to be based off of the book “Rebecca” by Daphne Du.

“She’s doing all these things and she’s trying so hard and she’s trying to impress him, and he’s just tolerating her the whole time,” Swift said during an interview with Apple Music. “There was a part of me that was relating to that, because at some point in my life, I felt that way.”

The song tells the story of a girl who is trying her hardest to show her love to her significant other, but is not receiving any recognition back from him. It is full of heavy figurative language and metaphors that connect the listeners to Swift’s personal feelings. 

The main instrument used in the song is piano, and if you listen close enough, you can hear the pedals of the piano moving up and down as well. The use of the simple instrument is raw and stripped down, adding more to Swift’s vulnerability. 

“tolerate it” is perfect to listen to whether you need to have a good cry, are studying for Milestones and exams, or crying while you are studying.