As fans eagerly await season two of How I Met Your Mother.
Between long-term couples, non-stop flings, and love triangles, HIMYM knew how to write different kinds of relationships. And the unfortunate fact is, few will be "the one." The path to love is complicated and messy, and nobody captures that better than Taylor Swift, romance extraordinaire. Looking back at some of the most significant couples on the show, Swift's lyrics might just sum them up best.
Robin/Don — closure
Sometimes, life brings you to a crossroads between your career and your love life. That's natural and isn't necessarily anybody's fault. But in Don's case, it absolutely was, and Robin deserves a good angry break-up song about it. While Robin turned down a huge opportunity in her career for him, Don didn't give her a second thought.
There are many interpretations of who "closure" was about in Swift's life, but it certainly seems to fit Robin angrily removing Don from her life after he took her dream job. It feels perfectly in character for Robin to tell him, "I'm fine with my spite and my tears, and my beers and my candles," perhaps as one of the voice messages she left while definitely not seeking out "closure."
Barney/Nora — You're Not Sorry
Even Barney's most fervent defenders have to it that some of the things he did were just unacceptable. While they were usually documented and moved on from, as each girl disappeared when the next came around, it became obvious how dangerous that pattern was when Barney tried to make it work with Nora.
He lied about his hopes for the future. He made his friends lie on his behalf. And then he cheated on her. To quote Swift, "I've been giving out chances every time and all you do is let me down." Barney was persistent in his apologizing, but he wouldn't back up his words with actions, and Nora needed to move on.
Robin/Kevin — happiness
Robin and Kevin were both good people and were even good for each other, but there were circumstances that kept their relationship from working out. They met during a therapy session, which prevented them from creating healthy boundaries and foundations for trust. They also had very different views on what their future should look like.
Despite that, as the song says, "there was happiness." It was one of Robin's better relationships, and that shouldn't be diminished by the bad parts. Both felt guilt and pain for not being what each other needed, capturing the confusing pain of "When a good man hurts you and you know you hurt him too."
Ted/Zoey — The Way I Loved You
Ted and Zoey were a chaotic pairing, both because of their frequent arguments and the bizarre love triangle that developed between Ted, Zoey, and The Captain. Fans argue about whether Ted and Zoey had a good or bad relationship because while they certainly had chemistry, their constant fighting made any long-term relationship unrealistic.
When it began, Zoey compared her fiery dynamic with Ted to her mostly ionless marriage to The Captain and found it so much more exciting. But as Ted's friends finally explained to him, screaming, fighting, and cursing her name was not a sign of a healthy relationship.
Barney/Quinn — I Knew You Were Trouble
It's hard to say whether Barney or Quinn hurt each other worse, but either way, their relationship was doomed from the start. Quinn used Barney. Barney lied to her. Both wanted to be in complete control, unwilling to give anything for the sake of their relationship.
They worked because they saw the worst of themselves in each other, but that's no start to a healthy relationship. It's honestly hard to decide who would sing "I Knew You Were Trouble," but both fit it perfectly. They liked each other for how much they didn't act like a normal couple, but that just led to resentment and control issues that could be seen from a mile away.
Ted/Victoria — White Horse
Ted and Victoria had a lot going for them, and many fans thought they would end up together, even writing fanfiction when it didn't work out. But the longer the show dragged out, the more it came down to Victoria comparing herself with Robin, knowing Ted would never choose her if she made him.
Both ended up making some pretty big mistakes when it came to love because they were too fixated on finding the perfect fairytale. Victoria was not a princess. Ted was not a prince. At the end of the day, their relationship belonged in the past, because they were both waiting on each other to suddenly become perfect.
Ted/Robin — You Belong With Me
The ending of How I Met Your Mother was extremely divisive, with some fans even saying the finale ruined the show for them. In an effort to look at the relationship as it was, rather than as it ended up, the best song to represent it is "You Belong With Me."
A little immature, but definitely relatable, this song and this relationship both capture the deep longing for someone you're sure will be perfect for you if life and other people would just stop getting in the way. Though Ted and Robin did get together several times during the series, it seemed like their best moments were often while they were with other people, as their differences overcame their similarities when they actually got together.
Barney/Robin — How You Get The Girl
Was there any How I Met Your Mother that got fans screaming more than Barney starting to work on "The Robin?" After years of dancing around each other, Barney put in the work to make Robin his. They were incredibly similar, but in such a way that they made each other better versions of themselves.
Tracy gave Barney advice on how to get Robin back, perfectly fitting "How You Get The Girl." The song details how to get a girl back after a bad breakup, with a chorus that feels like wedding vows, and is the perfect song for Barney's quest to get Robin to marry him.
Marshall/Lily — Mary's Song (Oh My My My)
Although they definitely had their ups and downs, Marshall and Lily were the most stable couple on HIMYM. They were together from college on, and in many ways got the chance to live the love story everybody wants, working through difficulties with the perfect marriage of ion and romance.
"Mary's Song" is about that perfect couple that manages to make it work through all their lives. Though it's a joke when they're children and an infatuation when they're teenagers, it's a love they hope to keep for a lifetime, just like Lily and Marshall's dedication to keeping their relationship strong after a break-up that cut them both more deeply than either could have expected.
Ted/Tracy — invisible string
For the entire span of How I Met Your Mother, Ted was telling the long and complicated story of finding and falling for Tracy, the mysterious Mother. Throughout the series, like in "invisible string," there were little clues interspersed, along with almost-meetings.
After all of the almost-perfect relationships Ted found himself in, Tracy was the exact right person for him to love. And once he finds her, it helps him approach everything else he'd been through with nostalgia and peace, instead of resentment. There is perhaps no better phrase to describe Ted and Tracy than, "Hell was the journey, but it brought me heaven."