Hi all!

Today I am ranking/breaking down Taylor Swift’s new album: Midnights. Check out my dedicated Swiftie category here. I wanted to give myself enough time to truly resonate with the music, lyrics and overall production, before putting them into a concrete list. This post will include the bonus track: Hits Different and the 3am Edition. Without further ado, let’s get into it!

Note: My friend Windy made the cover image below for me. I love it! 

1.) Maroon

My absolute favourite song from Midnights is Maroon. The minute I heard the opening chords, I knew it was the track for me. Maroon is described as Red on steroids. Like the colour, it is the much darker, more mature version. How do I even begin to explain why Maroon is the most superior thing she has ever written? She references 10 different shades of red in the lyrics. GENIUS! The melody is so haunting and raw. It’s extremely vulnerable. Not to mention, it has a great Jack Antonoff fade. I have a physical reaction every single time I hear it.

Favourite lyric: “The rust that grew between telephones.” 

2.) Karma

Karma jumped to my second spot in a matter of weeks! Not only is it an absolute bop, it serves some delicious tea. To be honest, I am not a Karma truther. I believe Taylor only gave us this song because Swifties have been asking for the lost album for years – not because it actually exists. She listened to her fans and boy, did she deliver! It’s 100% about Scooter Braun. She says, “Spider Boy, King of Thieves.” S.B = Scooter Braun. I love that she took the concept of karma, making it positive. It revolves around the best aspects of her life. She trusts in the universe, knowing it will always have her back. Can relate! It’s a Reputation song through and through. If you don’t believe me, listen to the opening chords and then do the same for I Did Something Bad. 

Favourite lyric: “Karma’s a relaxing thought. Aren’t you envious that for you, it’s not?” 

3.) Anti-Hero

Taylor described Anti-Hero as the most vulnerable song she’s ever written. It dives deep into her insecurities as a mega-star and human being. I don’t know how she’s able to deliver such an upbeat track, with equally devastating lyrics. I really enjoyed the music video as well. It’s extremely relatable. We’ve all felt like the problem at times. I appreciate her giving us such a raw insight into her inner turmoil. She genuinely doesn’t understand why we would root for her. If that isn’t the saddest, most isolating perception, I don’t know what is.

Favourite lyric: “Did you hear my covert narcissism, I disguise as altruism, like some kind of congressman?”

4.) High Infidelity 

High Infidelity curiously crept up on me. For the fans dying for more Calvin Harris songs, here it is. Taylor takes us back to the Reputation era (April 29th, in particular). This was the release date of This Is What You Came For – a song Taylor wrote for Calvin, under the pseudonym, Nils Sjöberg. He refused to acknowledge her efforts publicly and a few days later, she was seen dancing with Tom Hiddleston at the Met Gala. In Getaway Car, she expresses: “I wanted to leave him, I needed a reason.” This song is the prequel to those events. However, a lot lead up to their relationship breakdown. I think it’s so clever how she uses a double meaning with the lyric: “I was dancing around it“. She’s being literal and metaphorical at the same time. I’m obsessed!

Update: Since The Tortured Poet’s Department, I would wager this song links strongly to Guilty as Sin? 

Favourite lyric: “Do I really have to tell you how he brought me back to life?” 

5.) Hits Different 

Hits Different is wildly underrated! It’s a bonus track from the Target Edition. It’s also the first song since August, that Jack, Aaron and Taylor worked together on. It’s an authentic TS masterpiece, with a brilliant story progression, bridge, shift of melodies, outro and more. Taylor is lamenting about how it has always been easy for her to move on before. However, the thought of her ex with other girls, makes her physically sick. 

Favourite lyric: “Bet I could still melt your world, argumentative antithetical dream girl.” 

6.) Paris

In sixth place, we have Paris. This track makes me really happy. It’s a Reputation era song; very much akin to King of My Heart. I interpret it as her and Joe shutting out the rest of the world – letting their love blossom. I never skip it.

Favourite lyric: “Stumbled down pretend alleyways, cheap wine, make believe it’s champagne.” 

7.) Midnight Rain

Midnight Rain was not a song I immediately warmed to. It grew on me over time. The opening synthesised vocals shocked me initially. I wasn’t expecting them. However, once Taylor launched into the body of the track, I was feeling it. In this song, she describes herself as midnight rain. She’s dark, complex and ever-changing. Her former flame was happiness and security. There are many speculations on who this song is about. Some say Tom Hiddleston, some say a boyfriend from high school and others, Taylor Lautner. What do you think?

Favourite lyric: “My boy was a montage, a slow-motion, love potion, jumping off things in the ocean.”

8.) The Great War

The Great War is another Aaron Dessner track and one very personal to me. I find it hard to listen to without crying. Taylor had this idea Joe had betrayed her, only to realise he was an honest, truthful man all along. She sprinkles war metaphors throughout the entire song, signifying the battle she fought within herself. Taylor uses songwriting to process her own emotions. I love how she is able to do that and in turn, help others do the same.

Favourite lyric: “Always remember, we burn for better. I vow to always be yours, because we survived The Great War.” 

9.) Would’ve Could’ve Should’ve 

If only we had known this song was coming, we could’ve prepared ourselves! This is the adult version of Dear John. Taylor is reflecting on when she was 19 – as a current 32-year-old. This was John Mayer’s age when he dated her. There are lots of religious themes throughout the track, referencing how she lost her girlhood after dancing with the ‘devil’. That lyric hurts. She was technically still a teenager. He should have known better. This links back to Dear John when she sings: “I should have known.” As a grown woman, she’s no longer placing that blame on herself, she’s putting it on him. It has a superior bridge, really amplifying the pain in her voice. It’s absolutely worthy of making my top ten.

Favourite lyric: “Memories feel like weapons.” 

10.) You’re On Your Own Kid 

There was no way Taylor’s most vulnerable track 5 wouldn’t make my top ten. It has a deceiving upbeat melody on first listen. You cannot fully grasp the message, until arriving at the best bridge in history. This song moves through her entire musical timeline. We are transported back to Nashville, with Taylor reminiscing on her days as an emerging country singer. She dips into the 1989 realm, confessing she hosted parties and starved her body, to the present, accepting she’s been on her own her entire life, but it’s okay because she can face anything. It’s a full circle moment. I cannot believe she referenced the lyrics from her NYU doctorate speech. You’re On Your Own Kid is an extremely heartbreaking track, but it’s also empowering. She’s made peace with everything she’s been through; comforted by her own strength. How she continues to do outdo herself, I’ll never know.

Favourite lyric: “I looked around in a blood-soaked gown and saw something they can’t take away.”

11.) Lavender Haze

Lavender Haze was originally in my top three, but dropped after I fully fathomed the tracks listed above. It is the opener to Midnights – the moment we heard the album’s sound. I love that it’s a dreamy bop. Taylor is referencing the present day with this one. She’s tired of people asking when she’s going to get married and have children. She just wants to stay in her Lavender Haze; ignoring the societal expectations placed on women.

Update: Since the release of The Life of a Showgirl, we know Taylor feels differently now.

Favourite lyric: “I’ve been under scrutiny; you’ve handled it beautifully.” 

12.) Vigilante Shit

This is Taylor’s only self-written song on the album, plus the shortest track. She comes in, spills some delicious tea and leaves in a puff of smoke. I love it! She calls out Scooter Braun, alluding to his white-collar crimes and infidelity. However, when she sings: “I don’t dress for villains, or for innocents” she’s referring to Kanye West. The song Innocent from Speak Now, was about him. It’s the ultimate middle finger. I am obsessed with the production!

Favourite lyric: “While he was doing lines and crossing all of mine.” 

13.) Question…?

Question is a relatable track. It’s about wanting answers, long after a relationship has ended. At first I thought it was about Harry Styles. The opening words: “I Remember”, are sampled from Out of the Woods – a track from 1989 about a snowmobile accident her and Harry were involved in. However, since her break-up with Joe, I have been looking more at Matty Healy. I love the production and melody. It’s grown on me so much.

Favourite lyric: “Did you leave her house in the middle of the night? Did you wish you’d put up more of a fight?”

14.) Bejeweled

Bejeweled is the definition of a glitter gel pen song. It’s fun, sparkly and full of good vibes. It also has the best music video I’ve ever seen! I like to believe it’s about her re-recordings. When she sings: “haven’t you heard, I can reclaim the land”, I pretend she’s talking about taking back her music. The visuals attached to this number further affirm my theory, as different coloured stones fly onto her corset. However, as mentioned above, it’s likely to be about Joe keeping her in the basement; not letting her be Bejeweled. 

Favourite lyric: “I can still make the whole place shimmer.” 

15.) Dear Reader

Dear Reader is a severely underrated 3am Edition album closer. Taylor shares some wisdom she has learned over the years, before urging her listeners not to take her advice. She wants her fans to “find another guiding light.” It reminds me of Anti-Hero and her struggles with Impostor Syndrome. The track starts off slow, building to a soulful melody. It’s full of great lyrics. It’s also a very lonely and telling song.

Favourite lyric: “Dear Reader, you don’t have to answer, just ’cause they asked you.” 

16.) Sweet Nothing

Sweet Nothing is the only track on Midnights that her and Joe wrote together. I believe it can be taken two ways. 1.) he doesn’t want anything from her, unlike others in the past or 2.) he gives her absolutely nothing. It is an empty relationship. Either way, it’s definitely from the Folklore era. The pair were isolating during the pandemic, with only each other for company. She sings: “they say the end is coming” and “outside, they’re push and shovin”, which gives me COVID vibes. I love the piano melody but it’s not a favourite.

Favourite lyric: “I spy with my little tired eye, tiny as a firefly, a pebble that we picked up last July”

17.) Mastermind 

Mastermind is the Midnights album closer. It’s also a great way for Taylor to sum up what a genius she is. She sings: “I’m only cryptic and Machiavellian because I care.” She puts in all this effort, because she wants to make her fans happy. Everything she does is by design, but she wants it to appear cool and effortless. It’s such a beautifully produced track. Taylor is the only musical artist giving her followers clues to solve and riddles to decipher. It’s fun being a Swiftie and if you’re not one, you’re missing out! 

Favourite lyric: “No one wanted to play with me as a little kid, so I’ve been scheming like a criminal ever since.”

18.) Bigger Than The Whole Sky 

I LOVE Bigger Than The Whole Sky but like Ronan and Soon You’ll Get Better, it’s just too hard to listen to. It’s painfully sad. A lot of listeners believe she is singing about a miscarriage, that happened to her friend. She’s so articulate, expressing experiences from different perspectives. Either way, it’s a track on grief. What a breathy, beautiful and deep number.

Favourite lyric: “And I’ve got a lot to pine about. I’ve got a lot to live without.”

19.) Glitch

I haven’t taken to Glitch like a lot of other fans have. It’s not really my style of song. It’s very sexy though. She sings: “it’s been two-thousand one-hundred ninety days of our love blackout.” Do the math and you’ll see that equates to 2016. One would surmise it’s about Joe, but a certain ‘rat’ was lurking in the picture around that time as well. Ugh! 

Favourite lyric: “And I’m not even sorry, nights are so starry, blood moonlit.” 

20.) Snow On The Beach

Snow On The Beach is my second least favourite song on the album. I always skip it. I was really excited when Taylor announced it would be a collab with Lana Del Rey. Unfortunately, Lana is barely featured. I really wanted her to get her own verse. Taylor then released the more Lana version but removed the outro – my favourite part! I just can’t win with this track. 

Favourite lyric: “Life is emotionally abusive and time can’t stop me quite like you did.” 

21.) Labyrinth

In last place, we have Labyrinth. It’s far too slow and stripped back for my liking. It’s very synthesised and lacking in substance. The Labyrinth is her mind and she’s lost in it. Like YOYOK, she referenced lyrics in this track during her doctorate speech. I also think it was about a certain ‘rat.’ 

Favourite lyric: “Lost in the Labyrinth of my mind.” 

Thank you so much for reading! Please tell how you would rank Midnights. 

Peace & Love xoxo