“Midnights” was Taylor Swift’s official 10th album that was announced during her acceptance speech at the 2022 Video Music Awards. The announcement was a shock to not only me but most other Swift fans. But as even more of a shock, at 12 a.m. Eastern time (9 p.m. Western time) “Midnights” was released and three hours later “Midnights (3 am Edition)” was also released.
The original release included 13 songs and the next release included an additional seven songs. In true Taylor Swift fashion the release was full of unexpected surprises including multiple music videos and of course the additional seven songs.
According to Swift all of the songs on the album are about sleepless nights she has experienced throughout her life. So the songs can be assumed to be written about important events that may refer to past songs and albums.
In order to truly be able to give the best review of this album I needed time to soak it all in. Swift’s songs are not only about the music components but more importantly the comprehension of the lyrics. So now that I have listened to the whole album many, many times, I am prepared to review the album as a whole.
“Lavender Haze”
“Meet me at midnight” is the very first words spoken on the album coming from the song “Lavender Haze”. It is so fitting for the first track as that line was Swift’s main promotion for the album, being the caption of her photos and her Instagram Bio. Talking about people talking behind her back but not caring because the person she loves does not care what others say is a huge theme in Swift’s songs in her last few albums. Overall I think this song is a great beginning to the album by bringing past themes but with a whole new sound.
“Maroon”
Swift has a previous song about her using the color red to refer to how love feels off the album “Red” released in 2012. The title of this song being maroon is definitely a reference to that song. “Maroon” is a much more mature song when compared to “Red” which also could be considered to be a darker song.
Which makes sense because the color maroon is much darker than the color red. “Maroon” is about a toxic relationship but the person in love is primarily looking back on the good moments. Again a reference to the song “Red” that is also about a toxic relationship.
“Anti-Hero”
The production of “Anti-Hero” has got to be one of my favorites on the entire album. The lyrics are kind of depressing but the beat is very danceable. The song is her first single off the song and rightfully so, the essence of this song fits the rest of the album perfectly.
The theme that everything wrong in her life is ultimately her own fault is something I don’t feel like gets covered a lot in the music industry. In addition to the song itself Swift also released her first music video for the album to “Anti-Hero”. Much like her other videos, it was beautifully filmed and may take a few watches to truly understand.
“Snow On The Beach (feat. Lana Del Rey)”
This song is the only song on the album to have another featured artist. Like many other Swift and Lana Del Rey fans I was excited to hear this song. But unfortunately also like many other fans I was slightly disappointed with the lack of Lana Del Rey vocals.
Nonetheless it is a beautiful song. Is it my favorite? No it’s not but that has nothing to do with the lack of Lana Del Rey. It just happens to not be a personal favorite compared to the others on this album. Who knows though, maybe down the line it will become my favorite song.
“You’re On Your Own Kid”
When I first listened to this album (well, the second time when I was more awake) this song was the first to make me cry. Something about the lyrics “I searched the party of better bodies, just to learn that you never cared” started the waterworks.
“You’re On Your Own Kid” may be about Swift’s personal experience growing up in the industry but I personally can relate to the lyrics and so can many other listeners. When truly listening to the lyrics they are very raw and emotional but also unfortunately relatable. Honestly this song would get a 10/10 if I were rating them.
“Midnight Rain”
This song jump scared me. Not even joking, I was half asleep listening to the album for the first time when it came out and hearing the first lyric in the synthetic voice made my heart skip a beat. Once I got over the initial scare (it took a couple of listens) I really enjoyed this song. I am not going to go into my theories about who or what this song is about, if I did we would be here forever, but just know I have them.
However without getting into theories this song is clearly about a failed relationship. A relationship in which one person wanted more than a stable relationship and the other only wanted that. Not the only time Swift has used this idea in a song but personally I think it is the best iteration. The usage of sunshine versus midnight rain is a beautiful unique analogy.
“Question…?”
I am absolutely obsessed with this song to be honest. Is it because it gives me homosexual vibes? Maybe, probably, definitely. My favorite part is the “oh” part of the chorus because it feels very sarcastic and I love it. Songs are completely up to interpretation and there are no wrong answers. So that being said, don’t yell at me for thinking this song has homosexual tendencies.
Well yes the female pronouns could be referring to herself but I want to imagine otherwise so leave me alone. Hearing “argumentative antithetical dream girl” was not the first time I had to use Google to define lyrics in a Swift song and will not be the last, but no matter, a perfect line in my opinion.
“Vigilante Sh*t”
This song could have easily been put on Swift’s album Reputation, along with another one which will be mentioned later. Slightly satire in the best way possible and continuing or possibly ending Swift’s “villain era”. This song could be about a number of events or people. Whether that be the famous Kanye West feud or the situation with her and Scooter Braun. We may never know which one, or if both but either way a great song.
“Bejeweled”
Another banger with an iconic music video. This song focuses on herself and takes the focus off of the men in her life as seen with the lyrics “I miss you but I miss sparkling”. Also the line in the chorus “Do you have a man? I could still say I don’t remember”.
Which, honestly good for her. This song gives me the opposite of “Anti-hero”, or at least the opposite of self-loathing. It is more like relearning your place and reminding everyone around you that you “polish up real nice”.
“Labyrinth”
Anxiety, if I could explain this song in one word it would be that. But I will elaborate. “Labyrinth” is about the anxiety of falling in love, especially if you have been hurt before. “Lost in the labyrinth of my mind” I mean are you kidding? What a beautiful way to explain the idea of dealing with anxiety.
Swift’s way with words astounds me every time. Towards the end of the song the lyrics change between “Uh oh I’m falling in love again” and “Oh, I’m falling in love again”. This perfectly shows the progression of thinking that falling in love is scary to realizing everything is going to be okay.
“Karma”
Another addition to whatever category that “Vigilante Sh*t” is added to. But instead of getting revenge it’s about waiting for karma to catch up with the people that wronged you. This song is very heavily implied and theorized to be about Scooter Braun (as mentioned above). But I feel like it is a mix between everyone in Swift’s life that has made some not so favorable choices.
“Sweet Nothing”
This song is so cute and definitely one to put on the potential future wedding playlist. Being in love isn’t always the big grand gestures or heated arguments. It’s the simplicity of it all, or “Sweet Nothings” as Swift puts it. After everything and a long stressful day all you want to do is go home to someone who loves you and does not expect anything more from you than yourself. Swift captures that perfectly in this soft song.
“Mastermind”
Did I already think that Swift was a mastermind? Yes I did. This song only proves it for me. Nothing was going to stop her from having the person she was in love with fall in love with her. And honestly I feel like most people can relate to that feeling, whether executed correctly or not.
Maybe slightly creepy if you think about it too much so maybe don’t think about it and just enjoy the song. Whatever she must have done must have worked so maybe we should all listen to this song and take a page out of Swift’s book.
“The Great War”
Have you ever gotten into a huge fight with someone that you didn’t think that you two could come back from, but you did? Well, do I have the song for you. While that sounds hyper specific it’s again it is of Swift’s more relatable themes, she is pretty good at those.
I think the song is wonderful and I really like all the metaphors she uses in this song referring to a fight as an actual war such as World War I. It makes it all the more dramatic and I love dramatic songs.
“Bigger Than The Whole Sky”
I will not lie, I have only listened to this song a couple of times. Not because it’s bad or anything, on the contrary I think that it is beautifully written. But it is so sad and it is officially added to the list of Swift songs that I cannot bring myself to listen to.
If curious, the other songs on the list are, “Never Grow Up”, “Marjorie”, “Soon You’ll Get Better (feat. The Chicks), and “Ronan”. But hey, if you want a tear jerker then I would absolutely recommend listening to this song, preferably at night in the dark.
“Paris”
If I didn’t want to travel to Paris and have a picnic underneath the Eiffel Tower before, I do now. The upbeat loveyness of this song is very fun and in contrast to the rest of the album. While “Sweet Nothing” is also a love song it is very slow in comparison to “Paris”.
This song also continues with the previously mentioned theme Swift has about people talking badly but she doesn’t care as long as she is with the person she loves. As much as I do enjoy the depressing songs I will be dancing to Paris every time this song comes on my playlist.
“High Infidelity”
Okay so not the first song of Swift’s where she admits to cheating. Looking at you “Getaway Car”. A terrible thing, yes, but at least it’s a good song right?
“Glitch”
Swift’s love life has always been a highly reported on topic during her time as a singer. To the point where it has even sometimes overshadowed her music. This song kind of pokes fun at that. She has been in a relationship for the last six years which has been her longest relationship since her very young debut to fame.
She sings about truly being in love with her partner after everything she has been through and sees it as a glitch in her life, or at least others do. It could also be about her second guessing her relationship and thinking that it is too good to be true. I personally prefer the satirical message to the public view but as I said earlier songs are up to interpretation.
“Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve”
I hate John Mayer.
“Dear Reader”
I would like to think that Swift is either talking to her past self or me, no other option. Okay slightly kidding. But this song made me quite emotional and honestly does sound like someone older giving advice to someone younger.
Perhaps it is her talking to her audience to not take her own advice. “Never take advice from someone who’s falling apart” and “You should find another guiding light” sounds like her advice to her listeners. Swift does not do anything accidentally so her ending the album with this song is no accident either. After this emotional album she is telling her fans that not even she has all the answers.
