Taylor Swift connects with fans in one of her most vulnerable albums “Midnights.” Graphic By: Maddie Bataille | Photo Editor
Becoming the first artist to hold all top 10 of Billboard’s Hot 100 list with her latest album “Midnights,” Taylor Swift has continued to prove she is a force in the music industry.
Previously, Drake held the record with seven spots in the top 10 back in 2018. Before he broke the record, The Beatles held the top five during the peak of Beatlemania in 1964.
Swift has also gone on to announce her next tour, titled “The Eras Tour.” And yes, I have registered for a verified fan presale.
The 13 sleepless nights that Swift has posed have done their part to answer the question: “what keeps you up at night?”
Now we finally get to examine her (3 a.m. Edition) to the “Midnights” album. Subjectively some of the best tracks.
Track 14: The Great War
I’m going to try to resist saying each of these tracks is one of my favorites. I admire the connection between calling a fight a “war” and all the imagery Swift uses to portray how scary it feels to think a relationship is ending.
This song fits under the category of falling apart and what that feels like from the point of feeling like the issue. Swift’s lyrics talk about how sometimes past relationships come and haunt you in the new ones. Even though a partner could be doing everything right, you’ll feel like something is off because you learned to keep your guard off that way.
From the battle cry drums to the idea of placing a poppy in one’s hair as a sign of respect after a war casualty, Swift portrays her vision beautifully.
Track 15: Bigger Than The Whole Sky
This song definitely has to do with the idea of loss. In the opening, Swift sets the scene: She is lying down crying when she says, “Salt streams out my eyes and into my ears.” This song also deals with the idea of falling apart but explores it differently.
I’ve heard speculation that this song is about a miscarriage, or her grandmother, Marjorie’s passing. Whatever it may be, the ballad conveys the hardship of death and loss in a very vulnerable way, walking through the stages of grief.
Track 16: Paris
We have our first, and debatably only, glitter gel pen song of the deluxe tracks. This song is so much fun. “Paris,” deals with the category of falling in love. How could it not be when it is named after a romantic city?
This song feels like a romantic montage scene where the couple is finding different places to hide. The song feels shiny and light and easy to listen to, which are all corresponding with the feeling of falling in love. I really enjoy how Swift’s music has always and continues to be built upon ways of storytelling. So much so that I can almost see a whole movie made out of one song.
I’ve wondered if this song has any connection to “Wonderland,” a deluxe track from “1989.” They feel like parallels, both talking about getting lost in love. Even a similarity in the lyrics. “Wonderland,” she says “Flashing lights, and we took a wrong turn, and we fell down a rabbit hole.” While in “Paris,” Swift sings, “Let the only flashing lights be the tower at midnight.” later singing, “No, we didn’t see the news, cause we were somewhere else.”
These songs definitely feel like they have parallels; whether it be reminiscent of that night or feeling like she can escape the media by being in love, she has managed to continue this motif.
Track 17: High Infidelity
Rumored to be about her relationship with Tom Hiddleston, “High Indefelity” tells the story of someone who wasn’t able to stay faithful because their current relationship didn’t feel like enough. Swift sings, “There’s many different ways you could kill the one you love. The slowest way is never loving them enough.” This makes the idea of being stuck in a relationship because you think it’s the only option left, but it’s a willingness just enough to make you not leave, but never the right thing.
This song to me seems really familiar to “illicit affairs,” from “Folklore.” This knowing that something is not the right thing to do, but it feels exciting and new at first, just to end up biting you in the butt later.
Track 18: Glitch
This. Song. Slaps. The groovy track is so Jack Antonoff, I can almost see the two of them playing around with the beat in the studio. I wouldn’t be surprised if there was a video of the demo somewhere.
“Glitch” is sexy. Swift is describing how a relationship had blossomed from only supposed to have been friends to only being lovers, and then “2,190 days” later, they’re still in love.
Everything from the reference to” blood moon,” to the connection between her glitched TikTok when she released “Wildest Dreams (Taylor’s Version)” this song and the production are everything.
Track 19: Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve
If Jake Gyllenhall thought he had it bad, John Mayer better watch what’s coming for him. The connection between this track to “Dear John” from “don’t you think nineteen’s too young” to “I damn sure never would’ve danced with the devil, at nineteen” is undeniable.
Regardless of the connection between what now seems like an inappropriate relationship between a teenager and a grown man, many people have been able to relate to these two songs. When you’re young, you want to believe that anyone who shows you attention is in love. And we always have to learn it the hard way.
Filled with religious imagery, this song talks about a loss of innocence. Playing into the relation to purity culture. The idea that when you’re young, and someone takes advantage of that, you are seen as ruined.
Basically, what Swift does here is talk about how much she regrets a relationship with someone who permanently changed her when she was so young.
I remember in her documentary, “Miss Americana,” Swift talked about how she can’t remember the last time she got so upset and acted like a child. Discussing how feelings felt so big, that children have tantrums because they don’t know how else to deal with them.
This has always stuck with me because when you’re hurt, you feel vulnerable like a child. Something I love that Swift does on this track is let out her emotions in a vulnerable and childlike way.
She says during the bridge, “Give me back my girlhood, it was mine first.” a line that absolutely rips me to shred. This sounds like a kid begging for their toy back. A lyrical genius, Taylor Swift knocked this one out of the ballpark.
Track 20: Dear Reader
Addressing her fans, Swift takes after Charlotte Bronte in “Jane Eyre.” As a way to speak with us, I feel like Swift is giving us some older sisterly advice in the form of the song.
However, I can see how this song is framed as Swift speaking to her younger self, as well as her future self, when she needs to be reminded about some life lessons.
Swift references how she did something right when she reinvented her style and music back in 2017 for her album “Reputation.”
Constantly having to change herself to seem shiny and new to the industry was a turning point in Swift’s career to continue to make music regardless of her reputation.
This advice column-style song is filled with her inner thoughts of how she’s gotten through so many challenging battles in her life and career.
Through 17 years of her career, 10 albums, 2 rerecordings, heartbreak and fame, Swift emerged on the scene as a fresh-faced country pop star and has skyrocketed into one of the most successful female artists of all time with “Midnights.”