All the Easter Eggs on Taylor Swift’s New Album ‘Midnights’: Full Lyric Breakdown

Credit: Evan Agostini/Invision/AP/Shutterstock

All the Easter Eggs on Taylor Swift's New Album 'Midnights': Full Lyric Breakdown

Searching for clues! Taylor Swift is known for hiding tons of Easter eggs in her lyrics, and her latest album, Midnights, is no exception. The Grammy winner, 32, announced her 10th studio album in August at the MTV Video Music Awards while accepting the trophy for Video of the Year. "This is a collection of music written in the middle of the night, a journey through terrors and sweet dreams," the "Lover" songstress wrote via Instagram at the time. "For all of us who have tossed and turned and decided to keep the lanterns lit and go searching — hoping that just maybe, when the clock strikes 12 ... we'll meet ourselves." Before the album's Friday, October 21, release, Swift teased fans with plenty of videos and social media posts about her new music. In one Instagram post, the Pennsylvania native revealed that opening track "Lavender Haze" is about her romance with Joe Alwyn. The "Cruel Summer" musician and the Conversations With Friends alum, 31, have been dating since 2016. [sendtonews type="float" key="7vL7YrO8nv-2833684-14453"] Swift explained that she borrowed the phrase "lavender haze" from an episode of Mad Men, adding that the song's lyrics are about trying to stay in a bubble of happiness in the face of adversity and invasive questions. "My relationship for six years, we've had to dodge weird rumors, tabloid stuff, and we just ignore it," she told followers earlier this month. "And so this song is sort of about the act of ignoring that stuff to protect the real stuff." Shortly before the release of Midnights, the Amsterdam actress teased a "chaotic surprise" set to drop on Friday at 3 a.m., three hours after the album debuted on streaming services. Fans who stayed up late learned that Swift's big reveal was seven additional songs. "Surprise! I think of Midnights as a complete concept album, with those 13 songs forming a full picture of the intensities of that mystifying, mad hour," the "Out of the Woods" artist wrote via Instagram on Friday. "However! There were other songs we wrote on our journey to find that magic 13. I’m calling them 3am tracks. Lately I’ve been loving the feeling of sharing more of our creative process with you, like we do with From The Vault tracks. So it’s 3am and I’m giving them to you now." One of those bonus tunes — "Would've, Could've, Should've" — immediately sparked fan speculation that it was about John Mayer, to whom Swift was briefly linked in 2009. “And I damn sure would’ve never danced with the devil / At 19, and the God’s honest truth is that the pain was heaven / And now that I’m grown, I’m scared of ghosts,” the Cats star sings in the track, which also includes the line: "Give me back my girlhood, it was mine first." After the song appeared online, Swift fans took to social media to share theories about the "New Light" singer, 45. “Something tells me john mayer just jumped out of his sleep with a gasp," tweeted one listener. "I know he felt a shift." Keep scrolling for a full breakdown of each track on Midnights.

Credit: Evan Agostini/Invision/AP/Shutterstock

All the Easter Eggs on Taylor Swift's New Album 'Midnights': Full Lyric Breakdown

Searching for clues! Taylor Swift is known for hiding tons of Easter eggs in her lyrics, and her latest album, Midnights, is no exception. The Grammy winner, 32, announced her 10th studio album in August at the MTV Video Music Awards while accepting the trophy for Video of the Year. "This is a collection of music written in the middle of the night, a journey through terrors and sweet dreams," the "Lover" songstress wrote via Instagram at the time. "For all of us who have tossed and turned and decided to keep the lanterns lit and go searching — hoping that just maybe, when the clock strikes 12 ... we'll meet ourselves." Before the album's Friday, October 21, release, Swift teased fans with plenty of videos and social media posts about her new music. In one Instagram post, the Pennsylvania native revealed that opening track "Lavender Haze" is about her romance with Joe Alwyn. The "Cruel Summer" musician and the Conversations With Friends alum, 31, have been dating since 2016. [sendtonews type="float" key="7vL7YrO8nv-2833684-14453"] Swift explained that she borrowed the phrase "lavender haze" from an episode of Mad Men, adding that the song's lyrics are about trying to stay in a bubble of happiness in the face of adversity and invasive questions. "My relationship for six years, we've had to dodge weird rumors, tabloid stuff, and we just ignore it," she told followers earlier this month. "And so this song is sort of about the act of ignoring that stuff to protect the real stuff." Shortly before the release of Midnights, the Amsterdam actress teased a "chaotic surprise" set to drop on Friday at 3 a.m., three hours after the album debuted on streaming services. Fans who stayed up late learned that Swift's big reveal was seven additional songs. "Surprise! I think of Midnights as a complete concept album, with those 13 songs forming a full picture of the intensities of that mystifying, mad hour," the "Out of the Woods" artist wrote via Instagram on Friday. "However! There were other songs we wrote on our journey to find that magic 13. I’m calling them 3am tracks. Lately I’ve been loving the feeling of sharing more of our creative process with you, like we do with From The Vault tracks. So it’s 3am and I’m giving them to you now." One of those bonus tunes — "Would've, Could've, Should've" — immediately sparked fan speculation that it was about John Mayer, to whom Swift was briefly linked in 2009. “And I damn sure would’ve never danced with the devil / At 19, and the God’s honest truth is that the pain was heaven / And now that I’m grown, I’m scared of ghosts,” the Cats star sings in the track, which also includes the line: "Give me back my girlhood, it was mine first." After the song appeared online, Swift fans took to social media to share theories about the "New Light" singer, 45. “Something tells me john mayer just jumped out of his sleep with a gasp," tweeted one listener. "I know he felt a shift." Keep scrolling for a full breakdown of each track on Midnights.

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'Lavender Haze'

Swift explained in October that she heard the term "lavender haze" from Mad Men, where it was used to describe Don Draper's (Jon Hamm) feelings for Betty (January Jones). "It turns out that it's a common phrase used in the '50s where they would just describe being in love," the "I Know Places" crooner said in an Instagram video. "Like, If you were in the lavender haze, that meant you were in that all-encompassing love glow, and I thought that was really beautiful. And I guess theoretically when you're in the lavender haze, you'll do anything to stay there and not let people bring you down off of that cloud."

She added that the tune is about trying to stay inside the "lavender haze" while outsiders are trying to burst your love bubble. "I think a lot of people have to deal with this now — not just, like, quote-unquote public figures — because we live in the era of social media and if the world finds out that you're in love with somebody, they're gonna weigh in on it," she said. "My relationship for six years, we've had to dodge weird rumors, tabloid stuff, and we just ignore it. And so this song is sort of about the act of ignoring that stuff to protect the real stuff."

In the lyrics, Swift addressed rumors that she and Alwyn are engaged, singing: "All they keep asking me (All they keep asking me) / Is if I'm gonna be your bride / The only kinda girl they see (Only kinda girl they see) / Is a one-night or a wife."

While the name "Betty" doesn't appear in the song, fans have also used the Mad Men reference to connect "Lavender Haze" to "Betty" from Swift's 2020 album Folklore.

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'Maroon'

The album's second track is about the end of a romance. Some listeners believe that it could be about Tom Hiddleston, whom Swift dated in 2016, because of this line: "And I chose you / The one I was dancing with / In New York, no shoes." The duo first met in New York City at the 2016 Met Gala, where they were spotted dancing together.

The song also includes many references to various shades of the color red, which is the title of Swift's 2012 album: "So scarlet, it was / The mark thеy saw on my collarbone / The rust that grew between telephones / The lips I used to call home / So scarlet, it was maroon."

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'Anti-Hero'

Swift called "Anti-Hero" one of her "favorite" songs she's ever written ahead of Midnights' release. "I really don’t think I’ve delved this far into my insecurities in this detail before,” the "Love Story" singer said, adding that her life has become “unmanageably sized” because of her fame. “Not to sound too dark, but, like, I just struggle with the idea of not feeling like a person.”

The lyrics include an overt reference to mental health, with Swift singing: "Midnights become my afternoons / When my depression works the graveyard shift, all of the people / I've ghosted stand there in the room."

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'Snow on the Beach'

The album's fourth track marks Swift's first collaboration with Lana Del Rey. When 1989 dropped in 2014, some listeners accused the Valentine's Day star of ripping off the "Blue Jeans" songstress, 37, for "Wildest Dreams." In October, however, Swift revealed that she's a "massive fan" of Del Rey. “‘Snow on the Beach’ is about falling in love with someone at the same time as they’re falling in love with you,” Swift said of her duet with the New York native. “Sort of in this cataclysmic, fated moment where you realize someone feels exactly the same way that you feel at the same moment. And you’re kind of looking around going, ‘Wait, is this real? Is this a dream? Is this really happening?’ Kind of like it would be if you were to see snow falling on a beach.”

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'You're on Your Own, Kid'

Longtime Swift fans know that track 5 is often where the singer drops her moodiest songs: "All Too Well" on Red, "The Archer" on Lover, "Dear John" on Speak Now and so on. "You're on Your Own, Kid" fits this pattern, with lyrics about "yearning" for a past love. The song also seemingly references Swift's past eating disorder as well as the period when she was known for her large 4th of July parties: "I hosted parties and starved my body / Like I'd be saved by a perfect kiss."

Listeners have also speculated that "Daisy May" is the name of Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds' fourth child. Swift previously used the names of their three daughters — James, 7, Inez, 6, and Betty, 3 — on Folklore. (Lively, 35, confirmed in September that she is pregnant with her fourth baby.)

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'Midnight Rain'

Fans are convinced track 6 is about Swift's split from Hiddleston, 41. "He wanted it comfortable, I wanted that pain / He wanted a bride, I was making my own name," the lyrics begin. The first verse also includes a reference to "jumping off things in the ocean," which could be a nod to the 2016 Independence Day party that Hiddleston attended at Swift's home in Rhode Island. (The duo were photographed splashing around in the water at the time.)

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'Question ... ?'

This song contains a lyrical and musical nod to 1989's "Out of the Woods," which led fans to theorize that "Question ... ?" is about Harry Styles. The chorus could also be a reference to Swift and the "Golden" singer, 28, sharing a kiss on New Year's Eve in 2013: "Did you ever have someone kiss you in a crowded room / And every single one of your friends was makin' fun of you / But 15 seconds later, thеy were clappin' too?"

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'Vigilante S–t'

"Vigilante S–t" is about "dressin' for revenge" after being scorned, leading fans to speculate that it could be about Swift's feuds with Kanye West and Scooter Braun. The second verse finds Swift dreaming about becoming "thick as thieves with your ex-wife," which could refer to Kim Kardashian or Yael Cohen. "Now she gets the house, gets the kids, gets the pride," Swift sings. "And she looks so pretty / Drivin' in your Benz / Lately she's been dressin' for revenge."

While Kardashian, 42, and Swift clashed over West's 2016 track "Famous," the Skims founder later said that she likes Swift's music. “I really like a lot of her songs,” the Hulu personality said in December 2021. “They’re all super cute and catchy.”

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‘Vigilante S—t’

As Swift croons “I don't start s—t, but I can tell you how it ends” in her “Vigilante S—t” number, eagle-eyed fans speculated her lyrics referenced 1970’s The Aristocats.

In the animated movie, feline Marie notably quips: “Ladies do not start fights, but they can finish them!”

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'Bejeweled'

Some listeners think "Bejeweled" connects to "All Too Well (10 Minute Version)," which includes the lines: "The idea you had of me / Who was she? A never-needy, ever lovely jewel / Whose shine reflects on you." In the new song, Swift sings, "Best believe I'm still bejeweled / When I walk in the room / I can still make the whole place shimmer."

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'Labyrinth'

Swift revealed some of the lyrics to "Labyrinth" in May when she gave the commencement speech for New York University's graduating class — the line "breathe in, breathe through, breathe deep, breathe out" is from the track.

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'Karma'

In "Karma," Swift slams someone who is "talking s–t for the hell of it," leading fans to wonder again whether she's referencing West, 45, or Braun, 41. The second verse in particular seems to reference Swift's battle for control of her masters, with the lyrics: "Spider boy, king of thieves / Weave your little webs of opacity / My pennies made your crown / Trick me once, trick me twice / Don't you know that cash ain't the only price? / It's coming back around." That final line could be a nod to Braun's recent divorce settlement, which required that he pay Cohen, 35, $60,000 per month in child support.

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'Sweet Nothing'

"Sweet Nothing" is the only track on Midnights written in collaboration with William Bowery, a.k.a. Alwyn. The lyrics include a reference to Wicklow, a town in Ireland where the Favourite actor filmed a scene for Conversations With Friends. While the song is seemingly about Swift's relationship with Alwyn, "Sweet Nothing" is also the name of a 2012 track by her ex Calvin Harris.

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'Mastermind'

The final track on the standard edition of Midnights is seemingly about the early days of Swift's romance with Alwyn. "What if I told you none of it was accidental? And the first night that you saw me / Nothing was gonna stop me," the Giver actress sings. "I laid the groundwork, and then / Just like clockwork / The dominoes cascaded in a line."

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'The Great War'

The first "3am track" is about the rocky beginning of a relationship. Because the bridge includes a callback to "Lavender Haze" — "somewhere in the haze, got a sense I'd been betrayed" — fans have speculated that "The Great War" is about the early days of Swift and Alwyn's romance.

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'Bigger Than the Whole Sky'

In this song, Swift reflects on "the aftermath" of a brief relationship. "You were bigger than the whole sky / You were more than just a short time / And I've got a lot to pine about," she sings, possibly hinting at critics who think she writes too many songs about relatively quick romances.

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'Paris'

"Paris" is about being so in love that the narrator feels like she's in Paris even when she's not actually there: "I'm so in love that I might stop breathing / Drew a map on your bedroom ceiling / No, I didn't see the news / 'Cause we were somewhere else." Though Alwyn and Swift keep their romance super private, they have been to Paris, visiting the French capital in 2019.

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'High Infidelity'

Fans have theorized that "High Infidelity" is about Swift's split from Harris, 38, because of the mention of "April 29th." On that date in 2016, the DJ released "This Is What You Came For," which was secretly cowritten by Swift. The same day the song was released, Harris said that he couldn't "see" a collaboration with his then-girlfriend ever happening. The "Blank Space" songstress only revealed her involvement in the track after she and Harris had already broken up.

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'Glitch'

"Glitch" is about a casual romance that's on its way to becoming a full-blown relationship, with lines like: "I was supposed to sweat you out / In search of glorious happenings of happenstance on someone else's playground / But it's been 2,190 days of our love blackout." That number of days is equivalent to six years, which is how long Swift said she's been dating Alwyn.

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'Would've, Could've, Should've'

The bonus song is track 19 on Midnights, and as fans have pointed out, Swift was 19 during her rumored relationship with Mayer. "I would've stayed on my knees / And I damn sure never would've danced with the devil / At 19," Swift sings in the chorus. (Her 2010 song "Dear John" included the lines: "Dear John, I see it all now, it was wrong / Don't you think 19's too young / To be played by your dark, twisted games when I loved you so?"

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'Dear Reader'

The title of the album's final bonus track is seemingly a reference to Charlotte Brontë's novel Jane Eyre. In the last chapter, Jane famously says, "Reader, I married him," after tying the knot with Mr. Rochester. The second verse also includes a nod to the famous "bend and snap" scene in Legally Blonde: "Dear reader, bend when you can / Snap when you have to."