My biggest teenage achievement was not, staying away from drugs, sex, or having good grades, it was discovering Taylor Swift, and I don’t know what would have become of me had I not stumbled upon Bad Blood and Blank Space and YBWM, and then into a rabbit hole of her discography but I know what happened because I did; which is why every time she releases a new album, I lie on my bed like this, because drugs wouldn’t have been able to get me here.

But I digress.

Today I talk about my favourite lyrics from her 10th studio Album- Midnights.

When it comes to lyricism and using words beautifully, Taylor’s a genius and one thing her fans (see: me) are going to do is point out that lyricism, but what they’re also going to do is agree on the beauty in her most simple lyrics like Coney Island’s ‘Sorry for not winning you an arcade ring’ or Dorothea’s ‘Ooh, from you I’d buy anything’, August’s ‘Meet me behind the mall’ or any of the ‘I knew yous’ from Cardigan, or False God’s ‘I’m New York City’, or New Year’s Day ‘I’ll be cleaning up bottles with you on New Year’s Day’, ‘Help, I’m still at the restaurant’, God, the list goes on. There’s just always so much in play, how she sings it, the context, hidden meanings, etc.

And of course, it changes, it’s Taylor Swift. You find hidden gems, or certain lines just resonate with you after a million listens, but based on the first experience, here are my favourite Midnight lines.

(This is not a comprehensive list as some songs are still growing on me)

Maroon

“How’d we end up on the floor anyway?”
You say
“Your roommate’s cheap-ass screw top rosé
That’s how”
I see you every day now
And I chose you

Anti-Hero

I’ll stare directly at the sun, but never in the mirror
It must be exhausting always rooting for the anti-hero

Snow On The Beach

I searched ‘aurora borealis green’
I’ve never seen someone lit from within,
Blurring out my periphery

You’re On Your Own, Kid

From sprinkler splashes to fireplace ashes
I gave my blood, sweat, and tears for this

Midnight Rain

Can we get a The Weeknd feature on this one?

My boy was a montage

Question…?

Did you ever have someone kiss you in a crowded room
And every single one of your friends was making fun of you
But fifteen seconds later they were clapping too?
Then what did you do?

Vigilante Shit

While he was doing lines and crossing all of mine
Someone told his white-collar crimes to the FBI

Bejeweled

But some guy said my aura’s moonstone
Just ’cause he was high
…
Don’t put me in the basement
When I want the penthouse of your heart

Karma

‘Cause karma is my boyfriend
Karma is a God
Karma is the breeze in my hair on the weekend
Karma’s a relaxing thought
Aren’t you envious that for you it’s not?

Sweet Nothing

Am I the only one that feels like this should have been the album closer?

They said the end is coming
Everyone’s up to something
I find myself running home to your sweet nothings
Outside, they’re push and shoving
You’re in the kitchen humming

The Great War

This is currently my favourite song and this line reminds me of the Evermore line, ‘And when I was shipwrecked, I thought of you. In the cracks of light, I dreamed of you’.

My hand was the one you reached for
All throughout the Great War

Bigger Than The Whole Sky

Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye
You were bigger than the whole sky
You were more than just a short time
And I’ve got a lot to pine about
I’ve got a lot to live without
I’m never gonna meet
What could’ve been, would’ve been
What should’ve been you

High Infidelity

Put on your records and regret me
…

You know there’s many different ways that you can kill the one you love
The slowest way is never loving them enough
Do you really want to know where I was April 29th?
Do I really have to tell you how he brought me back to life?

Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve

Give me back my girlhood, it was mine first
And I damn sure never would’ve danced with the devil
At nineteen, and the god’s honest truth is that the pain was heaven

And bonus, here are my top tracks at the moment:

• Maroon
• Snow On The Beach
• Midnight Rain
• Sweet Nothing
• The Great War
• Bigger Than The Whole Sky
• High Infidelity
• Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve

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Let me know your favourites (tracks/lyrics) are in the comment section