Best believe Swifties are still ‘Bejeweled’ over her new album. It has been over 2 weeks since the release of Taylor Swift’s Midnights album. Midnights is her 10th studio album and was released on October 21st. Before the clock could even strike midnight on October 22nd, Taylor Swift broke the record for the most streamed album in one day on Spotify. The album tallied 88 million streams in the U.S. and 185 million worldwide. Taylor Swift tweeted, “How did I get this lucky, having you guys out here doing something this mind blowing?! Like what even just happened??!?!” This was before she made history as the first artist to hold the entire top 10 on the billboard hot 100. 

Each of Taylor Swift’s songs has a specific meaning and came from a special influence in her life. Although she hasn’t confirmed the meaning behind every song, Swifties have already taken the initiative to figure it out themselves. 

The first track on Midnights, “Lavender Haze” is one of the happier songs. It is a common belief among fans that the track is about having a crush and not letting anyone’s opinion ruin it for you. Taylor talked about the term “Lavender Haze” and described it as the feeling of being in love. “I feel (I feel) a lavender haze creeping up on me”… “ I just wanna stay in that lavender haze.”

“Maroon” is controversial. After analyzing the song, it can be concluded that it relates back to Red, Swift’s fourth studio album. Red is known to be about Taylor’s relationship with Jake Gyllenhall. In Red the lyrics say “missing him was dark gray and all alone…loving him was red” and if you mix dark gray and red, it makes maroon. This is a step closer to proving that ‘Maroon’ is about Jake Gyllenhall and links back to the red album. Lexie Hullivan, sophomore at WHS states that she believes the song is a “more mature version of red.” 

The definition of the word anti-hero is a protagonist who is conspicuously lacking in heroic qualities. Taylor admits to the track being about self-sabotage and the idea that people will leave her for her flaws. Because the topic is so connected to her insecurities, she has confirmed that this is “one her favorite songs.” Considering how many emotional songs she has written, it is notable that “Anti-hero” holds such a very special place in her heart. 

Taylor says, “I really don’t think I’ve delved this far into my insecurities in this detail before.” She continues, “This song is a real guided tour throughout all the things that I tend to hate about myself. We all hate things about ourselves, and it’s all of those aspects of the things we dislike and like about ourselves that we have to come to terms with if we’re going to be this person. So, yeah, I like ‘Anti-Hero’ a lot because I think it’s really honest.”

“Snow at the Beach” is about falling in love with someone at the same time as they’re falling in love with you. It’s a moment where you realize someone feels exactly the same way that you feel, and at the same time, and you’re kind of looking around going, “Wait, is this real? Is this a dream?” Knowing all of this makes the lyrics “It’s like snow on the beach, weird but f****** beautiful” hold a lot of meaning. 

Something interesting about “Snow at the Beach” is the controversy surrounding the feature of Lana Del Rey. Most Lana fans are upset that she does not have more of a moment in the song. Fans have made it evident that they wished it was more of an even collaboration between the two artists. However, there are a lot of Swifties who defend the fact that it is a feature and not a collaboration. 

Taylor is known for her iconic bridges, and if you didn’t know before, now you do. According to most Swifties, this may be the best bridge on the album. Not only does this track have a heartbreaking bridge, “You’re on Your Own, Kid” is also a track five. If you are not familiar with any of Taylor Swift’s track fives, which include the recognizable “All Too Well”, the fifth song on any Taylor album is always the most emotional. 

This song can be important in the sense that it brings up a lot of issues from her past that may be relatable. Freshman Jennifer Blankenship states that this is her favorite song on the album “because I really like the lyrics and message behind the song.” It is easy to get lost in the sadness of the track but there is an uplifting message that co-exists throughout this song. Taylor stresses that although “you’re on your own, kid,” it’s also true that “you can face this” and “there’s no reason to be afraid”, creating a bittersweet tone. 

The last song to discuss is “Mastermind.” This song leads us through the story of how she ended up with her current boyfriend, Joe Alwyn. Sophomore Katie Jamroga says “The introduction noises make my soul ascend into another dimension…the background music and instrumentals throughout are addicting.” Along with the instrumental and background, her lyrics and message are compelling and contribute to the final product. The chorus even changes the second time, making the song more accurately reflect her thoughts. Jamroga draws attention to the ending chorus describing it and saying, “HE KNEW THE ENTIRE TIME! THEY ARE PERFECT FOR EACHOTHER!”