Taylor Song a Day

[badthingtosayinasong]

Welcome to my "Taylor A Day" project!

main: @idontwanttospoiltheparty

From January 1st 2026 to September 13th 2026, I will be going through Taylor Swift's discography, listening to one song every day, roughly in release order (meaning all vault tracks will come after evermore), and posting my thoughts as I go.

This is a way for me to both slow down and really contemplate Taylor's artistry as well as create some distance that will let me explore other music and come back to her with a fresh pair of ears.

Resources:

Song of the Day tag

Longer Blog Intro

The Rules

Schedule Masterpost

[badthingtosayinasong]

13/07/2026: "Mastermind"

My history with this song:

First listen was an EXPERIENCE.

also people who complained about this one being on the Eras setlist are NOT! VALID!

Thoughts:

The production of "Mastermind" is as intentional and orderly as the seduction plan it describes: strictly rhythmic synth arpeggios that beautifully reflect that dominoes that "cascaded in a line".

The track plays with the concept of fate, turning songs such as "invisible string" on their head: "None of it was accidental." Taylor paints her love story as entirely within her control, including parts that seem unprepared: "I'm the wind in our free flowing sales / And the liquor in our cocktails." The second verse implies this is a necessity for women so that they won't get trapped by men playing games (recall: "Love is a ruthless game unless you play it good and right"); the bridge further reveals that Taylor feels the need to approach relationships this way to compensate for her childhood loneliness.

At the same time, the song does still maintain that one part of this love story was entirely out of Taylor's control: her chance encounter with the you – "Once upon a time the planets and the fates and all the stars aligned / You and I ended up in the same room at the same time".

Relatedly, "Mastermind" is also presenting an interesting philosophy of love, suggesting that it is a thing an individual can not only control but outright construct – "It was all my design." (recall mt favourite Taylor lyric bar non "I can't decide if it's a choice / Getting swept away.)

I also think that this song is in some sense about writing and storytelling. In a way, "Mastermind" reflects the acknowledgement by the artist that their art is consciously created and curated, and we, the consumer, are usually aware and even enjoy this aspect of it, as opposed to the arbitrary messiness of real life – "I saw a big smile / On your face, you knew the entire time / You knew that I'm a mastermind." Bringing this back to the Midnights theme of reconciling career and relationships, Taylor declaring her love life part of her oeuvre is a brilliant resolution.

On that note, I love how this track is on the surface confident, but Taylor's soft vocal delivery betrays how vulnerable it actually is – admitting to this nature of hers is difficult ("This is the first time I've felt the need to confess"), and she's aware how easily it could be twisted into something to villainize her with. And that antitheticalness captures the rollercoaster that is Midnights' confessionalism so beautifully.

Favourite lyric: "And I swear / I'm only cryptic and machiavellian 'cause I care" — one of the best lyrics ever??? Hilarious yet devastating!!!

Favourite melodic line: "'Cause we were born to be the pawn in every lover's game." oh and she sings this bit angelically too 💞💞

Favourite production element: I love the low oomf-y bass synths during the chorus.

[badthingtosayinasong]

12/07/2026: "Sweet Nothing"

1) I wanna go to bed so let's be quick 2) I find some of the post-Joever revionism surrounding this song in particular annoying af looooool, it is NOT about someone who doesn't care about her 3) Having been on the Paul-and-Linda train re:this song since release day is one of my biggest flexes.

My history with this song:

SHE IS UNDERRATED!!!!!!!!!!!!! Taylor slow songs and Taylor penultimate tracks nearly always have my sword.

Also What A Mind Gate is a defining moment in Taylor Swift/Beatles crossover history. I can't believe she's written Beatles RPF.

Thoughts:

"Sweet Nothing" is a soft, gentle track about a love that asks for nothing in the middle of a world that demands everything. It continues one of the main threads of Midnights, balancing a pursuit of fame with a fulfilling love life, and this time chooses the latter over the former, in contrast to "Midnight Rain" and "Bejeweled".

I love the lullaby-vibe and slow build – it's really perfect and I hate to see this track referred to as boring, when the production and vocal delivery is lovely to me all the way through.

The chorus summarizes the song's philosophy of love incredibly succinctly: "All that you ever wanted from me was sweet nothing."

"On the way home / I wrote a poem / You say 'what a mind' / This happens all the time" references the Paul McCartney poem "Blessed" ("I would come back from a run / With lines of poetry to tell / And having listened, she would say “What a mind.’") which makes it an adaptation of sorts, but it is also specifically about writing and appreciating having one's artistry appreciated, even by a single person, which is very different from the ambition underpinning songs like "Midnight Rain".

Also, memory!!! "I spy with my little tired eye / Tiny as a firefly / A pebble that we picked up last July / Down deep inside your pocket / We almost forgot it / Does it ever miss Wicklow sometimes?" A wonderful memory artifact that explicitly serves its purpose: reminding Taylor of a pivotal moment in her past. I particularly love the projection in the last line – surely, Taylor is the one who misses Wicklow, and by extension, surely, last July was an easier time than the present. "We almost forgot it" can therefore mean that the hardship of the now nearly supplanted the ease of the past via forgetting, but the memory preserved in this tiny pebble is enough to restore some hope. "They said the end is coming," but Taylor finds herself running to the you's "sweet nothings", some of which, one might infer, are in fact treasured memories of the you that keep her going.

Favourite lyric: the pure phonetics of "Industry disrupters and soul deconstructors and smooth-talking hucksters out glad-handing each other" is soooooo good, plus "soul deconstructor" is a great phrase. But also "You say 'what a mind' / This happens all the time" changed lives. like???

Favourite melodic line: "I find myself runnin' home to your sweeeeeet no-othin's" is so nice, that little glide and jump

Favourite production element: the entire building-up vibe of the last chorus is so good, mounting tension without having to get loud. I love the echoed vocals and the synth moving more to the front. The urgency comes through so well.

[badthingtosayinasong]

11/07/2026: "Karma"

My history with this song:

weeeeeeee – also who remembers how normal everything was when the music video dropped? what a normal time May 2023 was to be a Swiftie. *nods sagely*

Also, I did basically the same dance for "I keep my side of the street clean" BEFORE the Eras tour started as Taylor did on tour, so… bonding <3

Thoughts:

"Karma" is one of Taylor's glossiest, cheekiest, and most gloating tracks, on which she attributes her good fortune to the good she herself puts out in the world ("I keep my side of the street clean.") while warning those who have crossed her and others that the bad they've done will eventually come back to bite them.

The song is musically peculiar within Taylor's discography. It's uncharactistically non-committal with regard to its key: it's in D major but constantly reaching for the out-of-key C major chord, which lends it a floating, effervescent quality. Furthermore, the chorus' rhyming structure is non-straightforward, convoluted even, perhaps reflecting the curious ways in which Karma as a force can manifest.

Just look at this (also included the varied post-bridge chorus because I like how it both manages to recreate this structure and vary on it to some extent):

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 like honey, Karma is a cat Purring in my lap, 'cause it loves me Flexing like a god-damned acrobat Me and Karma vibe like that

'Cause karma is the thunder Rattling your ground Karma's on your scent like a bounty hunter Karma's gonna track you down Step by step from town to town Sweet like justice, karma is a queen Karma takes all my friends to the summit Karma is the guy on the screen Coming straight home to me

Karma is of course a religious concept, borrowed from Hinduism: Taylor portrays her successful fate as ultimately wanted by the supernatural forces of the universe because she plays by their rules.

I would also argue that memory lies at the heart of her thoughts on how Karma functions: "You're terrified to look down / 'Cause if you dare / You'll see the glare / Of everyone you burned just to get there / It's coming back around." In a more material sense, Taylor proposes that the people the you has hurt will not simply forget this poort treatment and eventually the you will have to pay for this. As "Tell Me Why" put it so succinctly: "Yes, I remember what you said last night."

The bridge of Karma is one of the most euphoric moments in the discography, partially due to its superb arrangement, but also due to how satisfyingly it addresses all of Taylor's previous struggles with the problem of suffering: "Ask me what I learned from all those years / Ask me what I've earned from all those tears / Ask me why so many fade, but I'm still here."

She only has one answer: "it's coming back around."

Favourite lyric: "Sweet like honey, Karma is a cat / Purring in my lap 'cause it loves me" – I like how there are lyrics that only Taylor Swift would ever think to release. Fantastic. I'm grinning.

Favourite melodic line: The rhythm of "Step by step from town to town" really hits for me

Favourite production element: I love the super scratchy intro, how it portrays the change from struggle to ease at the heart of the song: Taylor earning her success after "all those tears". (also obviously I have not been listening to this full album in one go, but I recall LOVING how that scratchy intro sounds directly after "Labyrinth") However, I also need to point out the vocal layering of "I'm still here" in the bridge, it's genuine BLISS, it's like the musical equivalent of daring Zeus to strike you down with lightning, knowing he wouldn't dare.

[badthingtosayinasong]

10/07/2026: "Labyrinth"

My history with this song:

MY FAVOURITE ON THE ALBUM!!!!!!!!!! have been enchanted basically since its release

Thoughts:

"Labyrinth" is a deceptively simple track that paints the most striking emotional portrait with relatively few words. I adore all of it: the ethereal production; the breathy, vulnerable vocals; the unbridled awe Taylor feels for the love she has found amongst the hardship – a sentiment related to the one expressed on "Lavender Haze", but "Labyrinth" feels much closer to the pain, more visceral. What was "melancholia" on "Lavender Haze" is now a crashing plane; what was once a mere dizzying contrast of good and bad things is now a labyrinth Taylor feels lost in.

I generally really enjoy this section of the album, which swings wildly back and forth emotionally in a way that enhances the individual songs. "Labyrinth" is so much more directly after "Bejeweled" and preceding "Karma."

"Uh-oh, I'm falling in love / Oh no, I'm falling in love again / Oh, I'm falling in love / I thought the plane was going down / How'd you turn it right around?" is perhaps one of the most interesting philosophies of love Taylor has ever expressed: love as a slightly terrifying force, whose power somehow defies gravity – a mysterious, great redeemer.

"Labyrinth" also touches on the problem of suffering. On the one hand, you see it in Taylor's attempts to self-soothe: "It only hurts this much right now / Was what I was thinking / The whole time." – The slight contradiction of this line always sticks out to me. If Taylor is thinking this the whole time, it must have been hurting this much for a long time. On the other hand, the aforementioned redemptive love placed alongside the pain feels like a partial answer to the problem of suffering: "Break up, break free, break through, break down / You'd break your back to make / Me break a smile."

Lastly, the song thematizes Taylor's struggle to move on and the pressure from outsiders on her to do so: "You know how much I hate that everybody just expects me to bounce back / Just like that." She is not only asking why she suffers but also why others can't recognize that she has suffered. It's not unrelated to my concept of the memory delta; a difference in experience which leads to differing perceptions of reality and even what should happen.

Favourite lyric: "Break up, break free, break through, break down / You'd break your back to make / Me break a smile / You know how much I hate that everybody just expects me / To bounce back / Just like that" – I sort of feel like this verse captures Taylor's very essence.

Favourite melodic line: "You know how scared I am of elevators, never trust it / If it rises fast / It can't last" – note how she jumps up on "rises fast", reflecting the content. I also like the length of this line, it takes its time to fully express this thought.

Favourite production element: those quick bright synth flares superimposed on the low backing track sound like actual flickers of light brightening Taylor's dark world. It's sooooooo atmospheric and I LOVE it every time

[badthingtosayinasong]

09/07/2026: "Bejeweled"

I need to make this quick cause it's late and I have dishes to do

My history with this song:

nothing specific

Thoughts:

"Bejeweled" is a crisp, sparkly ode to self-confidence, specifically the kind of confidence that tends to appear when someone else is trying to put you down. Dappled with bright synths, it's the Midnights track whose production most perfectly captures its imagery, in my opinion (along with "Midnight Rain" and perhaps "Mastermind").

Like "Midnight Rain", "Bejeweled" presents Taylor's career as opposed to the pursuit of love: "And when I meet the band / They ask 'Do you have a man?' / I can still say 'I don't remember.'" But in this song, Taylor feels driven to this reprioritization due to the neglect by her partner instead of her innate ambition. That being said, "Bejeweled" is also about putting yourself out there and gaining much needed romantic/sexual attention – a type of moving on: "Sapphire tears on my face, sadness / Became my whole sky / But some guy said my aura's moonstone / Just 'cause he was high."

The focus on weaponized aesthetics is an interesting motif the track shares with the previous one ("Vigilante Shit"), though the focus and vibe is completely different.

"Putting someone first only works when you're in their top five" is quite directly a philosophy of love and a continuation of Taylor's recurring habit of framing love in quasi moral terms.

Favourite lyric: "I polish up real nice" just a neat image-matching phrase

Favourite melodic line: I looooove the rhythm of this bit of the chorus: "Familiarity breeds contempt / Don't put-me-in-the-basement / When-I-want-the pent! house! of your! heart!" also how the next bit is off-beat. Taylor's rhythmic flow is highly underrated.

Favourite production element: the higher backing vocals in the last chorus

[badthingtosayinasong]

08/07/2026: "Vigilante Shit"

My history with this song:

Her chair <3

Thoughts:

"Vigilante Shit" – which is, rather fittingly, Taylor's only song with an explicit title to date – is an audaciously vengeful track, though it boasts a coolheadedness that's miles away from the dramatics of similarly vindictive songs off reputation, folklore, or evermore – "Don't get sad / Get even."

The production is minimalistic, mysterious, and bass-heavy, beautifully capturing the undercover, dangerous nature of a vigilante. Taylor's vocals are low, balancing the playfulness with which she approaches her revenge ("Draw the cat eye sharp enough to kill a man") with the sincerity of her righteous rage ("While he was doing lines / And crossing all of mine"). Her voice only goes up a bit for the bridge, when she briefly adopts a "demure" persona; it sounds like she's even been pitched up slightly for the word "enough".

The song takes an unconventional approach to moving on: "I don't start shit but I can tell you how it ends" indicates a perceived need for retribution, which is granted to both Taylor and to the woman whom Taylor aids in leaving the you (an act which itself form part of Taylor's own revenge). The bridge suggests that women in particular are in need of this catharthis, due to society's expectation that they will "always rise above" – in that sense, this song could be viewed as a sequel to "mad woman".

Despite the fact Taylor refers to herself as a vigilante, all the revenge seems to be happening within a legal framework: a divorce aided by cold hard written proof – compare that to the plausibly deniable revenge-killing of "No Body, No Crime" – and Taylor telling the you's "white collar crimes to the FBI." Furthermore, her most threatening language always seems to involve clothing and makeup ("Lately I've been dressing for revenge"), pointing toward the fact she isn't planning any literal violence. This implicit tameness hints at "Karma", a song in which Taylor boasts that her incessant fairplay is what has ultimately granted her a good fortune.

Favourite lyric: "The lady simply had enough" – you cannot convince me this isn't a clever play on "The lady doth protest too much" from Hamlet.

Favourite melodic line: the bridge really makes this song, infusing it with a much needed change of pace and mood. The super minor melody is very cool, it sounds almost haunted

Favourite production element: I love the quick triplet+slightly chromatic synth runs towards the end of the song – they really capture the unhingedness of the song.

[badthingtosayinasong]

07/07/2026: "Question…?"

My history with this song:

This one never did much for me (the other Midnights track that, on release, felt too 1989-y to me to grab much of my interest) but throwback to Taylor saying she was the happiest she'd ever been or smth and then nonsequituring into this track like a month after her breakup. wtf was that.

Thoughts:

"Question…?" is an incredibly cheeky track whose punctuation-full title hints at the fact that every question posed in the lyrics is meant entirely rhetorically – it's an interesting contrast to the more earnestly posed questions throughout Taylor's discography.

Unlike "Did the twin-flame bruise paint you blue?", for instance, she's now using questions such as "Did you leave her house in the middle of the night? Did you wish you'd put up more of a fight?" as indirect accusations, needing zero confirmation of her memory from the you. The sampling of "Oh I remember" from "Out Of The Woods" underscores this. In a way, the song embodies the line "Yes, I remember what you did last night" from "Tell Me Why".

I enjoy how playful Taylor stays throughout the song and how distinct the first and second verses are from each other melodically. While it's a bit emotionally lightweight for my taste, it's lyrically very fun, how casually she reads the you for filth. The vocal delivery shines again.

Favourite lyric: "I swear that it was something, 'cause I don't / Remember who I was / Before you painted all my nights / A colour I've searched for since." – the most vulnerable moment in the song, the best image and also…

Favourite melodic line: … the best melody. The flow and the way she goes down.

Favourite production element: The vocal production of the bridge! Especially "I'm sure that's what's suitableeeee and riiiiight but toniiiiiiiiight"

[badthingtosayinasong]

06/07/2026: "Midnight Rain"

My history with this song:

n/a the song is interesting but a little to vibes 'n' chill for my taste, I like the Eras staging though

Thoughts:

"Midnight Rain" is the sort-of-but-not-really title track of Midnights, capturing the album's concept the most precisely: Taylor spending a late night remembering a past love and contemplating the choices that have led her here.

The song picks up the idea of choosing a career in entertainment over love from "'tis the damn season" (and arguably "We Were Happy"), though it doesn't appear quite as regretful about the "road not taken". It also refers to a limiting hometown that requires escaping, like "You're On Your Own, Kid".

The production is trippy, the sonic essence of "deep portal, time travel" and the pitching on Taylor's voice both represents the "midnight" change she went through that means she can never go back (also see: "My friends from home don't know what to say" from the previous track) and the alternate life she is spending this evening imagining. It's one of my favourite parts of this album how precisely the production captures the lyrics.

I really like the strange simile "All of me changed like midnight" — the precise moment tomorrow becomes today, which also captures the memory vs. present contrast in the song. Similarly, the fact Taylor portrays herself as the double opposite of this sunshine-like boy: she is midnight and she is rain.

Favourite lyric: "My boy was a montage" in the context of Taylor's general montage writing style is one of the most romantic lines in her discography.

Favourite melodic line: "I broke his heart 'cause he was nice."

Favourite production element: all the synthy flares of the second verse

[badthingtosayinasong]

05/07/2026: "You're On Your Own, Kid"

My history with this song:

Instant standout ofc, it gave me goosebumps my first few listens

Thoughts:

"You're On Your Own, Kid" is a slowly building journey from helplessness to emancipation, exploring early heartbreak – both romantic and professional – and culminating in the realization that all previous hardships are in fact evidence of one's resilience. The title line reflects this growth, being at first an expression of abandonment but by the end self-encouragement – it's probably the best use of recontextualization in Taylor's entire discography.

The production is a simple synthy drone that gradually intensifies; it reminds me of "The Archer", another track 5, in this respect, though "You're On Your Own, Kid" is more bombastic, matching its more overt optimism. Lyrically, the song feels distinctly reminiscent of pre-Red Taylor with its simple phrasing and straight-forward storytelling. The soft, high vocals emphasize this further. In fact, if the production were acoustic, one could be fooled into believing this was something off Speak Now.

In its essence, the song embodies all three aspects of one of my subdivided themes: loss of innocence ("You're on your own…"), growing up ("…Kid…" ), and moving on ("Yeah, you can face this."). The loss of innocence is contained in the disappointments Taylor experiences throughout the song, and the growing up is made most stark when she returns to the hometown she fled: "My friends from home don't know what to say," indicating she has grown apart from them and no longer leads an entirely recognizable life. Finally, moving on from suffering specifically is made possible by identifying its purpose: "'Cause there were pages turned with the bridges burned / Everything you lose is a step you take." – One of Taylor's most explicitly formulated solutions to the problem of suffering.

And also, writing: after being disappointed by love, Taylor pivots towards songwriting in the second verse, propping it up as something just as if not more fulfilling than the pursuit of romance and almost definitely part of the "something they can't take away."

Favourite lyric: "'Cause there were pages turned with the bridges burned / Everything you lose is a step you take." GODDAMN!!!!! but I do also love "I picked the petals, he loves me not / Something different bloomed / Writing in my room" for the flower imagery

Favourite melodic line: "Just to learn that you never cared" I like the rise and fall, it really embodies that anticipation that's immediately undercut by disappointment.

Favourite production element: I love the siren-like sounds in the musical interlude after the second verse. But also the way the drums roll during "Everything you lose is a step you take."

[badthingtosayinasong]

04/07/2026: "Snow On The Beach"

My history with this song:

I don't consider it a highlight, but honestly every time the second verse hits I'm highkey gobsmacked

Thoughts:

"Snow On The Beach" encompasses many of Midnights' staples: a conversational-yet-confessional bluntness, especially in relation to the topic of mental health ("Life is emotionally abusive"; "My flight was awful, thanks for asking"; "Weird but fucking beautiful"); almost cinematic production that brings the song's central image to life; a tendency towards flowery language ("unbeknownst", "aurora borealis", "periphery") and creative imagery (the titular snow on the beach as well as the you's flying saucer eyes).

The song's perspective is that of a Taylor so beaten down by life that meeting someone who loves her genuinely leaves her awestruck. "You wanting me tonight feels impossible / But it's coming down, it's all around, like snow on the beach." Actual snow on a beach is less impossible and more divorced from our archetypical idea of what beaches look like; in the same way that snow and beaches feel like they shouldn't cross paths, Taylor is completely taken aback by the combination of the pure joy of this newfound love and the crushing hardship of life, which creates the unique jaded-turned-bewildered-turned-amazed feel of the track.

Arguably, this song's philosophy of love is that love means finding the person who answers the problem of suffering: "Life is emotionally abusive / And time can't stop me quite like you did"; "I've never seen someone lit from within / Blurring out my periphery"

The vocals on the track are so vulnerable, and I love how Taylor even makes an effort to shed her learned cynicism: "My smile is like I won a contest / And to hide that would be so dishonest."

Favourite lyric: the entire second verse makes me 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺, but "This scene / Feels like what I once saw on a screen / I searched 'aurora borealis green' / I've never seen / Someone lit from within / Blurring out my periphery" is crazy. I loooooove the assonance of "blurring out my periphery".

Favourite melodic line: "I (I) can't (can't) speak, afraid to jinx it / I (I) don't (don't) even dare to wish it" sounds very lovely (incidentally, those lines are me about the prospect of getting "Robin"/"Never Grow Up" at one of my shows…)

Favourite production element: the entire plucked string production sounds soooo much like snow and deserves a shoutout, but I must hand it to Lana's filtered vocals in the second verse. The way they underline Taylor's is literally PEAKKKKK and some of us have been saying this since day one.

[badthingtosayinasong]

03/07/2026: "Anti-Hero"

Happy [presumable but cmon] wedding day to Taylor! :D Time to dive back into her mental breakdown phase.

My history with this song:

This was a first listen standout. When I realized she was saying "I'm the problem" like the old memes about her I genuinely lost my mind.

Exhibit A:

Also the graphics of this track on tour were soooooo good.

Thoughts:

"Anti-Hero" is somehow simultaneously one of Taylor's catchiest and most fun pop songs while also being among her strangest tracks, lyrically – stacking an almost uncomfortable amount of rhymes in her prechoruses ("I should not be left to my own devices / They come with prices / And vices / I end up in crisis"); heralding in a chorus with a literal introduction "It's me! Hi!"; referring to herself as a monster surrounded by sexy babies; recounting a nightmare about disinheriting her children; repeatedly chanting that she's the problem, it's her- The whole thing – the pop perfection paired with the unfiltered, slightly unhinged lyricism – perfectly encapsulates the central conflict at the heart of "Anti-Hero": Taylor feeling like fame has rendered her a tad unhuman.

The vocals really shine on this track, varying across Taylor's range. The high parts emphasize her vulnerability, the lower ones her jadedness, adding so much depth to her despair. There's also a quirkiness to the production, which gives it a much needed sense of lightness and humour, and I especially like the little bell right at the end.

The song is fascinating, in that it can be read as complete satire of public opinion on Taylor or as genuine self-critique. Personally, I favour the idea that she has absorbed so much commentary about her that she can no longer tell where her own feelings end and the twitter mob's begin ("Everybody agrees."). For instance, "Did you hear my covert narcissism / I disguise as altruism / Like some kind of congressman?" is the type of accusation that could easily lead one to question one's own motives for being openly kind to people.

Taylor caps off her chorus with a fourth-wall break by lyrically turning towards the camera: "It must be exhausting always rooting for the anti-hero." In doing so, she comments on the role she occupies within her own life and within the narrative she has created in her music, expressing that the listener must be growing tired of her repeated mistakes, self-sabotage, and self-pity. The story of Taylor Swift is surely getting stale by this point, especially when its protagonist is an undynamic character – "I have this thing where I get older but just never wiser."

Also, memory plays a key part in Taylor's current mental state: "When my depression works the graveyard shift all of the people / I've ghosted stand there in the room." In its essence, "Anti-Hero" is about a lifetime of issues leading to unhelpful and often self-deceptive navel-gazing.

Favourite lyric: "I'll stare directly at the sun but never in the mirror" – this line has several possible meanings, depending on how one interprets the self-criticism of "Anti-Hero". It can be Taylor straightforwardly calling herself unself-aware, but this is slightly paradoxical in a song that is almost painfully self-aware. However, if one thinks she is becoming too preoccupied with public critique of her, the line could be read as Taylor calling herself out for letting what others say about her get to her rather than engaging in true self-reflection.

Favourite melodic line: "I'll stare directly at the sun but never in the mirror / It must be exhausting always rooting for the anti-hero" I love how she goes down on the "it", but this whole song is melodically strong

Favourite production element: it's 80% Taylor's vocal delivery, but the "It's me. Hi!" breakdown after the third verse (which is NOT a bridge!) is so great. The scratchiness of "everybody agrees, everybody agreeeeeeeessssss" – chef's kiss!!!

[badthingtosayinasong]

02/07/2026: "Maroon"

I'm still ZONKED from moving.

My history with this song:

This one was actually a slow burn for me, even though it was an instant favourite for many others. It, along with "Question…?", interested me the least on release because it felt the most like 1989 and thus like retreading ground (plus I think the "And I chose you / The one I was dancing with" bit is lyrically kinda weak) but I have since grown to really like the production. Also, it was a surprise song! Mashed up with "Cornelia Street", Liverpool N1 <33

Thoughts:

Midnights Track 2, "Maroon", mirrors "Red" in both title and tracklist placement. The backing track consists of a distinctive droning synth, which matches the reflective mood of the song.

Taylor's vocals add so much character to this track, something I feel to be a staple of Midnights; the rerecording work provided Taylor with a very precise control of her voice and a deeper understanding for the moods she can create with it.

The verses portray the before/after of a relationship torn asunder, while the song itself presents a more mature perspective on the relationship from "Red" (and the entire Red album, by extension). "So scarlet it was maroon", in connection with "Loving him was red" implies something interesting about the value of passion: maroon is darker than true red, so something being so scarlet it was maroon implies that an excess of passion led to a darker fate. This of course elaborates on "Red"'s philosophy of love.

And of course, memory in the bridge: "And I wake with your memory over me / That's a real fucking legacy / To leave." There's two ways to read the line: the you has left a legacy in the form of the memory Taylor retains of them or the you's legacy is leaving. It is furthermore unclear if Taylor is saying the you has an immense legacy because she still remembers them so clearly or if she's sarcastically pointing out how she's been left with nothing but memories, because the relationship itself amounted to nothing. I for one enjoy the ambiguity.

Favourite lyric: "The rust that grew between telephones" sooooo good.

Favourite melodic line: "You were standing hollow-eyed in the hallway"

Favourite production element: The entire vibe of the last chorus + the outro is so good. Taylor bringing the energy down by singing an octave lower with an almost scratchy voice and those "It was maroon"s floating in.

[badthingtosayinasong]

01/07/2026: "Lavender Haze"

I just moved in to my first own apartment today. I'm too sleepy tired for this.

My history with this song:

I remember being taken aback by the sound on first listen, because I did think the 70s aesthetic of the photoshoot was hinting at the album sound (but I didn't get huffy about it afterward lol). This is the rarest of tracks where one of the alternate single versions is superior to me. I have listened to the acoustic version of "Lavender Haze" released in January 2023 sooooooo many times (though I recognize it doesn't fit neatly on Midnights, sonically). To anyone who has not listened to that version: THIS IS YOUR SIGN TO DO THAT.

Thoughts:

From the very first notes, "Lavender Haze" heralds in the pop bombast – which has been rather peripheral to Taylor's discography since Lover – of Midnights. The trippy synthy sound of the intro has an almost underwater quality.

In my view, a lot of the tracks on Midnights use the production (and synths especially) to directly tell their story, moreso than most of Taylor's work, and I would argue the "Lavender Haze" synths paint a vivid picture of what the eponymous "lavender haze" as well as the bridge's "love spiral" is and feels like.

While I've always held this song to be one of the weaker entries among Taylor's album openers (bear in mind, the competition is cutthroat), I think the rhythm of the bridge is addictively catchy and I love the snare drum hailing in the chorus. The casual reference to Taylor's "melancholia" also highlights the role of mental health on this album, as well as how much more directly Taylor references it as this point in her career, as opposed to pre-Lover.

The song has a strong philosophy of love: it considers outside opinions anathema ("I'm damned if I do give a damn what people say") and rejects conservative notions of marriage and love in favour of pursuing the purest feeling of love ("I feel the lavender haze creeping up on me"; "I just want this love spiral"), which also functions as an argument for the value of passion as the highest form of love. Furthermore, the you's ability to ignore the outside world's opinions about Taylor ("I find it dizzying / They're bringing up my history / But you weren't even listening") deepens her own devotion.

Also, the music video of this one is really really pretty.

Favourite lyric: "Talk your talk and go viral / I just want this love spiral" <333

Favourite melodic line: it's hard to choose, but I think I like the runs from the verses "Oh you don't ever say too mu-u-u-u-u-u-uch"

Favourite production element: the entire outro sounds so ethereal. also seriously. LISTEN TO THE ACOUSTIC VERSION. there's these great dry violins in it.

[badthingtosayinasong]

also happy six months to this project!

[badthingtosayinasong]

30/06/2026: "Carolina"

My history with this song:

This is a track I don't often listen to, partially because of my album bias. I do fond it gorgeous though and got to hear it as a surprise mashup on tour, the as of yet only performance of this song!!!!

Thoughts:

"Carolina" is a folky track shrouded in mystery from beginning to end. Without ever telling us what motivated people to call Taylor "guilty as sin" or for what reason she sleeps fine at night accusations notwithstanding, we learn that Carolina — the place, not a person — knows what she did and will guard her secret. "And you didn't see me here," she teases, leaving the listener guessing and forcing them to take her word for all of it.

Much of the imagery reflects this air of mystery: clouds, mist, robes behind which one can hide, backroads, pines that cover Taylor. The melody is also relatively unexpected, not as keen on resolving itself in intuitive ways.

The song feels like an interesting variation on the way Taylor has up to this point portrayed places. She has compared people to places but outside "Welcome To New York" I don't think she's done much personifying of places. The song is incredibly lonely ("Lonesome I came / Lonesome I'll always stay") but Taylor finds comfort in being known, understood, and protected by Carolina.

Taylor's vocals are incredible on this track, varying between breathy and full and the arrangement is gorgeous.

The song is about a loss of innocence but it may only be perceived. The second verse references "indelible scars, pivotal marks" but the song's ending indicates this is perhaps mostly the impression others have made of Taylor based on incomplete information. "But the sleep comes fast / And I'll meet no ghost."

I suppose, only Carolina will ever know.

Favourite lyric: "Muddy these webs we weave" is a neat summary of the teasing nature of this song and a lovely, earth image. It reminds me of a lot of the intentionally confounding parts of TTPD.

Favourite melodic line: this song is melodically enchanting from start to finish but I think the vibe switches in "And you didn't see me here / They never did see me here / And she's innnn myyyyy dreams / Into the mist, into the clouds" are so cool. Such an effective use of her whole range.

Favourite production element: there's these cool slidong strings during the interlude

[badthingtosayinasong]

listening Drops of Jupiter (Tell Me) by Train feels against the spirit of my Taylor challenge because the cover is canonical to me lol