The Songs on the Perfection That Is Taylor Swift’s ‘Midnights,’ Ranked
Taylor Swift’s Midnights is here and has taken us over—as is the way with any of Swift’s album drops, because she really does know how to nail how we’re all feeling and turn it into songs we can listen to on repeat until it is all we can think about. And that is how Midnights has been (at least for me).
I listened to it when the album dropped, went to bed, woke back up and have listened to the album on repeat ever since, including the bonus tracks. And so I have decided it’s time to do the impossible and rank the listen-ability of the songs (meaning which I’d listen to on repeat until my brain is just only these lyrics and nothing else) because there’s no way for me to rank which is the best because every time I try to do it, I think, “But what about this!?”
And look, as I have been listening to the whole album on repeat, this is simply just my mood right now. But like all TSwift albums, my list could change as the days pass, but know that there is not a song on this album that I do not love. They’re all so good. So here is the ranking of songs based on which one I will most likely listen to over and over again.
Maroon
Now look, this is not a bad song. If anything, it’s very good, like the rest of this album! I just also don’t see myself prioritizing this song over some of the absolute bangers that Swift has given us. And maybe it is because I was called out in the lyrics “‘How’d we end up on the floor, anyway?’ you say ‘Your roommate’s cheap-ass screw-top rosé, that’s how.'” But this song is another stellar entry into Swift’s catalog, it’s just not the one I am going to put on repeat when I’m in the mood to cry over her work.
Bejeweled
Another song I could easily see being used in movies and television shows, this track is one I’d put on a playlist and enjoy every time it came on, but it’s not one of the ones on this album I’ll seek out right now. It does have an iconic chorus, though: “Best believe I’m still bejeweled. When I walk in the room I can still make the whole place shimmer And when I meet the band, they ask ‘Do you have a man?’ I could still say ‘I don’t remember.'”
Lavender Haze
Kicking off of the album, Lavender Haze will definitely be used in a dance sequence in a movie or television show soon, mark my words. It’s a great setup for the rest of the album and sets the tone for all of Midnights, but it’s not that high up on my repeat listening list. Not because I don’t want to dance around to it, but because there are just so many tracks on this album that deserve the repeat status over Lavender Haze.
Paris
This song is going to be a TikTok hit, and I’m going to tell you that right now. Everyone who gets to go to Paris is going to use this, and when it gets to the chorus and she says, “Like we were in Paris,” they’re going to show the Eiffel Tower. And I’m not going to be angry about it! This is one that I think is going to grow on me more and more and end up higher in my list the more I listen to the bonus tracks, but right now, it’s pretty and I love it but there are others I’m prioritizing on repeat.
Bigger Than the Whole Sky
Sometimes, when you end a relationship of any kind, it can feel like the the love was lost and that you’ll never get over it—which is why I think Bigger Than the Whole Sky will be that song that us sad girls listen to over and over again. It’s about the loss of what could have been, and it feels like a stab in the heart that you just keep pushing deeper. “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,” Swift sings because she really likes to inflict our pain, and yes, it’s on repeat.
Midnight Rain
Knowing her fanbase, Swift has given us the perfect winter playlist and Midnight Rain definitely is one of those songs that does require a cozy sweater, leaves falling around you as you’re thinking back to those past relationships that didn’t work out for the better. “He wanted it comfortable, I wanted that pain. He wanted a bride, I was making my own name chasing that fame, he stayed the same. All of me changed like midnight.”
Karma
Karma is my boyfriend. Thanks, Taylor! “Ask me what I learned from all those years, ask me what I learned from all those tears, ask me why so many fade but I’m still here,” feels like the perfect comeback to anyone who has ever wronged me in my life. Basically, Swift is providing the perfect soundtrack for the girls who are more of an indie girl who wants revenge versus the kind of revenge that Reputation gave us, and so Karma will be the song on repeat whenever I am in the revenge mood.
Snow On The Beach
“And it’s like snow at the beach, weird but fucking beautiful,” really does make you want to go to the beach this winter, doesn’t it? This song, much like all of Folklore, has given me an overwhelming urge to go somewhere secluded to listen to Taylor Swift’s album, and I’m going to need her to start funding these adventures her songs are inspiring. Featuring Lana Del Rey, the song sounds like snow falling to me. It’s so beautiful and fantastical, and I cannot wait for winter to come to listen to this.
Mastermind
Oh Taylor. We don’t know if this is about Joe Alwyn or not, but it does seem like Mastermind will be the kind of song that women love to listen to when they find that new love that they manifested into this world. “What if I told you none of it was accidental and the first night that you saw me, I knew I wanted your body? I laid the groundwork and then, just like clockwork, the dominoes cascading in the line.”
Dear Reader
“Dear reader, if it feels like a trap, you’re already in one,” starts the song off, and then later, the chorus gives us a cautionary tale. “Never take advice from someone who’s falling apart,” and god if that isn’t a lyric that will stay with me. Overall, it is a beautiful end to Midnights as a whole (even though it is one of the bonus tracks), and still, I think that there will be a time in my life, soon, when I take a candlelit bath and just only listen to Dear Reader.
Sweet Nothing
Taylor Swift teamed up with Betty co-writer (and boyfriend) Joe Alwyn, despite him using a pseudonym, to give us Sweet Nothing. “I found myself a-running home to your sweet nothings,” paints a picture of a relationship that is the peace that you need after the push and business of the day, and some think this is about their relationship, and honestly, it makes me so happy for Swift and Alwyn because this song sounds like the dream.
You’re on Your Own, Kid
Sometimes, you can feel alone and there’s really nothing you can do to stop that feeling. That’s what “You’re on Your Own, Kid” is for me. “You’re on your own, kid. You always have been,” is one of those lines that I know will hit me when I’m in the mood for it and I will be inconsolable. But that’s just the way of Taylor Swift.
The Great War
“My knuckles were bruised like violets sucker punching walls, cursed you as I sleep-talked. Spineless in my tomb of silence, tore your banners down, took the battle underground. And maybe it was egos swinging. Maybe it was her, flashes of the battle come back to me in a blur,” the song starts out, and it instantly had me wondering why it was not on the album proper because my god is this song good.
Glitch
Ever find yourself in the midst of feelings that were never supposed to happen? Well, Taylor Swift has a song for that. “We were supposed to be just friends, you don’t live in my part of town but maybe I’ll see you out some weekend depending on what kind of mood and situation-ship I’m in and what’s in my system,” the song starts out with, and then she says, “I think there’s been a glitch,” when the feelings take over, and oh god Swift why do you know how I feel about everything?
Labyrinth
A song that has the same emotional grip that “New Year’s Day” has on me, Labyrinth feels like the kind of song I would listen to with the windows down as I’m driving around in my indie girl feelings. It’s simple, calming, and just beautiful. “Oh oh, I’m falling in love. Oh no, I’m falling love again,” the lyrics say, and it is that fear of falling in love and the pain that could come along with it while also the joy of new love that Taylor Swift has mastered with her songs.
High Infidelity
This is probably attributed to my love of Lips of an Angel by Hinder as a teenager, but man do I love a song about cheating. And yes, this song is currently having fans look up what Swift was doing on April 29th, but also god, if someone wrote this song about me? I’d simply jump into the river and swim up stream to never be seen again. Only she can write a song about cheating where I’m like, “Yes girl, you’re right,” because that’s where I’m at, but also, this will be on repeat and I’m not ashamed.
Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve
Welcome to the second murder of John Mayer by one Taylor Swift. Okay fine, we don’t know if this is for sure about John Mayer, but hey, seems likely and this is another stab in the persona of Mayer in the public eye, and it is also a bop, so good job Taylor! We’ll all be singing about how Mayer (maybe) sucks loudly and proudly at karaoke and in our cars driving around.
Anti-Hero
Ever feel like you’re the problem? Well, Taylor Swift has a song for that. “I should not be left to my own devices. They come with prices and vices, I end up in crisis (Tale as old as time),” is the biggest call out to all of us so called disasters and Swift is right for it. The song is definitely the one that fans are going to use as descriptions for themselves and I get it! I’m doing the same thing. And so yes, it is on repeat.
Question…?
The rumor is swirling that this is about Harry Styles and look, “Out of the Woods” still remains at the higher end of my Swift ranking, so it is no surprise that “Question…?” has become an instant repeat listen for me. Now there’s no confirmation if this is about Styles but there is just something about this song that has its claws in me and won’t let go. And also Swift is a master of hitting us with those biting lyrics in the midst of a fun tone. “Does it feel like everything’s just like second best after that meteor strike? And what’s that that I heard? That you’re still with her? That’s nice, I’m sure that’s what’s suitable and right, but tonight can I ask you a question?”
Vigilante Sh*t
“I don’t dress for women. I don’t dress for men. Lately I’ve been dressing for revenge,” is a next level lyric. A Scorpio anthem just in time for Scorpio season, “Vigilante Sh*t” starts with the lyric “Draw the cat eye, sharp enough to kill a man” and from that instant on, I knew that I as ready to live the rest of 2022 in my “Vigilante Sh*t” era, and I thank Taylor Swift for it.
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Which song on Midnights is your favorite? Let us know what you love in the comments below!
(featured image: Terry Wyatt/Getty Images)
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