As Taylor Swift builds anticipation for her upcoming album Midnights, the singer-songwriter revealed the full track list, including exciting collaborations featured on the album. She also shared personal insight into the meaning behind some of the songs, including one inspired by her relationship with actor Joe Alwyn.
Swift has made it a habit of dropping cryptic Easter eggs before her album drops, and this time, she shared the name of the first track, “Lavender Haze,” on her TikTok series, Midnights Mayhem with Me. Over on Instagram, the Grammy-winner shared further details about how she came up with it.
“I happened upon the phrase ‘Lavender Haze’ when I was watching Mad Men and I looked it up because I thought it sounded cool,” Swift explained. “It turns out that it was a common phrase that was used in the ’50s where they would just describe being in love. If you were in the ‘Lavender Haze,’ that meant you were in that all-encompassing love glow, and I thought that was really beautiful.”
She added, “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. And 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.”
Of course, Swift knows exactly what it’s like to have people weigh in on her relationships. The songstress has been romantically linked to Stars at Noon actor Joe Alwyn since 2016, and the couple has remained notoriously private. “My relationship for six years, we’ve had to dodge weird rumors, tabloid stuff, and we just ignore it,” she shared. “And so this song is sort of about the act of ignoring that stuff to protect the real stuff. I hope you guys like it.”
Giving her fans another surprise this week, Swift revealed that track four, “Snow on the Beach,” will feature Lana Del Rey.
Swift initially announced that her 10th studio album was coming while on stage at the 2022 MTV VMAs. “I thought it might be a fun moment to tell you that my brand new album comes out October 21 and I will tell you more at midnight,” she said.
When the clock struck midnight, Swift shared more information about the new album on Instagram. “Midnights, the stories of 13 sleepless nights scattered throughout my life, will be out October 21,” she wrote. “Meet me at midnight.”
The album cover features the singer examining a lit lighter. “We lie awake in love and in fear, in turmoil and in tears,” the next slide in her post read. “We stare at walls and drink until they speak back. We twist in our self-made cages and pray that we aren’t -right this minute- about to make some fateful life-altering mistake.”
“This is a collection of music written in the middle of the night,” the post explains. “A journey through terrors and sweet dreams. The floors we pace and the demons we face. 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 twelves…we’ll meet ourselves.”
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