Taylor Swift made it clear long before Midnights that she wants … our actual midnights. Sometimes she uses the exact time and sometimes it’s a vague “middle of the night†reference, but you can guarantee each Taylor album will include at least one moonlit connection alongside her signature brand of dramatic flourishes.
Now she’s doubling down with Midnights, an album about literally just that. In a post announcing the record, Swift told us the project is specifically centered around 13 sleepless nights she has had throughout her life when she lay in bed “in love and in fear, in turmoil and in tears†while worrying about making “life-altering mistakes.â€
If this all sounds familiar, it’s because there are, in a fitting Swiftian twist, 13 tracks in her back catalog that have explicitly mentioned “midnight†or “the middle of the night.†In honor of Midnights madness, I’ve ranked them by how “midnights-y†they feel. What is the definition of “midnights-y,†you ask? Great question. For the sake of this piece, I’m defining it by the way Taylor introduced Midnights and how rooted the lyrics are in love, fear, turmoil, tears, and sleeplessness. Each category will be judged on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being the most midnights-y and 1 being the least.
13. “22â€(2012)
“It feels like a perfect night / For breakfast at midnight / To fall in love with strangers, uh-uh, uh-uhâ€
Breakfast at midnight rules — and being “happy, free, confused, and lonely at the same time†has some midnights-y parallels — yet it all feels more in line with a post-club hangout with friends than “I’m desperately searching for myself while pacing the floors of my apartment.†If we’re praying that “we aren’t — right this minute — about to make some life-altering mistake,†to quote Taylor’s announcement post, then “22†falls short. The mistakes here aren’t the ones that will blow up your entire life.
Love: 1
Fear: 0
Turmoil: 0
Tears: 0
Sleeplessness: 3
TOTAL MIDNIGHTS-Y SCALE: 4
12. “… Ready For It?†(2017)
“In the middle of the night, in my dreams / You should see the things we do, babyâ€
Dreaming in the middle of the night? That doesn’t seem like the insomniac Taylor we know and love. But I guess everyone has to snooze sometimes. Her sleeping admission knocks this track down in the rankings. It also lacks the fear, turmoil, and tears we’re looking for.
Love: 5
Fear: 0
Turmoil: 0
Tears: 0
Sleeplessness: 0
TOTAL MIDNIGHTS-Y SCALE: 5
11. “Untouchable†(2008)
“In the middle of the night, when I’m in this dream / It’s like a million little stars spelling out your nameâ€
“Untouchable†is from Taylor’s second album, Fearless, showing this nighttime trend started early and stuck around. Unfortunately, Taylor once again implies she’s asleep when she mentions being in a dream. If only the scale included yearning — see: “I wanna feel you by my side, standing next to me / You gotta come on, come on / Say that we’ll be together†—then “Untouchable†would be near the top.
Love: 5
Fear: 0
Turmoil: 0
Tears: 1
Sleeplessness: 0
TOTAL MIDNIGHTS-Y SCALE: 6
10. “You Are In Love†(2014)
“Small talk, he drives / Coffee at midnightâ€
There’s a lot of love in this song. It’s literally in the title. But if you’re drinking coffee at midnight, that sleeplessness is intentional — which technically counts. But unless that coffee contains tears and turmoil instead of cream and sugar, it doesn’t quite hit the mark.
Love: 5
Fear: 0
Turmoil: 0
Tears: 0
Sleeplessness: 3
TOTAL MIDNIGHTS-Y SCALE: 8
9. “You Belong With Me†(2008)
“Oh, I remember you driving to my house / In the middle of the night / I’m the one who makes you laugh / When you know you’re ’bout to cryâ€
On the “midnights-y†scale, “You Belong With Me†raises several big questions, like do the tears count if they’re not Taylor’s? Also, this classic feels more like an old blueprint for what Midnights might become than one that would make the cut now. We have young teenage love (but nothing as serious as what we’ll hear on later Taylor songs), we have a guy driving to Taylor’s house in the middle of the night (but how sleepless could it be? Teens usually have curfews), we have someone (but not Taylor!) near tears. These concepts are there in the vaguest of senses. So while it doesn’t score high on the scale, it’s nice to see some of the earlier seeds of these themes. We even have a mention of late-night driving, a recurring theme that becomes more dangerous as Taylor gets older. (I just hope this guy had his headlights on.)
Love: 3
Fear: 1
Turmoil: 1
Tears: 3
Sleeplessness: 3
TOTAL MIDNIGHTS-Y SCALE: 11
8. “The Last Great American Dynasty†(2020)
“They say she was seen on occasion / Pacing the rocks, staring out at the midnight seaâ€
I don’t know a ton about the real Rebekah Harkness, but damn, she sounded like quite the woman. Playing card games with Salvador Dali? Founding her own ballet company out of spite? It seems like Rebekah’s life was filled with what defines Midnights (except, tragically, love) — but is it enough compared to these other tracks? Haunting your own home as a living ghost pacing a cliff while staring out at the ocean is certainly a dramatic and gossip-worthy way to spend your evenings. But the song is only partially about Taylor, so it gets docked by a few points.
Love: 2
Fear: 2
Turmoil: 2
Tears: 2
Sleeplessness: 5
TOTAL MIDNIGHTS-Y SCALE: 13
7. “Style† (2014)
“Midnight / You come and pick me up, no headlightsâ€
Quick PSA: Don’t drive with your headlights off. (See what I mean about driving becoming more dangerous as Taylor gets older? Later in the song this guy “can’t keep his wild eyes off the road†— like, Taylor, please, does he even have a license? Why are you not driving?!)
“Style†is a Swift classic. You can dance to it. You can cry to it if that’s more your speed (I’ve done both!). It’s got that red-lip, classic thing that we like about a Taylor song. It’s a sexy jam about a love you know is bad for you but you’re going to enjoy anyway. Those relationships are the ones that usually end up in burning flames. While there aren’t a ton of fear or tears in this one, it’s very self-aware of how the story is going to end. If there is a sleepless night from the 1989 era on Midnights, I expect it to sound like this.
Love: 4
Fear: 2
Tears: 0
Turmoil: 4
Sleeplessness: 5
TOTAL MIDNIGHTS-Y SCALE: 15
6. “New Year’s Day†(2017)
“I want your midnights / But I’ll be cleaning up bottles with you on New Year’s Dayâ€
“I want your midnights†is one of the more romantic lyrics on this list — and it uses some possible foreshadowing of our current era, with Swift having spent the last two weeks announcing track titles at midnight (which, Taylor … some of us have work in the morning). On “New Year’s Day,†she’s telling the person she loves that she wants their everything: their love, fear, and tears; to find themselves together; the restful nights and the ones where you don’t even manage to close your eyes. She waxes poetic about her worry that this relationship may end, but she doesn’t want it to. She’ll do what she can to make sure that they stay “you and me forevermore†regardless of how tough it is and regardless of the mistakes they’ll make. How romantic! Now let’s go clean up glitter and bottles. Love you!
Love: 5
Fear: 4
Turmoil: 2
Tears: 2
Sleeplessness: 4
TOTAL MIDNIGHTS-Y SCALE: 17
5. “Happiness†(2020)
“Dappled with the flickers of light / From the dress I wore at midnight, leave it all behindâ€
Arguably the most reflective song on this list, “Happiness†looks back at a relationship that has ended while the pain and hurt are still fresh. But it’s also hopeful, looking forward to when finally, some day, you’ve moved on. There is pain in this song, but pain that’s accompanied by the knowledge that it’s temporary. While the exact lyric mentioning midnight isn’t necessarily “midnights-y†by the way I’m defining it, the song is haunting in the way these sleepless nights seem to be — like past and future happiness are shadows of the “terror and sweet dreams†mentioned in the Midnights announcement, cast upon the walls of our “self-made cages†from our lit lanterns. Or maybe I’ve seen that post too many times. See, Taylor? I told you I need sleep.
Love: 4
Fear: 2
Turmoil: 3
Tears: 5
Sleeplessness: 4
TOTAL MIDNIGHTS-Y SCALE: 18
4. “Daylight†(2019)
“I wanna be defined by the things that I love / Not the things I hate / Not the things I’m afraid of, I’m afraid of / Or the things that haunt me in the middle of the nightâ€
Was this lyric from 2019’s Lover an early Midnights sneak peek? Honestly, who knows. With Taylor, everything or nothing can be an easter egg (five holes in the fence, anyone?) But this spoken lyric checks all the boxes. It acts as a thesis statement for Lover, an album about different kinds of love. She says she wants to be defined by those things, and now she is releasing an album completely defined by what keeps her up in the middle of the night. Is there a better way to find yourself than by juxtaposing these two things? I think not. Even good things can cause sleeplessness, fear, and tears.
Love: 5
Fear: 5
Turmoil: 2
Tears: 2
Sleeplessness: 5
TOTAL MIDNIGHTS-Y SCALE: 19
3. “All Too Well†(2012 + 2021)
“’Cause there we are again in the middle of the night/ We’re dancin’ ’round the kitchen in the refrigerator lightâ€
Oh, “All Too Well.†This song has taken on a new life thanks to the recent gut-wrenching ten-minute version accompanied by the short film starring Dylan O’Brien and Sadie Sink. Dancing around the kitchen in the refrigerator light has been romanticized in Swiftie brains for a decade now. (I once dated a guy who tried to do the same in his parents’ kitchen, but it mostly just made his dad mad that he’d left the fridge door open. But I digress.)
“All Too Well†is “midnights-y†to a tee. Especially with the added lyrics of the ten-minute version, including “and there we are again when nobody had to know / You kept me like a secret but I kept you like an oath.†When Taylor defined the concept behind Midnights, I immediately thought of Red and the stories in “All Too Well.†I wouldn’t be surprised if that era of her life inspired many of the songs on the new album.
Love: 5
Fear: 2
Turmoil: 3
Tears: 5
Sleeplessness: 5
TOTAL MIDNIGHTS-Y SCALE: 20
2. “Nothing New†feat. Phoebe Bridgers (2021)
“And I wake up in the middle of the night/ It’s like I can feel time movingâ€
“Nothing New†unpacks Taylor’s anxiety about aging. And what causes more fear, turmoil, tears, and sleeplessness than that? This track also seems to be harnessing the same vibes as Midnights single “Anti-Hero,†which Taylor has said is an honest and vulnerable song about the things she hates about herself. Oof. So while “Nothing New†lacks the “love†we are so hoping will give us a reprieve, it’s still pretty midnights-y. Another win for anxiety, everyone! (If I were giving bonus points, this one would get the “drinking until the walls speak back†award with the lyric “I’ve had too much to drink tonight / And I know it’s sad but this is what I think about.â€)
Love: 1
Fear: 5
Turmoil: 5
Tears: 5
Sleeplessness: 5
TOTAL MIDNIGHTS-Y SCALE: 21
1. “Better Man†(2021)
“Sometimes, in the middle of the night, I can feel you again / But I just miss you, and I just wish you were a better manâ€
Topping the list is another vault track from Red (Taylor’s Version) — the most “midnights-y†of them all. These are the types of nights Taylor is referencing. Here’s the tossing and turning, the fear, turmoil, and tears — all thanks to love being lost. “Better Man†captures it perfectly. When a relationship is over and you know that was the best decision (shout out: “The bravest thing I ever did was runâ€) but you still miss them and who you wanted them to be … these are the heartbreaking stories that Taylor weaves all too well. These are the songs that keep us up at night wondering how she could possibly know what we’re feeling.
Love: 4
Fear: 4
Turmoil: 4
Tears: 5
Sleeplessness: 5
TOTAL MIDNIGHTS-Y SCALE: (I don’t know about you, but the points are feeling) 22