Before ‘Midnights,’ Taylor Swift Wrote These Songs Late at Night
Taylor Swift made headlines when she announced the upcoming release of her tenth studio album, Midnights. The singer shared that the songs were all written late at night. But this isn’’t the first time Swift has released music that was created in the middle of the night.
Taylor Swift announces ‘Midnights,’ ‘a collection of music written in the middle of the night’
Swift announced Midnights while picking up her VMA trophy for Video of the Year. She won it for the music video for “All Too Well (10 Minute Version) (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault).”
After the award ceremony, Swift tweeted an official announcement, along with some details about what fans can expect from Midnights.
“Midnights, the stories of 13 sleepless nights scattered throughout my life, will be out October 21. Meet me at midnight,” she tweeted, along with a photo of the Midnights album cover.
“This is a collection of music written in the middle of the night, a journey through terrors and sweet dreams,” the singer continued. “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 twelve…we’ll meet ourselves.”
Songs Taylor Swift has written in the middle of the night
Swift has written dozens of hits over the years, and the pop star is pretty open about her writing process. While Midnights exclusively boasts songs that were written late at night, this isn’t the first time Swift has released music that was created in the middle of the night.
In an episode of the New York Times series “Diary of a Song,” Swift revealed that she wrote the hit single “Lover” in the middle of the night at her piano. After bringing it into the studio, she got an assist from longtime collaborators Jack Antonoff and Laura Sisk. And the track was made into the hit we have today.
Another recent single, “Carolina,” was also created at night. Swift wrote the song for the Summer 2022 film Where the Crawdads Sing.
“I wrote this one alone in the middle of the night and then @AaronDessner and I meticulously worked on a sound that we felt would be authentic to the moment when this story takes place,” Swift tweeted upon the release of the song. “I made a wish that one day you would hear it. ‘Carolina’ is out now.”
Swift also wrote folklore tracks “the 1” and “hoax” in the very same night — even though she and collaborator Aaron Dessner thought the album was pretty much done.
“The album was sort of finished before that,” Dessner revealed to Vulture. “We thought it was complete, but Taylor then went back into the folder of ideas that I had shared. I think in a way, she didn’t realize she was writing for this album or a future something. She wrote “the 1,” and then she wrote “hoax” a couple of hours later and sent them in the middle of the night.”
Late-night production inspiration for Taylor Swift
The 2017 track “I Did Something Bad” also benefited from some middle-of-the-night inspiration. In video footage shared by Swift, you can see her playing piano in the middle of the night.
In a different video clip, Swift turns to the camera and says, “We have just recorded an idea I got in the middle of the night,” before playing a recording of her voice imitating a sound effect she wanted to feature on the song.
Midnights marks the first time Swift has released an album solely composed of middle-of-the-night songs. But based on her previous late night work, it’s clear the pop star will be delivering a collection of amazing songs!
