After the release of Taylor Swift’s Midnights, Swifties have been buzzing about the bridges! Here are all of Midnights’ bridges ranked by Swifties and why they are so beloved!
As we’ve mentioned in our article about Swiftie’s favorite bridges (pre-Midnights release), fans can all agree that Taylor Swift’s bridges hit just a bit differently (no pun intended!). Often the high point of every song, Taylor knows just the right way to make her fans sing at the top of their lungs or cry their eyes out when it’s time for the bridge. After the release of Midnights, we wanted to go back and go through all 21 of her Midnights songs–and yes, we are taking into consideration the 3AM Version AND the Lavender Edition–and rank the top 10 best Midnights bridges based on what Swifties are saying online. If you disagree with our ranking, that’s totally fine! This is just our approximate ranking based on the discourse we’ve seen online; feel free to add your piece! Now, without further ado, here’s the top 10 out of 21 Midnights tracks ranked from least favorite bridge to most favorite.
10) Snow On The Beach
I (I) can’t (Can’t) speak, afraid to jinx it
I (I) don’t (Don’t) even dare to wish it
But your eyes are flying saucers from another planet
Now I’m all for you like Janet
Can this be a real thing? Can it?
There’s just something about this Lana Del Rey/Taylor collaboration that finds a way to stick in your head. Giving off otherworldly vibes, this part of the song features the most of Lana’s elusive voice and sends shivers down listeners’ spines–in the way snow on the beach should!
9) Sweet Nothing
Industry disruptors and soul deconstructors
And smooth-talking hucksters out glad-handing each other
And the voices that implore, “You should be doing more”
To you, I can admit that I’m just too soft for all of it
Ooh
There’s something beautiful about knowing there’s a safe person in your life who you can trust with your shame, fear, and sadness and know that they would never ask for anything in return. The vulnerability on display in this bridge draws fans the most–it’s just sweet! It’s adorable, and Swifties are happy Taylor has found someone she can feel truly comfortable around.
8) Hits Different
I find the artifacts, cried over a hat
Cursed the space that I needed
I trace the evidence, make it make some sense
Why the wound is still bleedin’
You were the one that I loved
Don’t need another metaphor, it’s simple enough
A wrinkle in time like the crease by your eyes
This is why they shouldn’t kill off the main guy
Dreams of your hair and your stare and sense of belief
In the good in the world, you once believed in me
And I felt you and I held you for a while
Bet I could still melt your world
Argumentative, antithetical dream girl
One of Taylor’s favorite songs from Midnights, “Hits Different,” is only available in the exclusive Target Lavender Edition, and yet has become one of Swiftie’s favorite songs and bridges on the album. Being in a place of heartbreak one has never truly experienced before is hard, and the bridge sums up the feeling of missing what was once yours and imagining a world in which things could have gone differently. Also, “Argumentative, antithetical dream girl”? Come on! THAT hits differently, for sure.
There is currently no Spotify link to this song–apologies to everyone!
7) Dear Reader
So I wander through these nights
I prefer hiding in plain sight
My fourth drink in my hand
These desperate prayers of a cursed man
Spilling out to you for free
But darling, darling, please
You wouldn’t take my word for it if you knew who was talking
If you knew where I was walking
To a house, not a home, all alone ’cause nobody’s there
Where I pace in my pen and my friends found friends who care
No one sees when you lose when you’re playing solitaire
This track, the last on the 3AM Edition, is meant to be advice targeted toward Taylor’s listeners. In this bridge, Taylor expresses how much not to trust her words, as if she is in no position to give advice due to her loneliness and isolation. As if to say, “You can only trust my advice so much if you knew what was really going on in my life.” Ironically, this is very relatable to many Swifties, and many find this bridge to be one of the most criminally overlooked of the album. We all give advice, knowing that we wouldn’t necessarily take it. Knowing that our lives are messy, but maybe that hypocrisy is truly just an attempt to allow people a chance at a better life.
6) The Great War
It turned into something bigger
Somewhere in the haze, got a sense I’d been betrayed
Your finger on my hairpin triggers
Soldier down on that icy ground
Looked up at me with honor and truth
Broken and blue, so I called off the troops
That was the night I nearly lost you
I really thought I’d lost you
Distrusting a loved one based on past trauma, taking your anger out on them, and hurting them in a way you never meant to is a universal experience. One few artists would admit to experiencing this, but many Swifties are glad she did. Romance isn’t always pretty, sometimes it’s angsty and ugly, and the cool thing about Taylor is she’s not afraid to express both sides of this in the bridge. This song is perfect for both the daydreamer and the grounded, giving off vibes of many fictional stories fans love and being emblematic of other fans’ worst moments in their relationship.
5) Anti-Hero
I have this dream my daughter-in-law kills me for the money
She thinks I left them in the will
The family gathers ’round and reads it and then someone screams out
“She’s laughing up at us from Hell”
It’s me, hi
I’m the problem, it’s me
It’s me, hi
I’m the problem, it’s me
It’s me, hi
Everybody agrees, everybody agrees
Feeling like “the problem” or knowing that you are “the problem” plagues many, and this bridge expresses the exhaustion that insecurity, self-awareness, and self-hatred can provide. The lack of trust Taylor expresses in this bridge towards her own loved ones, which is appropriate considering her daughter-in-law kills her in this dream, is expressed as if she’s claiming responsibility for these reactions. The lack of trust bred lack of trust; she is the problem. Fans relate, and many people outside of the Swiftie circle must also, considering this is one of her most popular songs on the album.
4) Maroon
And I wake with your memory over me
That’s a real fucking legacy, legacy (It was maroon)
And I wake with your memory over me
That’s a real fucking legacy to leave
Once describing a tumultuous love as “red,” Taylor corrects herself in this more mature glance at a once great and terrible relationship that it was, in fact, “maroon.” Darker, more mature than perhaps she was ready for. In this bridge, the idea that someone was able to affect her for so long after the relationship ended almost impresses her. Swifties love the feeling of this bridge and understand Taylor as they are reminded of their own toxic loves of the past.
3) You’re On Your Own, Kid
From sprinkler splashes to fireplace ashes
I gave my blood, sweat, and tears for this
I hosted parties and starved my body
Like I’d be saved by a perfect kiss
The jokes weren’t funny
I took the money
My friends from home don’t know what to say
I looked around in a blood-soaked gown
And I saw something they can’t take away
‘Cause there were pages turned with the bridges burned
Everything you lose is a step you take
So, make the friendship bracelets, take the moment and taste it
You’ve got no reason to be afraid
Track 5 on every version of the album, Swifties already knew this would break their heart and send their soul through a shredder, as track 5’s on every Taylor Swift album is known to be the saddest song on the tracklist. This bridge is responsible for buckets of Swiftie tears, as they not only hear about Taylor’s hardest struggles as she tries to make her way through the chaos that is her life but also see their own struggles reflected in this bridge. Being made fun of, experiencing an eating disorder, seeing and experiencing something traumatic, giving everything you have for just a morsel in return–this song is an intimate look into Taylor’s life and reflects many listeners’ lives. Top 3 is where this song belongs.
2) Mastermind
No one wanted to play with me as a little kid
So I’ve been scheming like a criminal ever since
To make them love me and make it seem effortless
This is the first time I’ve felt the need to confess
And I swear
I’m only cryptic and Machiavellian
‘Cause I care
Having gone viral on TikTok, like many of the songs on this album, the bridge is always the part you hear underscoring every video. There is something so relatable to the idea that growing up lonely led to the belief that no one will like you unless you plan, put on a performance, and make them love you. Taylor expresses how bad she feels about having planned many of the original interactions between herself and the love interest in this song–presumably Joe Alwyn–but explains that it’s only because she cared so much that she put so much effort into attaining his affection. Swifties hear this and think, “Who hasn’t done something crazy in the pursuit of love?”
1) Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve
God rest my soul
I miss who I used to be
The tomb won’t close
Stained glass windows in my mind
I regret you all the time
I can’t let this go
I fight with you in my sleep
The wound won’t close
I keep on waiting for a sign
I regret you all the time
If clarity’s in death, then why won’t this die?
Years of tearing down our banners, you and I
Living for the thrill of hitting you where it hurts
Give me back my girlhood, it was mine first
Here at number one, we have the bridge that feels like a shot in the heart. Reminiscent of “Dear John” from Speak Now, allegedly about John Mayer, this song reflects on the toxic relationship from the perspective of an older and wiser Taylor. “Give me back my girlhood, it was mine first” hit home for many listeners, especially those who were taken advantage of at a young age and felt their youth was stolen from them. The idea that one person and their actions towards you can change the course of your entire life for the worse is heartbreaking and raw, and this song represents that for many, but this bridge is what it all builds towards. This bridge is peak artistry when it comes to the Midnights album, and so many Swifties can’t get enough.
For more of Swifties’ favorite Midnights bridges, check out these Reddit threads from the r/TaylorSwift page!
