Taylor Swift’s ‘Snow on the Beach’ Lyrics Confront the Contradictions

There’s a surreal rhythm thrumming throughout the soft, plucky track “Snow on the Beach,” the fourth song on Taylor Swift’s new album Midnights. The dreamy, almost haunting nature of the song is purposeful, given it represents a once-in-a-lifetime feeling: that “cataclysmic, fated moment where you realize someone feels exactly the same way that you feel at the same moment,” as Swift revealed in an Instagram video ahead of the album drop on Oct. 21.

As a long-time admirer of artist Lana Del Rey, Swift said she was honored to announce on Oct. 7 that she would feature the “Young and Beautiful” singer on the track. Although Del Rey’s addition to “Snow on the Beach” is subtle—some might say, uh, too subtle—Del Rey’s ethereal voice aids in capturing the essence of Swift’s mindset: “The song is about falling in love with someone at the same time as they’re falling in love with you,” Swift said. “…And you’re kind of looking around going, ‘Wait is this real? Is this a dream? Is this for real? Is this really happening?’ Kind of like it would be if you were to see snow falling on a beach.”

Apart from a clear nod to Janet Jackson in the line “I’m all for you like Janet,” “Snow on the Beach” features intentionally vague lyrics, ripe for interpretation. Still, it wouldn’t be a stretch to assume Swift is referencing her own “cataclysmic, fated moment” with actor Joe Alwyn, whom Swift has been dating for six years. She’s written numerous other songs—including several on Midnights—alluding to her hopes and fears surrounding the stability of their relationship. (In “Anti-Hero,” for instance, she sings “I wake up screaming from dreaming / One day I’ll watch as you’re leaving / Cause you got tired of my scheming / For the last time.”) Her album Reputation tackled similar feelings; “Delicate” features Swift singing “Is it cool that I said all that? / Is it too soon to do this yet?/ ‘Cause I know that it’s delicate.”

In “Snow on the Beach,” she seems to rehash the same anxiety, but through the lens of wonder: “I can’t speak afraid to jinx it / I don’t even dare to wish it / … Can this be a real thing? Can it?” In the end, she seems to trust the reality before her own eyes, no matter how impossible it might feel.

Read the full lyrics to “Snow on the Beach” below.

One night a few moons ago
I saw flecks of what could’ve been lights
But it might have just been you
Passing by unbeknownst to me
Life is emotionally abusive
And time can stop me quite like you did
And my flight was awful thanks for asking
I’m unglued thanks to you

And it’s like snow at the beach
Weird but fucking beautiful
Flying in a dream
Stars by the pocketful
You wanting me
Tonight feels impossible
But it’s coming down no sound it’s all around
Like snow on the beach
Like snow on the beach
Like snow on the beach
Like snow
Ah-ah-ah

This scene feels like
What I once saw on a screen
I searched aurora borealis green
I’ve never seen someone live from within
Blurring out my periphery
My smile is like I won a contest
And to hide that would be so dishonest
And it’s fine to fake it ’til you make it
’Til you do
’Til it’s true

Now it’s like snow at the beach
Weird but fucking beautiful
Flying in a dream
Stars by the pocketful
You wanting me
Tonight feels impossible
But it’s coming down no sound it’s all round
Like snow on the beach
Like snow on the beach
Like snow on the beach
Like snow
Ah-ah-ah

I can’t speak afraid to jinx it
I 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?

Are we falling like
Snow at the beach
Weird but fucking beautiful
Flying in a dream
Stars by the pocketful
You wanting me
Tonight feels impossible
But it’s coming down no sound it’s all round
Like snow on the beach
Like snow on the beach
Like snow on the beach
Like snow
But it’s coming down no sound it’s all round
Like snow on the beach
(It’s coming down it’s coming down it’s coming down it’s coming down)
(Like snow on the beach)
(It’s coming down it’s coming down it’s coming down it’s coming down)
(It’s coming down it’s coming down it’s coming down it’s coming down)
(It’s coming down it’s coming down it’s coming down it’s coming down)

Lauren Puckett-Pope is an associate editor at ELLE, where she covers film, TV, books and fashion. 

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