Taylor Swift’s fifth track on Midnights, “You’re On Your Own, Kid,” quickly became a fan favorite following the album’s release. The song features some of the singer-songwriter’s most brutal, personal lyrics about her own journey navigating fame, love, and the people she has lost and gained over the years.
The song seems to lyrically touch on Swift’s romantic side, from wanting a guy’s attention (“I wait patiently / He’s gonna notice me / It’s okay, we’re the best of friends”) to reaching widespread fame and still ultimately feeling alone but finding peace in that, too. (“’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.”)
Swift also seems to address her past eating disorder,the buzz around her 1989 Fourth of July squad party, and public serial dating (“I hosted parties and starved my body / Like I’d be saved by a perfect kiss”).
Lyrically, “You’re on Your Own, Kid” seems to be a compilation of all of Midnights‘ themes as it provides the most holistic look at how Swift has grown through the years (and over multiple midnights). As the singer wrote on Twitter, “Midnights is a collage of intensity, highs and lows and ebbs and flows. Life can be dark, starry, cloudy, terrifying, electrifying, hot, cold, romantic or lonely. Just like Midnights. Which is out now.”
Read the lyrics below with some contextual notes, and listen to the song below, too.
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Summer went away
Still the yearning stays
I play it cool with the best of them
I wait patiently
He’s gonna notice me
It’s okay, we’re the best of friends
AnywayI hear it in your voice
You’re smoking with your boys
I touch my phone as if it’s your face
I didn’t choose this town
I dream of getting out
There’s just one who could make me stay
All my daysFrom sprinkler splashes to fireplace ashes
I waited ages to see you there
I search the party of better bodies
Just to learn that you never cared
You’re on your own, kid
You always have beenI see the great escape
So long, Daisy May
I picked the petals, he loves me not
Something different bloomed
Writing in my room
I play my songs in the parking lot
I’ll run awayFrom sprinkler splashes to fireplace ashes
I called a taxi to take me there
I search the party of better bodies
Just to learn that my dreams aren’t rare
You’re on your own, kid
You always have beenFrom sprinkler splashes to fireplace ashes
I gave my blood, sweat, and tears for this
I hosted parties and starved my body
Swift spoke about her past eating disorder in the documentary Miss Americana. “[Although] it’s only happened a few times, and I’m not in any way proud of it,” she said. There have been times in the past when Swift has seen “a picture of me where I feel like I looked like my tummy was too big, or…someone said that I looked pregnant…and that’ll just trigger me to just starve a little bit—just stop eating,” she said.
It affected her stamina on her 1989 tour. “I thought that I was supposed to feel like I was going to pass out at the end of a show, or in the middle of it,” she said in the film. “Now I realize, no, if you eat food, have energy, get stronger, you can do all these shows and not feel [enervated].”
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
Swift addressed the idea of loss and growth (“Everything you lose is a step you take”) in her NYU commencement speech. “Life can be heavy, especially if you try to carry it all at once,” she said. “Part of growing up and moving into new chapters of your life is about catch and release. What I mean by that is, knowing what things to keep, and what things to release. You can’t carry all things, all grudges, all updates on your ex, all enviable promotions your school bully got at the hedge fund his uncle started. Decide what is yours to hold and let the rest go. Oftentimes the good things in your life are lighter anyway, so there’s more room for them. One toxic relationship can outweigh so many wonderful, simple joys. You get to pick what your life has time and room for. Be discerning.”
You’re on your own, kid
Yeah, you can face this
You’re on your own, kid
You always have been
Alyssa Bailey is the senior news and strategy editor at ELLE.com, where she oversees coverage of celebrities and royals (particularly Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton). She previously held positions at InStyle and Cosmopolitan. When she’s not working, she loves running around Central Park, making people take #ootd pics of her, and exploring New York City.
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