Taylor Swift‘s “New Year’s Day” is an irrefutable standout on Reputation. It’s one of the departing sweet moments on a record otherwise riddled with searing berates and callouts.
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Heavily shrouded in metaphor, there is more about “New Year’s Day” than meets the eye. Uncover the meaning behind the track, below.
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Behind the Meaning
There’s glitter on the floor after the party
Girls carrying their shoes down in the lobby
Candle wax and Polaroids on the hardwood floor
You and me from the night before
There are two ways of looking at “New Year’s Day”–the explicit meaning and the implicit one.
On the surface, we have a commentary on the duality of true love. While Swift enjoys reveling in a night out with her partner, she also enjoys the quieter moments. She uses the biggest party night of the year, New Year’s Eve, to quickly illustrate that fact. I want your midnights / But I’ll be cleaning up bottles with you on New Year’s Day, she sings.
You squeeze my hand three times in the back of the taxi
I can tell that it’s gonna be a long road
I’ll be there if you’re the toast of the town, babe
Or if you strike out and you’re crawling home
In the second verse, Swift starts to expand the scope of the song. She uses the same metaphor to represent sticking around for all the high points of life and all the low ones. I’ll be there if you’re the toast of the town, babe / Or if you strike out and you’re crawling home, she sings.
What more could you ask from an enduring relationship than uncompromising support?
Don’t read the last page
But I stay when it’s hard, or it’s wrong, or we’re making mistakes
I want your midnights
But I’ll be cleaning up bottles with you on New Year’s Day
(Photo by Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images for The Recording Academy)
