Slightly different interpretation: I don’t see this as her partner struggling within the relationship. I see this as her first great relationship (one where she doesn’t only want the big exciting moments, like ‘midnights,’ but also wants to be there for the small intimate moments, like ‘cleaning up bottles’) and because it is unfamiliar territory, she is the one struggling through the anxieties of it not being real or not lasting in her own head. History says it won’t last, but she knows it’s different this time. She’ll stay no matter what. *past traumas sneaking into the mind* She doesn’t want them to skip ahead and read the last page of their story. She wants them to take their time with the story and live out the small moments together. She wants them to know, in the end, she’ll be there. I always link the holding onto memories part to the Polaroids. Those photos will always physically hold onto them, but she wants her and her partner to purposefully hold onto those memories as well. Not only will she hold onto the memory of ‘them,’ but she will hold onto her partner (as in present, not just a memory). Ok, ok, enough from me. I absolutely love your videos and interpretations:) Always thrilled to see a new one uploaded. Happy New Year!
Interesting thought about the Polaroids. They aren't lasting images and there isn't a negative. If you've ever seen a 40 year old Polaroid you know that they fade badly and become grainy even in a protected picture album. I've never really considered the short life span of those photos in terms of how Taylor uses them in her writing.
I totally agree with this interpretation, this is always how I took it too! the new years eve (midnights) is like the excitement of dating and those new relationship moments where everything is exciting and new, but a lot of the time people will lose interest once things get routine, or things get hard, or it's not all dates and new experiences all the time. she's saying she doesn't just want to be there for the beginning, she wants to be there for the long haul.
This is how I have always interpreted the meaning behind the song. I think it's similar to "Peace" when she writes, "All these people think love's for show But I would die for you in secret."
I think "don`t read the last page" could mean, she doesn`t want the person to read the last page because the book ends after that page. So she doesn`t want the book/relationship to end. Love the video btw. :)
I think "don't read the last page" means she is asking her lover not to read the last page of newspaper where all the gossip about her is written. So basically not to believe in rumours
Great video, as always! I think you might be reading too much into the “ picking up the bottles with you on Nee Years Day” line - which is understandable, we’re talking about Taylor here! But what I think it means is that “I will be there for the party, but when everyone has gone home I wanna be there for you and help you clean up” which is the everyday stuff of a true partnership, not a hookup for instance that would go home with the rest of the guests or sth like that, but a real life partner that will be staying in the same house, help with chores etc
I think you could interpret it either way to be honest 🤷♀️. If we just look at the writing vs thinking about Taylor’s life attached to it. But that’s the fun of art! Love the different interpretations people have been sharing though 😍 esp. this idea about her being willing to stay for more than the relationship’s highlights
I’m OBSESSED with your videos! I’d love to give my two cents on something. “Don’t ever become a stranger who’s laugh I could recognize anywhere” to me doesn’t mean she doesn’t want them to have fun without her. To me, recognizing someone’s laugh is SO much more intimate than simply a face or voice. She knows this person so deeply she could recognize them just from their laugh. “Please don’t ever let this person I know so deeply become a stranger”
Thank you!! Yes I totally agree! So much more intimate and sweet. I just meant it would also be so heartbreaking to recognize their laugh in public and know they’re having fun without you (or someone else is making them laugh 😭). Thanks for sharing this!
I think your interpretation is so interesting. Because we fans heard this song as the conclusion of an album that’s mostly about falling in love and finding the person who loves you no matter what during a very tumultuous time, so we could glean her intention for this song through that. Out-of-context I totally see where you’re coming from. I’d never thought of the song that way. I love getting to experience this song that I love through a new perspective.
Thanks for sharing this. It's been so interesting to see everyone's thoughts and interpretations! The writing on its own definitely did not get me to the same place haha XD
I feel like the whole vibe of this song is Im there for you in the highs and the lows of this relationship. Whatever comes, we are in this together. And dont ever become a stranger, almost like please dont ever let this end. I love this song so much and I think of my own marriage and commitment ❤
I've always thought of New Year's Day as about friendship rather than about a romantic relationship. It's like the vibe I get from Long Live and New Romantics, where she addresses her relationship with her fans. Also, Happy New Year!
The thing to know about this song is that it’s the ending track of an album dedicated to what was at the time her newest and most enduring relationship. Reputation starts as a clap back to some media and professional drama but evolves into a string of love songs. She delves into the uncertainty of a new relationship and how they are trying to navigate the scrutiny and the fear. New Year’s Day ends the album, which is largely dark and hip hop flavored, with a sweet piano ballad. She is pledging to be with him (an up and coming actor) whether his career is thriving or he’s struggling. She wants the highs of a celebratory midnight but also the mundanity of cleaning up after the party with him. She made it clear throughout the album that she was in for the long haul…they dated nearly 7 years. It’s interesting that without all the personal Taylor context that the song would be interpreted as sad at all when it was one of her most hopeful songs at the time.
I think you're picking up more negative connotations to some of these lines than most people do, but I love the different interpretation, especially considering the eventual fate of this relationship. I personally don't think the "I want your midnights, but I'll be cleaning up bottles with you" is meant to convey her being dissatisfied with the relationship or settling for what she can get from him, but more that she's in it for the wild nights out just as much as she is in it for the mundane moments between them. To me, the "don't read the last page" and other lines about endings are referring to a more general fear of relationships for her burning out and how at this point it may feel inevitable, but still enjoying the time together they do have.
It’s been super fun seeing some of the different interpretations! Especially thinking about “but I’ll be cleaning up bottles with you…” as more of a personal sacrifice. Like, “I’m willing to stick around for more than just the highlights”
I love the video! I never considered your interpretation. To me, this song sounds very hopeful. I always thought of it as the narrator wanting to do the fun exciting things with their partner, but also the mundane everyday stuff like cleaning up. Being for them through the good and the bad. My first time listening to this song was after listening to the whole Reputation album, as this is the closer. But you mentioned All Too Well, Cruel Summer, and Evermore, and those have such a different vibe than the Reputation album so your interpretation makes so much sense with the context of those songs.
Thank you! A lot of folks seem to have strong feelings about my interpretation haha 😅. I personally don’t read the song as super hopeful, but I can see where people are coming from! Love the idea of deciding not to run and stick around for the good and not-so-good moments, but I’m not sure it comes across just based on the writing. I’m sure, as you say, in the context of the entire album and through the lens of her personal life, the lyrics hit differently. Thanks for adding your thoughts here!
Happy new year!! 🎉🎉 New Year's Day is one of the greatest shocker for me. It was a stripped down ballad after several consecutive synth-pop bangers from an edgy-looking love album. Even though it's sonically different from the rest of the album, it definitely is an nice touch and it's very appreciated. The versatility and variety of songs is one of the reasons why Reputation is my all-time favorite album. The first part of the first verse establishes the scenery. They probably had a blast in their New Year party, but it's already over because their visitors are already carrying their shoes to go home. When the chorus hits, I also think that the "Don't read the last page" part implies that the narrator wants this story or book to last longer. The sweetest line for me is the "I'll be cleaning up bottles WITH YOU on New Year's Day" part. When you think about it, cleaning up after a party sounds strenuous, but the narrator is lowkey looking forward to it because they're doing it together. The narrator wants "your midnights" but since it's New Year's Eve and they're partying with everyone else, the narrator wasn't able to relish "your midnights" on their own. But "cleaning up bottles with you" is the second best thing, so the narrator is looking forward to it as well. I recall hearing from someone who attended the *reputation* secret sessions that this song is a collection of lines (or maybe just those two at the ending) that she has in her notes for quite some time, and she was finally able to put it into a song. That's probably why it has inconsistencies in cohesiveness as an entire body of work, but the coherence between several lines are still present. Overall, this might not be her best song, but this has several of her best lines. Polaroids are a major aesthetic theme of her 1989 album. The lyrics are probably an ode to that, but that is also a clever way of tying the lyrics because you can physically hold onto the memories if its in Polaroid form. Also the foreshadowing on evermore and midnights gives me chills, and I'm sooo here for it. Edit: So, based on that, her next album might be called Hardwood Floor or Candlewax. Memories and Stranger might also be contenders hahaha.
I think this song makes a lot more sense in the context of the whole album. It’s reflecting on her being canceled and how everyone left her but she doesn’t want him to leave her too. She has been the toast of the town and has crawled home and no one stayed so she won’t do that to him. Also, don’t read the last page to me signifies the new year, the last page of this story. She doesn’t want the year to end, she wants his midnights, and she never wants to say goodbye.
I actually really like this interpretation. I always got an unsure, pleading, melancholic vibe from this song as well as Delicate. It's nice to see exactly why!
i take "i want your midnights, but i'll be cleaning up bottles with you on new years day" as another way of saying she'll be there through the good & bad (or just less flashy parts) of a relationship maybe? tying into "i'll be there if you're the toast of the town babe, or if you strike out & you're crawling home" whether this person is celebrated or shunned she'll be by their side. & back to the first quote, she'll be there for the highs of the party with this person but also in the mundane, maybe less exciting moments as well. i'm not sure if i put my thoughts to word very well lol
You can be a Taylor's therapist. Some swifties were a little bit blinded by her relationship with last boyfriend and paint it veryyy positive. But You are great with what You do, and You see that most of the time she seems uncertain, suspicious, unsure and afriad that this relationship will end. Rep and lover are not happy albums about amazing love. And with that, Happy New Year!🎉
Well thanks, I appreciate it. There are definitely themes that run through a lot of her songs, and it's cool to see them come out in different ways :). Happy New Year to you, too!
I always listened to this song and thought about my girl best friends. I always thought I dedicated that song for them because I'm gona stay with them even if they make mistakes, and I will always hold on to our memories for all my life and I would never want for them to become stranger to me.
This review is so interesting because I feel like when reputation came out, the intention of this song was more of a "I love you Joe let's never think of this ending" kind of feeling. But now, post joe breakup- your interpretation of this song rings true to the ending of a relationship/ what it might feel like to re-record this song for her.
Thanks for saying this! I find it so interesting, because it didn't strike me as a happy love song at all haha. I can see where people are coming from, but I think the writing (and the music I guess) make it seem a bit more complicated than that. Maybe I've listened to too many of her angsty songs, idk! Haha. But that's interesting that it seems more apt now that she and Joe are broken up. I wonder how it'll be when she re-records it, too
One thing that struck me through my first listen of reputation was precisely that she used a lot of alcohol references throughout the whole album, she deff discovered drinking during that era lol PS, Happy New Year! Hope your channel continues to grow more in 24, love your content!
taylor always said that this song is about having the person u get to be with cleaning the bottles up after the biggest party last night, new year's eve, that its not just actually the person u get to kiss with when the clock hits 12 midnight, but its the person ur with cleaning up the bottles after that night. so i just always stuck with that...
I like that! I think a different conjunction would’ve been helpful in that case haha. Instead of “I want your midnights, BUT I’ll be cleaning up bottles,” maybe “and” or “I’ll still clean up bottles with you,” etc. Thanks for adding your thoughts! ☺️
Hold on to the memories and they will hold on to you is a beautiful thing. Many times we have memories that we don't want to remember and hold on to, so this seems like a healthy reciprocation
I know your channel is based around reacting to and analysing lyrics but what I would give for you to react to her mashup of "New Years Day" and "Long Live" from the reputation stadium tour. Regardless I recommend you check it out on your own even, it's a beautiful live acoustic piano mashup! It's so interesting to hear your interpretation because most of the fandom takes this as one of her utmost love songs haha, yet your analysis makes so much sense! There is a sense of quiet desperation to the song to me, but I always took it as being on the same team as a loved one through the good and bad, don't skip to the end when we'll get through the big and small together. In her rep performance she essentially sings it to the fans as well, like "hold onto the memories they will hold onto you", and mashed up with Long Live which is a love song to her fans and band adds a layer to how she intended the song, or portrayed it in that performance.
Could you do an analysis of Dear John and Would've, Could've, Should've please?! The second has several religious references, and they are related to each other. It would be super interesting to see your comments. 🙏
happy new year!! ur so sweet i love all of ur reactions and for me the ``dont read the last page´´ line for me is actually how taylor was talking to her current boyfriend Joe Alwyn which he hated the fame and the cameras that taylor had cause she´s a superstar, and she´s just like ``dont try stress over this we can do it´´ imo
I would love to hear your thoughts on more artists. One that comes to mind because of her controversial lyrics would be Lana Del Rey. Great analysis thank you ❤
I don't think she's saying that she's not already getting his midnights. I think she's saying that while she enjoyed the new years eve party (and therefore already has his midnights), she wants the boring stuff, too. I also don't think her feelings are unreciprocated, however I agree that she writes it as if she's really afraid of some obstacle in the relationship. After she says 'don't read the last page,' she follows it with 'but I stay." So it's not like she's saying "don't skip ahead because our relationship is doomed." I think she's saying, "I know you're worried, but just stay in this moment with me please, because I *will* stay all the way to the end." In short, my interpretation of the song is that they're both in love but each of them have their own reasons for feeling anxious/scared. But if he can try and to hold on to her (and their memories), she'll hold on to him too.
As for me, I envision this song like after the New Year's Eve party (so yeah, technically the New Year's day). She (or the narrator) just woke up and sees the aftermath of the party, the glitters, the polaroids, the memories of last night... then you know sometimes you just feel vulnerable waking up so she's pouring herself out, maybe just on her thoughts. She wants this new relationship to last, she doesnt want to lose this person. I think she's got the idea of "dont read the last page" to the end of the year and i think that's actually clever. Anyway these are just my thoughts, hehe. Happy new year!!!
I’m laughing a bit because I interpret this song as the or one of the most romantic song(s) she’s ever written and me and my fiancé are literally planning for our first dance. I’ve always read it as she’s there for the big celebration and for the less-than-fun and hard moments, like traditional wedding vows
Haha I know! The “but” changes the interpretation for me. “I want your midnights BUT I’ll be cleaning up bottles…” I’m apparently one of few who read it this way though 😅 but it’s such a lovely song and so sweet that you’re using it as your first dance 🥺🥺🥺
I always interpret don’t read the last page as “no spoilers 😉” I hear this song as the sweetest love song. In sickness and health, during the exciting and the mundane, in smooth sailing and rough waters. To me there’s no hesitancy, alcoholism, or troubling relationship vibes.
I think phrases like “but I’ll be cleaning up,” “but I stay when you’re lost/you’re turning away” and the pleading feel of repeating “hold on” and “please don’t” didn’t make it come across as warm and fuzzy to me haha but it seems like that may just be me 🤷♀️. Goes to show how the writing itself can speak a different story when it’s not directly tied to the author’s biography (which I think is cool!)
@@OnWriting.I can see that. But “I stay” hits me like an oath. For me the repetition is more hallowed. Like the intention of holding the memories. Cementing good memories is something that strengthens relationships. The memories hold onto you and put disagreements into perspective when they inevitably arise.
This is such a great reaction. I love how much you understand her lyrics and really go into it and analyze it. Out of curiosity, is it possible to monetize your Taylor Swift reaction videos? I'm thinking through options for new RU-vid channels and i love the thought of analyzing some Taylor Swift as one of the things i could do even though I'm so late to the game... 😅 but I'm really needing to only go in directions that at least have some hope of being monetized. I'm a little confused with the copyright stuff how many people who do Taylor Swift reactions are able to monetize them.
Hi yes! It’s possible, you just have to make sure you’re adding enough of your own content, adding value, and not using the entirety of their work. I’d encourage you to look into “fair use” as that’s what you’d want your content to fall under. That said, you’ll get copyright claims for all of them which you’ll have to dispute. It delays any payments for two months, sometimes more (if the claim ends up being dropped). There’s no guarantee that a claim will be dropped though so it’s up to you whether you want to trim the clips down super short and try to avoid a claim altogether or keep longer clips in and go through the dispute process. I’ve been playing around with both 🤷♀️ I hope that helps!
it would be amazing if you looked at Forever Winter from Red, she wrote it in remembrance of her friend who died from suicide. I'm interested in what you could pick out in the song that i hadn't noticed
Don't read the last page: Don't spoil the story for yourself, don't discover the details, but spoiler alert: I stay through all of the narrative highs and lows. Whether it's the fear, the confusion, the loss, the mistakes -- I stay through it all.
Because she uses the word “but” my interpretation of don’t read the last page is more “sorry to spoil the ending of the story but I’m telling you I stuck it out through the good and the bad”
I think one of the main trait Taylor have is that when she loves someone she loves hard and fast and she will put her everything to it but if it ends, it’s final and she will move on
Toast of the town=winning award then celebrating afterwards Strike out & crawling home= after believing you're gonna win an award you lost I mean this is what I get cuz Taylor's been in both situation like when she won for Fearless/1989/Folklore the AOTY or when she thought she was gonna win AOTY for Red but lost
I think "don't tead the last page" is about avoiding tabloid gossips and media garbage that can ruin their nice intimate moment, after having hosted a NY party.
This isn't the greatest TS song and it doesn't seem to be about a very healthy relationship. I doubt the evermore line was intentional foreshadowing or an easter egg. I think she just likes certain words and she reuses them over the course of her huge catalogue.
Wow...best believe you're far off on this one! I guess it's your interpretation blocks about Swift that's pigeonholed your thoughts. Sounds like you're parroting ignorant public negative opinions about Taylor. I'm surprised cleaning up bottles doesn't hit... My interpretation is being there after the good times like party highs to clean up messes together as in the good times bad times of the relationship. Support and be there for each other. ...and strike out crawling home is not from drinking I understand it as having a bad day or something positive didn't go right even after trying your best. As toast of the town is acknowledging big achievements. I don't agree with your drinking problem take. I usually enjoy your videos with a thumbs up. Sadly today you earned a big thumbs down I hope in the future you open your mind and break the constraints on your limited Swift opinions
Honestly, the way it’s written, that’s what it sounded like to me. Not bashing Taylor at all - I usually think about the writing as describing characters more than trying to figure out what part of her life it’s referring to (because this is a writing channel haha). I can see how people interpret the cleaning up line differently, and I think that’s totally valid! But for me, reading “I want X, but I’ll be doing Y” doesn’t lend itself to me thinking she has both X and Y if that makes sense. More like she wants his midnights BUT she’ll be cleaning up instead (because she doesn’t have them). Just my interpretation! The great thing about art is that there are always multiple ways to view things. As to the drinking issue, that was just a thought that came to mind, not a “this is exactly what it means” type of idea. The goal with these videos is to discuss the writing and its possible interpretations. Totally okay if those differ 👍🏻
My overall approach is to look at the writing and see what it says based on how it’s written. Knowing the backstory can help of course but it can also distract. Personally I think it’s interesting to see what the writing says on its own 🤷♀️😊
@@OnWriting. Compare watching a movie by looking at the trailer first rather than watching it in full directly. There is a huge difference. Music is not a blank slate. There should be a source. By knowing the source, you can give clearer insights or analysis.
@@OnWriting. Without knowing the background of New Year's day, you keep pushing about an unrequited love??? This song could be about Taylor's relationship with her true friends as a reference to her album, Reputation," which is dark & lonely. Or loyalty...is about how she sees her fans through the darkest & funnest state of her life.
