This is some all too well masterclass songwriting. It WRECKED me

"I regret you all the time" is one of the most heartbreaking lyrics ever and the way she sings it, we can feel the despair in her voice.

"if i was a child did it matter if you got to wash your hands" is an absolutely gut wrenching line why do i never see anyone talk about it

"i miss who i used to be." "the wound won't close." feel it.

“Give me back my girlhood, it was mine first” is giving me chills

I've seen a lot of talk about the 'give me back my girlhood" line, but the one that really gets me is "If I was some paint did it splatter / On a promising grown man". The twist on the famous "promising young man" line that is used to help abusers and all get away with everything is so clever, because she removes the "youth" factor, highlighting the age gap and imbalance in power, and it shows she never could have hurt him as much as he did back then

i was 13, he was 19. still haunts me to this day, i cannot even look at him without getting anxious. i am 19 today and i cannot even FATHOM how he couldve been interested in a 13 year old. this song speaks the truth for millions.

This is the song that fits the album concept the most. Its insomnia personified. When the sleeplessness hits you, all the gruesome harrowing memories are rewinding again and again to the point where it becomes unbearable. All the regrets and traumas come back at you. I really have a hard time listening to this just because of how painfully midnightsy it is.

"Now that I know, I wish you'd left me wondering" is the lyric that hits me. I love how this song captures the nuance/complexity of having some fault for pursuing an attraction to someone who's bad for you, while also holding the truth that, based on situational factors such as power dynamics, that person should never have reciprocated that attraction if they'd been ethical and responsible.

I can’t believe All Too Well isn’t my favourite song anymore.

The girlhood line is very powerful AND painful. But I think the part around 3:50 is severely underrated. She's musically screaming, repeating herself because no one heard her. Crying for help.

As someone who experienced heartbreak and used Dear John and ATW to heal at a young age, this song hits differently. All the regret for the trauma it caused and how it messes with your healthy relationship even still now. “Now that I’m grown I’m scared of the ghosts, memories feel like weapons….. miss who I used to be” 😭 it’s so frustrating to have those intrusive thoughts and memories come in even though you’re with someone safe.

“and now that I know, I wish you left me wondering,” is such an underrated line

Everyone talks about "give me back my girlhood it was mine first", but no one talks about "and now that I know, I wish you'd left me wondering". The thought that comes to your mind when you found out something you wish you never knew.

“Memories feel like weapons” the most accurate thing I’ve ever heard in my entire life.

"Memories feel like weapons" Yeah, they do..

"Give me back my girlhood, it was mine first" this line hits so hard

In my opinion, this is one of the best songs in her entire discography. As someone who dated a 31 year old when I was 18, I can so heavily relate. I wish I could forget the entire experience.

“if you never touched me i would’ve, gone along with the righteous” gives me chills. it shows taylor’s realization over the 13 years between this and Dear John. In Dear John, she talks about the breakup. she was upset. this song.. she’s angry at john. she knows now that this wasn’t her fault. he was the adult. he looked at her. she would’ve never dated him if he didn’t look first. it was john’s responsibility as the grown man to know that that was wrong and that she was still a child.

This is definitely my favorite song on the album, maybe even one of my top ten songs of hers of all time. It’s so raw and vulnerable and emotional and real.

As a child SA survivor ‘give me back my girlhood it was mine first’ hits so deep . She’s managed to perfectly capture the way so many victims deal with their trauma :often at night when they’re alone and everything that’s been repressed surfaces when you Just want it to leave your memory . I’ve never cried listening to a song but this one has me sobbing every time I listen, I fully resonate with the lyrics in the song . As usual Taylor has written a hauntingly beautiful masterpiece.

'Living for a thrill of hitting you where it hurts.' Oh girl, same. I wish all of those who wronged us will experience the exact pain they caused us not to get revenge but for them to understand.

This song right here is the entire reason for the 3AM version. This song HAD to be track 19. Knowing Taylor everything was designed around this song. Bravo. A fantastic song. One of her best.

“Memories feel like weapons…” She somehow manages to write entire novels with just one sentence. I genuinely believe she’s one of the most important & best song writers of all time.

I know Taylor will never see this but I want to say thank you for this song. I know this song is about that relationship when she dated a 32 year old guy. But as a 20 year old who was SA'd as a child and never got over it, these lyrics just hit me and I couldn't stop crying. I felt seen and though I already relate to so many of Taylor's song, I felt like this one is mine. So, thank you, Taylor.

I have to say, out of all her songs I’ve heard so far, perhaps this is the most heartbreaking. THIS SONG JUST HITS SO HARD!

I was an 8 year old boy, he was 16 and my cousin. He r*ped me. I'm 20 now, and I can still smile. But, that smile isn't the same at all and I don't think it ever will be again. But this song helps me cope. Thank you, Taylor.🤍

I'll know as a dude, I'll never truly understand what it's like to be a young girl/woman who gets preyed on by men and has her innocence stolen like that, but this song did its best to make me feel it, and it worked. This broke my heart, and now I'm wiping away tears. Don't ever stop writing Taylor

I was 19, he was 31 and married, expecting me to save him from his marriage... this song calling 19 a child puts so much things in perspective after almost 10 years later. Taylor's songs are therapy.

"Stained glass windows in my mind" The whole song is beautiful, from the first note that sounds like a creep from the corner watching you, but simultaneously alluring, to the shouting "I regret you all the time." But the stained glass windows is what gets me, cause. After being groomed, the victim is broken, having to put themselves together, and no matter how together we try to piece ourselves, the cracks and the blood in the glass is there. I have tried to convince myself for 16 years that the stained glass from my brokenness is beautiful, but it's honestly the most painful beauty that never had to exist. Please, find comfort in being heard and in company. Find peace. The past will haunt us, but I hope for a world where we are healed enough to not defined by our trauma.

Taylor Swift has outdone herself in this song. The lyrics amazingly captures regret we have later in life. I love the line "I wish you had left me wondering". So many times because of our curiosity when we are young and impressionable we end up being around people who affect the rest of our lives in a traumatic way even if they were there for just a short time. They carry on with their lives but they change ours.

How this wasn't part of the 13 Midnights tracks blows my mind, it's a lyrical masterpiece

This left "All too Well" behind. The pain is 100x more in this one as compared to All too Well. The fact that Taylor still hasn't fully healed from that relationship tells how toxic it was. I want to say sry to her that she had to suffer this much. Mad respect for her for being so happy despite her experiences

2:37 I am addicted to this part

Who agrees that she’s not only a great singer with a beautiful voice, but also a brilliant poet?

Something tells me, I want to hear a 10 minute version of this. It would get too heavy, but I really wanna hear.

This song is for all women with sincere intentions who, at a younger age, got predated on and manipulated by older men who knew exactly what they were doing. We were young and it was never our fault. Everything will eventually be alright. ❤

"the tomb won't close the stained glass windows in my mind" this line is heaven

the line "now that im grown, im scared of ghosts" is sooooo underrated

Unironically. Taylor is one of our greatest songwriters. For all her superstardom, somehow this aspect of her talent is still underrated. This song is like being punched in the heart.

unpopular opinion: this is the best song of the album

People continue to have the audacity to say shit like "all she does is write about her past relationships to stay relevant". This comment section alone proves how important it is for influential people such as Taylor to reflect and share their experiences to educate/comfort their following. The impact of this song is massive. Anyone who has been in a grooming situation, dysfunctional relationship, and so many other situations feels this song so deeply. It's not Taylor dissing JM for some views. It's her being deeply honest about a painful situation in her life, and sharing it with as as a warning, solidarity, etc etc. So so much respect to her for putting this out despite the inevitable backlash it would face.

Her delivery of “I regret you all the time” was everything.

19 and 39. I wish he left me wondering. This song helped me in so many ways. Thank you, Tay

This is definitely the best song on the album, if I do say so myself. Excruciatingly powerful and hauntingly beautiful.

as someone that had their childhood stolen from bullying and family problems and their teenage years stolen from mental health issues, this song hits right in the heart, right where it hurts the most; so painful, but so therapeutic at the same time. Thank you Taylor, from the bottom of my heart.

" I miss who I use to be" and "give me back my girlhood" are the most heartbreaking lyrics I have ever heard and when she said "give me my girlhood, it was mine first" she sounds like her old self and I can tell that she is still haunted by this relationship and this still hurts her

"give me back my girlhood, it was mine first." hits different for all of us..

The "should've" part is not here in this song. That part is back in "dear John". I'm in love with this woman's writing and how she intertwines her lyrics new and old to tell these stories

"If I was some paint, did it splatter on a promising grown man. And if I was a child, did it matter if you got to wash your hands." Gives me chills because she was only a teenager when she was dating someone in his 30's and he emotionally abused her at such a young age, didn't even realize he was hurting a child, didn't really care it seemed either. This is so heartbreaking.

“Living for the thrill of hitting you where it hurts” Such a delicious line

"Living for the thrill of hitting you where it hurts" is giving me goosebumps.

i was 15, he was 40 something and my best friends dad. this song perfectly captures how i feel after all of it. i don’t think i’ll ever get over it but hey at least i have this song to help me cope. honestly a masterpiece, i’m in love with it, thank you for sharing this with us taylor.

This is one of her best songs in her entire discography. I love it sooo much. I hope she will sings this at the Eras Tour. It’s getting less attention because it’s not on the original 13 tracks of the album. But I think it has the most numbers of views among the 3am tracks. I hope it will gain popularity close to All Too Well.

For me, she's not just a singer. She's an artist, a remarkable poet even. If you read her lyrics as poems, you'd feel the same way.

“I regret you all the time” absolutely destroyed me

I was in an abusive relationship in high school and the guy was recently released after being in prison for 6 years, for things that he did to both me and someone else. This song hits home for me. To all of you reading this who have been hurt seemingly beyond repair, stay strong and remember that you're worth it. ❤

The transition between "I should've known" in Dear John and the rage you can feel in this song is something definitely cathartic. My heart goes to anyone who's lived something like this: it wasn't up to you, it wasn't your fault. I just can't accept how much this world still is a terrible place and how often victims are left alone... but no matter how some predator or people in a position of authority who choose to do nothing about it make you feel, you're not helpless and your voice cannot be silenced.

THIS IS TOO RELATABLE STOP THE PAIN I FEEL

I was never physically abused at all. But emotionally I was. I was 19 and in a very bad place mentally and emotionally. He was 28. He knew exactly what to say and do to take advantage of how deeply I loved him and I still battle with loving the ghost of what I prayed we could've had. I don't know yet how to shed the pain enough to love again. Or to trust. He stole so much from me. Took what I gave willingly and threw it back in my face when I wouldn't let him mold me into something I couldn't be. He took what little innocence an already old soul had left and I struggle every day with the self worth issues giving myself away to someone who didn't cherish the gift left me with. This song hits deeply in a beautiful painful way

This *should’ve* been part of the main album, I get that maybe is not the same vibe as the others, but for me, no song on midnights screams Taylor Swift like this one , specially if you’re familiar with the context, THE BRIDGE?? omg it’s the most powerful of the whole album I would say

the way she sang “give me back my girlhood, it was mine first” her voice is stellar!!! 🌌

Don't worry after 10 years we'll meet again in the comment section listening to this in our cold nights

I’m so grateful for this song. I’m almost 35 and have gotten away from my abuser for 8 years now and it’s therapeutic to see that the feelings I have remaining are normal. Taylor I loved you before but if I didn’t I would love you for this. Thank you thank you THANK YOU.

"And now that I'm grown, I'm scared of ghosts, memories feel like weapons." Every trauma survivor knows this feeling: the flashbacks (ghosts) continue to haunt you throughout your life, and the memories of what happened to you continue to hurt you over and over again.

This is the absolute most heartbreaking song ever and I can't believe it was a bonus track

Engineers around the world: We can make the best bridges. Taylor: Hold my 🍷

It's so hard not to cry listening to this song.

I feel like no one appreciates her alto voice at all. She has a wonderful alto tone

I've always said that I can't pick a favorite song when it comes to Taylor's music... But this, this is it. This is quite possibly her best song ever.

The fact that every girl can relate to this song💔

“You’re a crisis of my faith” DAMN felt

Taylor Swift, master of goose bump causing lyrics 😻

"Living for the thrill of hitting you where it hurts Give me back my girlhood, it was mine first." The way this can relate to so many young women breaks my heart. A beautifully painful poetic description of a sadly common occurrence. Taylor knows just how to express the melancholic regret and suppressed anger of one who has experienced this, as she did herself.

I’m obsessed with this song, it’s written in such a beautiful and personal way, the story is heartbreaking😭

The darkest song so far yet beautifully created by her!

As a divorcee at 19, married at 18 with a man who was 30 years older than me. I was lost and thought that he would be my savior. This song hits too deeply.

the angst? vulnerability? rawness? lyricism? production? ++ the key change at the end ?!?! THIS SONG WILL FOREVER HAVE ME IN A CHOKEHOLD

I was 17 when I started college, he was 22. I put off listening to this song for so long because I was scared it would trigger the memories again. 7 months since its release, and I finally listened to it. I'm not okay. it's hitting way too close to home.

i don't think i've ever experienced something like what taylor is describing, but this song managed to make me cry so many times. the pain in the lyrics and her voice gave me chills.

“Living for the thrill of hitting you where it hurts/Give me back my girlhood, it was mine first” breaks me every time, because while in her song it applies to a lost lover, in a lot of situations, it can apply to an abuser, and holy cow does it resonate

This one is one of her best in her ENTIRE discography

Definitely one of her best songs.

This song is sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo Underrated

This might be my favourite song of hers out of everything she's written. I'm completely in awe.

“give me back my girlhood, it was mine first” yeah. same. the way her voice sounds. so raw. the fact so many young woman can realize to these lyrics, i mean, i can. and i’m only 12.

This is the only Taylor song I've listened to and felt something. Everything about this captures how I feel about what he took from me and the way it tore me away from the path I should've been on.

This song hits so close to home for me. Replace 19 with 15 and you have the story of how my life was changed forever by an older guy. I didn't think she could hit the nail any more on the head than "when you're 15 and somebody tells you they love you, you're gonna believe them" but I think she did with this song. I've never related to an artist quite like I have with Taylor. We're similar in age so I feel like I've grown up along side her. I see a lot of myself in her and she just totally encapsulates every situation I can think of, everything I've been through in life I can relate one of her songs to. This album has grown on me much more than it did when I first heard it. Some of her albums were instant loves but I wasn't massively keen on this one, in comparison to her others, but I was so wrong. It's brilliant. This, Vigilante Shit, Midnight Rain and Anti Hero are all total bangers. I felt the same with Reputation though, then some of my favourite songs of all time ended up being from that album.

this is one of my favorite songs of hers of ALL TIME. “i regret you all the time” “living for the thrill of hitting you where it hurts, give me back my girlhood IT WAS MINE FIRST.” this is my fav on the album because it’s just too relatable.

What I really love about this song is Taylor’s vulnerability in admitting to regret. I feel like “no regrets” is parroted so often and always wonder how many people truly mean it. More power to them if that’s truly how they feel. However, I know I’ve got plenty of regrets and though they don’t define me, I feel it’s healthier to be real with myself when I feel that emotion. Props to Taylor, this song is about as raw as can be. ❤

"give me back my girlhood, it was mine first." Now you're going to listen to me miss taylor swift CAUSE DAMN THAT HURT

This is literally my favorite song by her of all time, you can just hear the pain and emotion in her voice and the lyrics are unlike anything she's written before. Goosebumps every time i hear it, I feel like so many can relate to these themes but no one is brave enough to sing about them. ❤❤❤

Taylor is unafraid to express her regrets, guilt and possibly raw emotions of gradually reminiscing and letting go of someone she knew deep inside wouldn’t be the right match for her. It’s as if she’s a magnet that can easily draw most of us to her in ways us people wouldn’t expect would happen.

This song has the lyricism of Dear John, the production quality of Haunted, and the bop-ability of The Story Of Us - in other words, it’s utter perfection and vividly encapsulates the Speak Now / John Mayer era of her life! Absolutely ADORE this song 💜

It's crazy how songs can have a whole different meaning for others. I lost my best friend recently to drugs and we met when I was 19. As terrible as it may sound, sometimes I regret ever meeting him because of how painful it's been to live without him. The amount of love I had for him and time we spent being so damn close... there's a lot of would've, could've, and should've in my head since last month happened. I miss you Alex ❤

I've never copy someone's comment but it fits so perfect with my life so here it goes: as someone that had their childhood stolen from bullying and family problems and their teenage years stolen from mental health issues, this song hits right in the heart, right where it hurts the most; so painful, but so therapeutic at the same time. Thank you, Taylor. From the bottom of my heart. I should also add that my teenage hood was also taken away from me with my constant parasocial one sided relationship with celebrities who don't know I even existed or basically don't give a damn about my well-being, happiness or life in general. It was to the point I couldn't form real attachments and connections romantically with people I see in life, I had so many potential partners, but I rejected them all out of my delusions. So I hope as I am turning 19 this month, I am now much older and hopefully wiser to take responsibility for making my life better and to change my perspectives in life. I want to live like I was supposed to live happily, peacefully in real time and real place.

The bridge/final chorus is exactly what this album needed

The bonus tracks deserved to be on the original album - such great work

It's so sad how many people relate to this song

Happy January 26th! Stream WCS all damn day ✨