Taylor Swift has reached a new level of vulnerable songwriting with her release of the pop ballad, “You’re Losing Me” on the Midnights deluxe editon.
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Just shy of a month after news broke of her shock split from actor Joe Alwyn, Swift has released an additional ballad titled, “You’re Losing Me.” As the Swiftie army may recall, Swift and Alwyn were said to have an amicable split when an ET insider reported that, “the relationship had just run its course.” While fan theories swirled that the couple was still silently together, Swift seems to be confirming the break up with this song, not to mention her reportedly seeing The 1975’s Matt Healy.
“You’re Losing Me” follows the slow decline of a relationship, where Swift desperately tries to warn the other of its failure. The song’s recurring theme is a beating heart, which becomes an audible signifier of the relationship’s “make or break” moments. The intensity is heightened when the music suddenly drops out, leaving only Swift’s vocals and the heartbeat for the chorus’ first half. “Stop, you’re losing me” she croons with a short echo. “I can't find a pulse / My heart won't start anymore for you.”
If that wasn’t compelling enough, the singer bares it all in the song’s bridge. As if growing desperate, her singing builds away from whispers and into pointed statements. She sings, “And I wouldn't marry me either / A pathological people pleaser / Who only wanted you to see her” until reaching the bridge’s ultimate climax. Spelling out exactly what she needs from her partner, she belts, “do something, babe, say something (Say something) / Lose something, babe, risk something (You're losing me)/ Choose something, babe, I got nothing (I got nothing) / To believe, unless you're choosing me.” But her needs are not met. The song again switches to the chorus of “stop, you’re loosing me,” though it is now an outro. Signifying that her partner made no changes, the song ends with no story resolution, and ultimately, as if the relationship can’t go on.
Fans are interpreting this song in the same way, especially when pointing out the change of the writer’s perspective. “She went from ‘I like shiny things but I’d marry you with paper rings’ to ‘I wouldn’t wanna marry me either’” one wrote, while another commented, “2019: I hope i never lose you, 2023: you’re losing me.” If these fan comparisons and timeline is correct, Taylor Swift has been especially vulnerable with her songwriting all along. As if documenting every emotion and stage in a doomed relationship, perhaps she’s saying that her split from Alwyn wasn’t actually a shock at all.
“You’re Losing Me” isn’t available to stream yet, as it was originally intended to be an exclusive track only on the physical CD of Swift’s Midnights (The Til Dawn Edition). The deluxe version of Midnights also features the Ice Spice remix feature on “Karma” and a new edition of “Snow on the Beach” with more vocal focus on Lana Del Rey. However, due to its exclusive nature, “You’re Losing Me” is the least available song at the moment, giving rise to bootlegged audio. If you can get your hands on it, the tear-jerker is definitely worth a listen.
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