“Sweet Nothing” is the twelfth track on Taylor Swift’s 2022 album ‘Midnights.’ The song is an ode to the singer’s partner who has been able to weather all the storms that get thrown at Taylor’s way, being a very high-profile public figure.
‘Midnights‘ is the tenth studio album by Taylor Swift following her ‘evermore‘ and ‘folklore‘ album releases in 2020. Announcing the album, Taylor Swift said “This is a collection of music written in the middle of the night, a journey through terrors and sweet dreams.” The album was released on October 21, 2022. A surprise ‘3am Edition’ was released just three hours later from the main album containing seven bonus tracks.
“Sweet Nothing” is likely a tribute to Taylor Swift’s long-term partner Joe Alwyn. The dup started dating in mid-2016 and has been going strong since. Due to the highly publicized nature of Taylor’s personal life, dating has been a struggle for the superstar. So, it takes a special someone to not break in the face of all the negativity and positivity creeping into their personal life. It is even better when her partner expects ‘nothing’ from her–a rare find.
Listen to “Sweet Nothing” by Taylor Swift
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Taylor Swift “Sweet Nothing” Lyrics Meaning and Song Review
‘Sweet nothing’ is an expression used to describe the nonsensical romantic whispers that occur between couples. However, the same expression plays a dual role within these lyrics.
On one hand, Taylor Swift says she loves running home to her lover’s sweet nothings–romantic and intimate whispers of love and affection that can heal her from a day’s labor.
On the other hand, and most importantly, these strings come with no expectations. Her partner wants nothing (material) from her. He is in it for real. He has no ulterior motives. After running through a set of partners in quick succession, this must be a holy grail of a relationship for Taylor.
In the first verse of the song, Taylor speaks about a pebble. This is or ordinary pebble. It is coated in memories of one small seaside town in Ireland, called Wicklow. Taylor picked this up sometime back when she was taking a stroll down the pebbled beach with her partner and handed it over to him.
It stayed in his coat.
He held on to it…and her.
He held on to it because he knew he was going to hold on to her for a long time.
In the second verse of the song, Taylor recalls one of many car rides home with her partner. She runs by a song lyric or a melody that she created in her studio that day. And he replies ‘what a mind’ adoring her creative skills. There’s been so many of these car rides ever since 2016.
What is even more impressive is the fact that they are no ordinary people. Taylor’s partner, Joe Alwyn is a British actor. And Taylor Swift is, well, Taylor Swift–a musical artist of the highest stardom. Privacy is a thing of fantasies for this duo and this has worked against their relationships too many times.
Against all the odds, these two superstars were able to survive. It definitely takes two to weather these external storms from the public, media, tabloids, paparazzi, and crazy fans. Some want them to break up, some want them to get married, some just spread rumors (because it sells), and others want a picture with her. In reality, none of these parties should have anything to do with her personal life.
But, Taylor understands that these parties are unavoidable. It is one of the biggest downfalls of stardom. All she can do is try her best to weather them. Any support from her partner on this mission goes a long way for their own sake.
Amidst all this external chaos, it must be a heavenly blessing for Taylor to come home to her boyfriend who expects nothing from her!
Let us hear what you think about this song in the comments below. Check out the complete lyrics on Genius.