Paris

Bonus Track | Midnights (3am Edition) [2022]

“Paris” is the sixteenth track on Taylor’s tenth studio album, Midnights (2022). It is also the third bonus track on the 3am Edition of the album. Written and produced by Taylor and Jack Antonoff, the upbeat song evokes the city of love while describing the feeling of being so infatuated with your partner that every place you go together feels magical.
Table of Contents

Background and Release

On August 28, 2022, Taylor announced her tenth studio album, Midnights, set for release on October 21, 2022. On October 16, she posted a short video on her social media that presented a schedule of the days leading up to the album release, entitled “Midnight Manifest”. On it, Taylor also teased a “Special very chaotic surprise” happening 3 hours after the albums release. This materialized into a digital and streaming only version of the album titled Midnights (3am Edition), containing an additional seven songs that according to Taylor were written but removed to keep the album at 13 songs. One of those songs is “Paris.” Taylor said:

«I think of Midnights as a complete concept album, with those 13 songs forming a full picture of the intensities of that mystifying, mad hour. However! There were other songs we wrote on our journey to find that magic 13. I’m calling them 3am tracks. Lately I’ve been loving the feeling of sharing more of our creative process with you, like we do with 'From The Vault' tracks. So it’s 3am and I’m giving them to you now.»

Notably, “Paris” is the third song Taylor has released to mention a city in the title, the others being “Welcome to New York” (2014) and “London Boy” (2019).

Lyrical Theme

“Paris” fits right into the concept of the Midnights album, describing late-night wishes and adventures in a foreign city. In the first and second choruses, Taylor dreams of a romantic escape; she and her partner at the time of the song’s release (Joe Alwyn) project their fantasy onto a bedroom ceiling, which eventually becomes a map of the place they want to escape to together: Paris, the city of love itself. The lyrics detail the two lovers getting drunk on cheap wine while pretending it’s champagne and stumbling and hiding in “pretend” alleyways – imagery that is evocative and effective, but pointedly fantastical.

In the final chorus, the narrative reaches its resolution as their dream finally becomes a reality. The alleyways are not pretend anymore and the champagne they are drinking is real. The fantasy eventually becomes a permanent fixture of escapism “in [her] mind” because, to Taylor, being in love is like being Paris. At its core, “Paris” is a song about Taylor escaping the vapidity and ever-present glare of celebrity culture while keeping what is closest to her – her relationship – private. In that sense, “Paris” is a thematic companion to “Lavender Haze.”

The writing style of the lyrics seem to reflect this contrast: While the verses are deliberately conversational, the chorus’ and bridge are very romantic. This mirrors the themes of “Paris.” The verses seem to describe what Taylor wants to escape, whereas the choruses and bridge are what she and her partner are escaping to – Paris. Here, she wants “confess [her] truth in swooping, sloping cursive letters” (a reference to the Lover album cover?) while the lights of the Eiffel tower glisten in the background at midnight.

Live Performance

Fittingly, “Paris” received its first live performance acoustically on guitar on May 9, 2024, in Paris during one of Taylor’s shows on “The Eras Tour” (2023-2024).

Commercial Performance

In the United States, songs from Midnights occupied the entire Top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100; a historic feat. “Paris” debuted at No. 32 on the chart. Taylor became the first artist to simultaneously occupy the Top 10 spots of the Hot 100; the female artist with the most Top 10 songs (40); and the first act to occupy the entire Top 10 of the Hot 100, Streaming Songs, and Digital Songs charts simultaneously. Midnights also became the first album in history to contain ten Top 10 songs.

Lyrics

[Verse 1]
“Your ex friend’s sister met someone at a club and he kissed her
Turns out it was that guy you hooked up with ages ago, some wannabe Z-lister
And all the outfits were terrible
2003, unbearable
Did you see the photos?”
No, I didn’t but thanks though

[Pre-Chorus 1]
I’m so in love that I might stop breathing
Drew a map on your bedroom ceiling
No, I didn’t see the news
‘Cause we were somewhere else
Stumbled down pretend alleyways
Cheap wine, make believe it’s champagne
I was taken by the view

[Chorus]
Like we were in Paris
Like we were somewhere else
Like we were in Paris, oh
We were somewhere else

[Verse 2]
Privacy sign on the door
And on my page and on the whole world
Romance is not dead
If you keep it just yours
Levitate above all the messes made
Sit quiet by my side in the shade
And not the kind that’s thrown
I mean the kind under where a tree has grown

[Pre-Chorus 1]
I’m so in love that I might stop breathing
Drew a map on your bedroom ceiling
No, I didn’t see the news
‘Cause we were somewhere else
Stumbled down pretend alleyways
Cheap wine, make believe it’s champagne
I was taken by the view

[Chorus]
Like we were in Paris, oh
Like we were somewhere else
Like we were in Paris, oh
We were somewhere else

[Bridge]
I want to brainwash you into loving me forever
I want to transport you to somewhere the culture’s clever
Confess my truth in swooping, sloping, cursive letters
Let the only flashing lights
Be the tower at midnight
In my mind

[Pre-Chorus 2]
We drew a map on your bedroom ceiling
No, I didn’t see the news
‘Cause we were somewhere else
In an alleyway
Drinking champagne

[Chorus 2]
‘Cause we were in Paris
Yes, we were somewhere else
My love, we were in Paris
Yes, we were somewhere else

General Information
ArtistTaylor Swift
AlbumMidnights
ReleasedOctober 21, 2022
Recorded2021-2022
StudiosRough Customer (Brooklyn)
Electric Lady (New York)
GenrePop
Length3:16
LabelRepublic Records
SongwritersTaylor Swift
Jack Antonoff
ProducersJack Antonoff
Taylor Swift
MIDNIGHTS CHRONOLOGY
Bigger Than The Whole SkyParisHigh Infidelity
Song Certification
"Gold" certification by the Recording Industry Association of America. Signifying 500,000 units sold in the United States of America.
Song Artwork
Taylor in Paris (2019)
Live Performance
Lyric Video
Official Audio