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You're Losing Me (From The Vault)

Bonus Track | Midnights (The Late Night Edition) [2023]

“You’re Losing Me (From The Vault)” is track nineteen on The Late Night Edition of Taylor’s tenth studio album, Midnights (2022). It was released through Republic Records on May 26, 2023. The ballad is driven by beats similar to a heart pulse, while its lyrics describe the imminent dissolution of a long-term romantic relationship due to the diminishing understanding between the partners.

Background and Release

Taylor released her tenth studio album, Midnights, on October 21, 2022, to wide critical and commercial success. Upon release, the album was available as a standard edition of 13 songs, a CD-exclusive deluxe edition containing the bonus track “Hits Different“, and a digital-exclusive 3am Edition with seven additional songs.

On May 24, 2023, while on her sixth headlining concert tour, “The Eras Tour” (2023), Taylor announced two more editions of Midnights: the digital-exclusive The Til Dawn Edition, and the CD-exclusive The Late Night Edition containing the new bonus track “You’re Losing Me”:

«For those of you going to the East Rutherford shows: We will have a new special edition CD available ONLY on site starting at 12:30pm ET on Friday! This CD will have a never before heard Midnights vault track called 'You’re Losing Me'!»

Taylor Swift

“You’re Losing Me” became a “ravenously anticipated” track according to Variety, which reported that “fans were so eager to get their hands” on the CD, causing queues at the stadium a day before the opening of the merchandise store on May 26. Some concert attendees, after purchasing the CD, went back to their cars and uploaded the track online, which was then widely shared on social media. The Late Night Edition was subsequently sold as digital albums on Taylor’s webstore and following concert dates.

Lyrical Theme

Subtitled as “From the Vault”, “You’re Losing Me” is a song written by Taylor and Jack Antonoff for Midnights that did not make it on the album’s standard or deluxe tracklist. According to an Instagram story by Jack, he and Taylor co-wrote and recorded the song on December 5, 2021, during the same time frame in which they created the majority of the album together:

«Written and recorded at home on 12/5/21 right after Taylor ate these raisins.»

Jack Antonoff

The song’s lyrics are autobiographical in nature, describing the “hopeless” dissolution of a relationship. The overarching message is that the narrator has put her everything into fighting for the relationship, but she doesn’t feel that effort is returned anymore. The main lyrical motif is a word play on the phrase “we’re losing him/her” generally used in emergency departments.

The lyrics have been interpreted to be about the end of Taylor’s six-year romantic relationship with English actor Joe Alwyn, which was a subject of widespread media coverage in April 2023. In the song’s bridge, Taylor suggests that the relationship could have led to marriage, making a reference to “Lavender Haze” (2022), the opening track of Midnights, where the lyrics talked about avoiding talking about marriage in order to enjoy “the honeymoon phase”. Here, Taylor describes herself as an undesirable potential wife and a “pathological people pleaser”, which is considered to be a reference to “Anti-Hero” (2022), a song that discusses Taylor’s insecurities.

Live Performances

Taylor first performed “You’re Losing Me” during her sixth headlining concert tour, “The Eras Tour” (2023-2024). It was the second surprise song during her show on February 16, 2024, in Melbourne (Australia). She introduced the song by saying:

«Melbourne, you’ve just been the best that you could possibly be. I’ve never played this song live before. It’s one of my favorites.»

Taylor Swift

On June 14, 2024, she played an acoustic mashup of “You’re Losing Me” with “The Great War” in Liverpool.

Critical Reception

In a rave review of the song, Steffanee Wang of Nylon praised the portrayal of heartbreak and sorrow without involving “mic drop moments” or “accusations”, the frank tone of its confessional lyrics, the song structure, and Taylor’s “palpable” restraint in details. Wang commented that “You’re Losing Me” could be Taylor’s “most devastating” song, eclipsing “All Too Well” (2012). Writing for Bustle, Stephanie Topacio Long opined that the song is “about a relationship going from critically wounded to fatally damaged.” Billboard journalist Ashley Iasimone called “You’re Losing Me” an “emotionally-charged” ballad that illustrates the “painful, slow ending of a longterm relationship.” Variety critic Chris Willman appreciated Taylor’s decision to release the song as a bonus track, as it would have barely fit on the standard Midnights in his opinion, as the album leans towards an upbeat, sensual style of production.

Lyrics

[Verse 1]
You say, “I don’t understand”
And I say, “I know you don’t”
We thought a cure would come through in time
Now, I fear it won’t
Remember looking at this room
We loved it ’cause of the light
Now, I just sit in the dark and wonder if it’s time

[Pre-Chorus 1]
Do I throw out everything we built or keep it?
I’m getting tired, even for a phoenix
Always rising from the ashes
Mending all her gashes
You might just have dealt the final blow

[Chorus]
Stop, you’re losing me
Stop, you’re losing me
Stop, you’re losing me
I can’t find a pulse
My heart won’t start anymore for you
‘Cause you’re losing me

[Verse 2]
Every morning I glared at you with storms in my eyes
How can you say that you love someone you can’t tell has died?
I sent you signals and bit my nails down to the quick
My face was gray, but you wouldn’t admit that we were sick

[Pre-Chorus 2]
And the air is thick with loss and indecision
I know my pain is such an imposition
Now, you’re running down the hallway
And you know what they all say,
“You don’t know what you got until it’s gone”

[Chorus]
Stop, you’re losing me
Stop, you’re losing me
Stop, you’re losing me
I can’t find a pulse
My heart won’t start anymore for you
‘Cause you’re losing me

[Post-Chorus]
‘Cause you’re losing me
Stop, ’cause you’re losing me
My heart won’t start anymore (Stop, ’cause you’re losing me)
My heart won’t start anymore (Stop, ’cause you’re losing me)

[Bridge]
How long could we be a sad song
‘Til we were too far gone to bring back to life?
I gave you all my best me’s, my endless empathy
And all I did was bleed
As I tried to be the bravest soldier fighting in only your army
Front lines, don’t you ignore me
I’m the best thing at this party (You’re losing me)
And I wouldn’t marry me either
A pathological people-pleaser
But I only wanted you to see her
And I’m fading, thinking,
“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”

[Outro]
You’re losing me
Stop (Stop, stop)
You’re losing me
Stop (Stop, stop)
You’re losing me
I can’t find a pulse
My heart won’t start anymore