Fans who attended Taylor Swift’s MetLife Stadium concert on May 26 had the chance to buy a special version of her Midnights CD, which included a never-before-heard song called “You’re Losing Me.” The lyrics tell the story of someone falling out of love and trying to will their partner to fight for them. It’s unclear whether this song was written when Midnights was originally released, or if Taylor penned it after her breakup from Joe Alwyn earlier this year.
However, the lyrics definitely appear to be autobiographical, and many fans are certain that the song is Taylor’s devastating breakup anthem. “Stop, you’re losing me,” she sings in the chorus. “I can’t find a pulse. My heart won’t start for you anymore.” The singer’s actual heartbeat is sampled in the background of the track, which is something she also did on the 2014 song “Wildest Dreams.”
Perhaps the most gut-wrenching part of the song, though, is the bridge, where Taylor hints that the person in the song didn’t want to tie the knot. “I wouldn’t marry me either,” she sings. “A pathological people pleaser, who only wanted you to see her, and I’m fading, thinking, ‘Do something, babe, say something.'”
The beginning of the song immediately cuts deep, too. “You say, ‘I don’t understand’ and I say, ‘I know you don’t,'” Taylor begins. “We thought a cure would come in time, now, I fear it won’t. Remember lookin’ at this room, we loved it cause of the light. Now, I just sit in the dark and wonder if it’s time.”
Taylor and Joe were together for more than six years before their shocking split. He was the subject of multiple love songs on the original version of Midnights, including “Lavender Haze,” “Snow On The Beach,” “Mastermind” and “Sweet Nothing,” which the two wrote together. The album was inspired by sleepless nights throughout Taylor’s entire life, though, so several of the songs weren’t necessarily written about where things currently stand for her (example: “Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve,” which was written about her 2009 relationship with John Mayer).
Because Taylor has been adamant that she wants her music to do the talking, she likely will never clarify whether or not the song was written pre or post-Joe breakup. Either way, she appears to have moved on from the split, as she’s been spending time with Matty Healy in recent weeks.