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Midnights by Taylor Swift is actually about Cleveland, Ohio (REVEALING THREAD‼️)
Track 16 is titled Paris. Cleveland is the Paris of the US Midwest. Not to mention this clear reference:
You may also know Paris as the city of lights. Well, Cleveland was actually the *first* city of lights. On what day, you ask? 🤯
That's a real fucking legacy, legacy (it was maroon)
Carnations you had thought were roses, that's us
It’s like snow on the beach, weird but fucking beautiful
Put on your headphones (home of rock n roll) and burn my city (repeated river fires)
The 1950’s shit they want from me
These lyrics are actually from the perspective of Lebron James and reference Cleveland public figures’ parody music video “Please Stay Lebron,” after the release of which he chose to leave the Cleveland Cavaliers and join the Miami Heat
www.youtube.com/watch?v=KVtqZgfFKgQ
The “love spiral” lyric has an additional hidden Cleveland meaning — it is a reference to the spiral-shaped planters we have in downtown
These lyrics from Karma are a reference to the Balloonfest 1986 disaster that resulted in multiple deaths, non-fatal injuries to horses, traffic accidents, and two lawsuits
Labyrinth is about being in love but fearing that it won’t last. This is remarkably similar to the song “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow” by Carole King (one of Taylor’s biggest songwriting inspirations), which Taylor performed in Cleveland on 10/30/21

The lyric “I’ll stare directly at the sun” from Anti-Hero is a reference to the famous Solstice Steps at Lakewood Park. Each year on the summer solstice, there is a large celebration that ends with everyone staring directly at the sun while it sets over the steps
In Anti-Hero, Taylor says that she feels like “everybody is a sexy baby.” Many have said that this is a reference to the show 30 Rock. 30 Rock is special to many Clevelanders because of the episode titled “Cleveland” (season 1 episode 30)
It’s almost like… she made him pay?
In Glitch, Taylor repeats the line “it's been 2,190 days of our love blackout.” 2,190 days is exactly 6 years, meaning she is talking about 2016. Many know 2016 as the year Donald Trump was elected, but Clevelanders know the much bigger historic event that happened that year
The opening lyric to Bejeweled is “Baby love, I think I’ve been a little too kind.” This is a reference to the recent Kindland campaign, that has had mixed reviews from Clevelanders
In Bejeweled, Taylor repeats the line “I polish up real nice.” Could this be a reference to Cleveland’s Polish population and cultural traditions?
In the Bejeweled music video, Taylor wears a cloak as a callback to the Willow music video. The Willow cloak is one of a few Taylor Swift artifacts housed at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland
thanks everyone for reading, shout out to @feministkilroy for the idea and collab, hope you all learned something new about the greatest city in the world @TheCLE
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Danie K @danie__k · Oct 29, 2022
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Brilliant thread.