What Is Taylor Swift's "The Great War" About?

Here's the hidden meaning in the back of Taylor Swift's “The Great War,” the first of seven bonus tracks on “Midnights (3am Edition).”

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“Surprise! I call to mind 'Midnights' as a complete concept album, with the ones 13 songs forming a full picture of the intensities of that mystifying, mad hour,” Swift stated. “However! There had been other songs we wrote on our adventure to find that magic 13.”

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New songs in the extended, 20-track “Midnights” discography integrated “The Great War,” “Bigger Than the Whole Sky,” “Paris,” “High Infidelity,” “Glitch,” and “Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve.” And in conventional Taylor Swift type, they are loaded with hidden meanings.

“Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve,” for example, allegedly alludes to the relationship Tayor had with John Mayer when she was 19, while others assume "Midnight Rain" is in referencing to Taylor's short-lived relationship with Tom Hiddleston.

However, many songs on the album don’t reference someone in particular but are still riddled with symbolism. Here's the meaning at the back of “The Great War,” the first of 7 bonus tracks on “Midnights (3am Edition).”

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What do “The Great War” lyrics imply in Taylor Swift’s “Midnights (3am Edition)”?

In a music paying homage to Swift’s “folklore” and “evermore” days, “The Great War” combines vibrant, war-like imagery with an upbeat pace. The track starts via painting a picture of Swift, exhausted from fighting for a difficult dating.

“My knuckles were bruised like violets / Sucker-punching walls, cursed you as I sleep-talked / Spineless in my tomb of silence / Tore your banners down, took the combat underground / And maybe it was once egos swinging / Maybe it used to be her / Flashes of the fight come back to me in a blur.”

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However, when we succeed in the refrain, it becomes clear that despite the (hypothetical) violence and hardship persisted all over the courting, it would be worth it if they could succeed in the other aspect. As the song continues, the matter of believe (or lack thereof), turns into a key factor.

Swift is haunted through previous relationships and projecting her insecurities onto her spouse, which she issues out when she sings:

“And maybe it's the previous that is speaking / Screaming from a crypt / Telling me to punish you for belongings you never did / So I justified it.”

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The courting comes to a head at the song’s bridge. Swift nearly loses her love perpetually, evaluating her worn-down spouse to a "broken and blue" soldier. When she realizes the toll her movements have taken, she calls off her “troops” and the war between them is over.

“The Great War” ends on a hopeful word. After countless battles, Swift has waved the white flag and is ready to make peace. Now that the worst is over, she suggests the combating only made them more potent, and now they may be able to transfer ahead — together.

“I vowed I might all the time be yours / 'Cause we survived the Great War.”

Listen to Swift’s tenth studio album "Midnights," out now.

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