Taylor Swift Hid A “Lavender Haze” Lyrics Easter Egg In A 2019 Interview

There’s a reason why Swifties are better investigators than the CIA. Taylor Swift is a pro at leaving easter eggs in literally everything she does, from music videos to interviews, giving clues about what’s to come, sometimes even years in advance. In a 2019 video for British Vogue that Bustle randomly rediscovered, Swift hinted at lyrics from her single “Lavender Haze,” which wouldn’t be released until late 2022 as the opening track to her 10th studio album Midnights.

In the video, editor-in-chief Edward Enninful asked her what advice she had for young women who were trying to “make it” in the music industry. Swift replied: “I would say it’s important to know that you are damned if you do and you’re damned if you don’t.” This is eerily similar to the then-yet-to-be-released chorus of “Lavender Haze,” where she spins the common phrase and sings, “I’m damned if I do give a damn what people say.”

Swift went on to explain her reasoning for that advice, saying that woman will always face criticism no matter what decisions they make in life. “There is a negative connotation or a ridiculous accusation or a rude stereotype hurled at a woman for doing anything, or not doing anything,” she said. “So focus on your idea of right and wrong, your idea of who you should be, your idea of what’s cool, not everyone else’s because it’s never all gonna match up.”

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“Lavender Haze” also touches on that sentiment, rejecting the stereotypical expectation of marriage and family placed on women, but adds more specificity. For Swift, rejecting these norms would be in response to constant engagement and marriage rumors with her longtime boyfriend Joe Alwyn. “All they keep asking me is if I’m gonna be your bride,” she sings in the second verse. “The only kind of girl they see is a one night or a wife.”

When announcing “Lavender Haze” to the world before the release of Midnights, Swift explained that she was inspired to write it after hearing the phrase on Mad Men and finding out what it meant. “If you were in the lavender haze, then that meant you were in that all-encompassing love glow, and I thought that was really beautiful,” she said. She extended the metaphor to her own relationship, using their “lavender haze” to protect them from whatever society throws their way, whether it be nasty rumors or unfair life expectations.

“Theoretically, when you’re in the ‘lavender haze,’ you’ll do anything to stay there, and not let people bring you down off of that cloud,” she said. “Like my relationship for six years we’ve had to dodge weird rumors, tabloid stuff, and we just ignore it. So this song is about the act of ignoring that stuff to protect the real stuff.”