Taylor Swift’s Midnights Album Decoded: All the Easter Eggs

Taylor Swift first discovered the phrase “lavender haze,” the name of her opening track, while watching Mad Men. As the singer recalled in an Oct. 7 Instagram video, she soon learned “it’s a common phrase used in the ‘50s where they would just describe being in love.”

“Like, if you were in the lavender haze, then that meant you were in that all-encompassing love glow,” she explained. “And I thought that was really beautiful.” Swift added, “I guess, theoretically, when you’re in the lavender haze, you’ll do anything to stay there and not let people bring you down off that cloud.”

Swift went on to reference her and Joe Alwyn‘s six-year romance. “We’ve had to dodge weird rumors, tabloid stuff and we just ignore it,” she noted. “And so this song is sort of about the act of ignoring that stuff to protect the real stuff.”

In one lyric on the track, Swift directly references rumors about the couple’s relationship status. “All they keep asking me,” she sings, “Is if I’m gonna be your bride / The only kinda girl they see / Is a one-night or a wife.”

Fun fact: “Lavender Haze” was co-written by Swift’s friend, actress Zoë Kravitz.