Cat lady Zoë Kravitz has two writing credits on cat lady Taylor Swift's Midnights
The feline-friendly duo were also joined in the studio by Joe Alwyn and Jack Antonoff
Beauty, grace, talent, and a well-documented passion for animals of the feline variety—what better unifying qualities in a songwriting team? The track listing for Taylor Swift’s new album Midnights has been revealed, and Catwoman herself Zoë Kravitz is credited as a writer on two different songs.
Per the list, Kravitz contributed to the album’s opening track, “Lavender Haze,” and the eleventh track, “Karma.” On both tracks, Kravitz and Swift are also joined by Swift’s frequent collaborator Jack Antonoff. Antonoff co-wrote every track on Midnights save two: “Vigilante Shit,” which Swift wrote herself, and “Sweet Nothing,” which Swift wrote with her partner, the actor Joe Alwyn. On the official track listing, Alwyn uses his pen name William Bowery—Alwyn also contributed to Swift’s 2020 albums folklore and evermore.
In a video shared to social media on October 7, Swift elucidated some of her thought process behind “Lavender Haze,” including the well-loved TV show that inspired the track’s dreamy title.
“I happened upon the phrase ‘Lavender Haze’ when I was watching Mad Men,” Swift explains. “I looked it up because I thought it sounded cool, and it turns out that it’s a common phrase used in the ’50s where they would describe being in love. If you were in the lavender haze, then that meant that you were in that all-encompassing love glow, and I thought that was really beautiful.”
Continuing to discuss the track, Swift touches on her six-year relationship with Alwyn. Swift and Alwyn have been exceedingly discreet in their courtship; as Swift puts it: “If the world finds out that you’re in love with somebody, they’re going to weigh in on it.”
“We’ve had to dodge weird rumors, tabloid stuff, and we just ignore it,” she adds. “This song is sort of about the act of ignoring that stuff to protect the real stuff.”
Midnights is out on October 21—per Ms. Swift herself, at “midnight sharp.” Read our list of underrated Taylor Swift songs to prepare for the album here.