Songfacts®:

• Taylor Swift's Midnights album is a collection of nocturnal ruminations as the singer struggles to sleep. Some of them find her contemplating past relationships as she reflects on why they went south. On "Maroon," Swift blames the breakup on an unspecified, unresolved issue; on "Bejeweled" she points the finger at her boyfriend for taking her for granted. However, on "Midnight Rain" Swift admits to being the guilty party.
• He wanted it comfortable, I wanted that pain
  He wanted a bride, I was making my own name
  Chasing that fame, he stayed the same
  All of me changed like midnight rain
  
  Her romantic partner wanted to settle down, but Swift wanted to pursue her career.
  
  I broke his heart 'cause he was nice
  He was sunshine, I was midnight rain
  
  Their relationship didn't work out because they had opposite goals. Her boyfriend wanted a comfy romance with no drama. Swift was after something more exciting while she concentrated on her music. Eventually, her professional ambition and dedication to her craft forestalled their union.
• Which of Swift's ex flames is she singing about? Some Swifties suggest she's referring to British actor Tom Hiddleston, whom she dated over the summer of 2016.
  
  A slow-motion, love potion
  Jumping off things in the ocean
  
  The reference to "jumping off things in the ocean" could be about the viral photos of the loved-up pair in the sea while celebrating Independence Day.
• At the start of the song there is a distorted, pitched-down voice that then acts as a call-and-response partner to Swift on the chorus. It turns out the mysterious voice belongs to Swift herself.
• Swift co-wrote and co-produced the song with her longtime collaborator, Jack Antonoff. The American musician and producer also played all the musical instruments (drums, percussion, and synthesizer).
• This is the only track on the album that features the word "midnight" in the title. The last few lines also quote the record's name.
  
  And I never think of him
  Except on midnights like this
  Midnights like this, midnights like this
• Midnights was streamed worldwide 184,695,609 times on its first day, breaking the record of Drake's Certified Lover Boy that had 153,441,565 streams in its first 24 hours.
• In the US, Midnights debuted at #1 on the albums chart with 1.58 million copies sold. It was the biggest week for any album since Adele's 25 sold a mammoth 3.38 million copies in its first seven days of release in 2015.