Daylight

Background

Taylor released Lover on August 23, 2019, through Republic Records. It is the first album she owns the masters to. She has described the album as a “love letter to love itself.” It explores the “full spectrum of love”, inspired by the connections she felt with her fans during her “reputation Stadium Tour” (2018). The track list of Lover consists of 18 songs, of which three were solely written by Taylor: “Lover“, “Cornelia Street“, and “Daylight”. All three songs were produced by Taylor and Jack Antonoff.

Taylor first sang the song live at the “City of Lover” one-day concert at the Olympia on September 9, 2019, in Paris, France. She performed a piano version of “Daylight”, mashing it up with “Red” (2012). The concert was filmed and later aired as a TV special on ABC on May 17, 2020. The performance of “Daylight” was released for digital download the following day, on May 18, 2020. She also performed the song during her SiriusXM “Hits1” set in August 2019. Taylor chose “Daylight” as the second surprise song for her show on June 24, 2023, in Minneapolis, while on her “The Eras Tour” (2023-2024). 

Lyrics

[Verse 1]
My love was as cruel as the cities I lived in
Everyone looked worse in the light
There are so many lines that I’ve crossed unforgiven
I’ll tell you the truth but never goodbye

[Chorus]
I don’t wanna look at anything else now that I saw you
I don’t wanna think of anything else now that I thought of you
I’ve been sleeping so long in a twenty year dark night
And now I see daylight
I only see daylight

[Verse 2]
Luck of the draw only draws the unlucky
And so I became the butt of the joke
I wounded the good and I trusted the wicked
Clearing the air, I breathed in the smoke
Maybe you ran with the wolves and refused to settle down
Maybe I’ve stormed out of every single room in this town
Threw out our cloaks and our daggers because it’s morning now
It’s brighter now, now

[Chorus]
I don’t wanna look at anything else now that I saw you (I can never look away)
I don’t wanna think of anything else now that I thought of you (Things will never be the same)
I’ve been sleeping so long in a twenty year dark night (Now I’m wide awake)
And now I see daylight (Daylight)
I only see daylight (Daylight)

[Post-Chorus]
I only see daylight
Daylight, daylight, daylight
I only see daylight
Daylight, daylight, daylight

[Bridge]
And I can still see it all in my mind
All of you, all of me intertwined
I once believed love would be black and white
But it’s golden (Golden)
And I can still see it all in my head
Back and forth from New York
Sneaking in your bed
I once believed love would be burning red
But it’s golden
Like daylight
Like daylight, like daylight
Daylight

[Chorus Variation]
I don’t wanna look at anything else now that I saw you
I could never look away
I don’t wanna think of anything else now that I thought of you
Things will never be the same
I’ve been sleeping so long in a twenty year dark night (Now I’m wide awake)
And now I see daylight (I see daylight)
I only see daylight
Daylight, daylight, daylight
I only see daylight
Daylight, daylight, daylight (And I can still see it all)
I only see daylight
Daylight, daylight, daylight (I can still see it all, back and forth from New York)
I only see daylight
Daylight, daylight, daylight (I once believed love would be burning red)

[Outro]
Like daylight
It’s golden
Like daylight
You gotta step into the daylight
And let it go
Just let it go
Let it go

[Spoken Outro]
“I want to be defined by the things that I love. Not the things I hate, not the things I’m afraid of, I’m afraid of, the things that haunt me in the middle of the night. I just think that…you are what you love.”