Can I Ask You A Question…?
Are you ready to dive into this incredible song?! I have been consuming TS10 for months now and as I predicted when it first came out, the songs reveal more and more layers. This song was one of them for me. I was intrigued with the Out of the Woods intro, but after creating the one song work out, it hooked me.
My suggestion: Get your workout in by checking out the link below. Watch my breakdown of the song. Carefully read the lyrics below, and then contemplate a few more questions I ponder at the end of this post.
Question…? Workout
Breaking Down the Song: Question…? by Taylor Swift off the Midnights Album
Here is the crazy labyrinth of my mind breaking down the song Question…?
Can I ask you a Question…?
I’m going to break down the lyrics, style of the song, connections to Taylor’s other bodies of work and sprinkle in a few theories as well. I feel like looking at these parallels at a high level gives more context to understanding the song or the experiences that Taylor is going through, rather than take things line by line. Since Midnights is an album of sleepless nights throughout her career, then looking at the song connections allows us to better understand the history. So let’s dive in.
I like to write down all my thoughts on paper so I’m going to take you through the Labrynth of my mind as we follow the invisible string through this song. I used this for a tiktok I made for this so if you want to watch these in more bite size videos, definitely check it out.
The Style of the song
Let’s get into the biggest question of the song, the style of it. Which is very similar to the song How You Get the Girl off the album 1989. Both have similar interpretations of the narration of the song. Meaning, Taylor is the one telling the story or asking the questions, or she is being told or asked. Let’s pull that apart….
In Question, Taylor could be asking someone…a lover, a friend…. What that person did in that particular moment in question. Did you leave her house in the middle of the night, did you wish you put up more of a fight, it’s just a question? Which is truly a disarming way to probe. You’re not attacking them, just wondering in a way.
Or, it could be of Taylor or someone else asking that of her? Was Taylor kissed in a crowded room? Were Taylor’s friends making fun of her? There is definitely that ambiguity.
Similarly in the song, How You Get the Girl. One can ask the question: Is this Taylor telling a love interest here’s the blueprint on how to win me back. Or is she herself, telling us the steps she took to win back… the girl.
Yes, I know this brings in the question of Taylor’s sexuality, for both songs really. But as Taylor has neither confirmed nor denied this stance, I’m going to simply highlight the interpretation and possibility of it.
One final thought to the connection to How you Get the Girl is that both this song and Question brings up kissing – like kisses on cheeks, kissing in a crowded room, left her all alone and never told her why, leaving in the middle of the night.
Ellipsis
Moving on to a more straightforward connection is the sexy topic of punctuation. In this song title, Taylor uses an ellipsis which is defined as
a series of dots that indicates an intentional omission of a word, sentence, or whole section from a text without altering its original meaning.
It can also mean a hesitation or a trailing off in a train of thought. Taylor has used this in two other songs: …ready for it? And so it goes… both off reputation.
In the song …ready for it? Which also has an ellipsis and a question mark, she has the line every lover in comparison is a failure which ties back to does it feel like second best after that meteor strike?
So it goes… definitely has a few more. First, you have “all eyes on us” which connects to “a crowded room” . Next, you have “caught up in a moment, lipstick on your face” with “someone kiss you in a crowded room and every single one of your friends was laughing at you”. Moving on there is the line “I’m not a bad girl” which you have in Question…? “”Good girl, sad boy”. And lastly, “make your grey days clear” with “got swept away in the grey”.
Adding this on the end of the punctuation connection is the song ME! Which includes an exclamation point and that wraps up the songs Taylor has titled with these grammar pieces.
Out of the Woods, I remember
Here is the obvious one that most people see. The intro of Question starts with the line from Out of the Woods, I remember. Now, the song doesn’t give us many clues other than “screaming color” connecting to “a color I’ve searched for since” which then leads us back to Snow on the Beach how she searched for “aurora borealis green”, so we are going to look at the music video…
In the OOTW music video, Taylor is standing at a beach staring off into the ocean and the words “She Lost Him” appears on the screen. She then battles the elements of going through literal woods, chased by wolves, snow, falling into the ocean almost drowning, entangled by roots, and in the end she reaches out to her former self and it says: “ She lost him. But found herself and somehow that was everything’.
Now there are many themes here that Taylor has used before. Fairy tales with the big bad wolf in the woods. Her being hunted or trapped. The snow in this video gives major Snow on the Beach, even Elsa/ Frozen vibes. But let’s talk about the dress she wears.
This blue, flowy dress in the OOTWs music video, looks very similar to the dress she wears in the ME! Music video at the end. And while that dress begins flowing all of the colors, Brendan Urie is “painting her nights” perhaps “a color she’s searched for since” that also look like an aurora borealis…green.
More 1989 Connections
There are two more songs from 1989 that I feel connect to Question…?: Welcome to NY and Style.
In Welcome to NY, she says “ You can want who you want, boys and boys and girls and girls’ and it’s obviously about one of the biggest cities in the world. Which ties back to the “good girl, sad boy, big city, wrong choice’ line in Question…?
Now let’s talk about Style. Which has references to James Dean that some connect to the sad boy line in Question…? But the song also includes a conversation between Taylor and her lover about knowing that “you’ve been out and about with some other girl” but they go “round and round each time” and “crashing down”. That sounds very much like “ And what’s that, that I heard that you’re still with her” “I’m sure that’s what suitable and right…but tonight…” and crashing down could also sound like meteor strike.
More Reputation connections
We talked about the punctuation connections to reputation, but there are few more songs to examine.
Dancing with our Hands Tied. You have the lyrics asking the question “Can we dance through an avalanche?” Kind of that same seismic event as a meteor strike?
But then we also have “Kiss you as the lights went out, swaying at the room burned down” connecting it back to a kiss in a crowded room.
My favorite however is Delicate. The Question of “Did you leave her house in the middle of the night? “ is right there in the song when she talks about “ Echos of your footsteps down the stairs, stay here honey I don’t want to share”.
Lover connection
We went through the ME! Music video, let’s chat about the songs on the Lover album that connect to Question…? This song has an invisible string to three songs. It’s Nice to Have a Friend, where she talks about playing the game “20 questions, we tell the truth”. The Man and even the ME! Music video with it’s commentary on “gender roles”. And then Cornelia Street.
In Cornelia Street, Taylor sings “ we were in the back seat drunk on something stronger than the drinks in the bar” and Question…? Gives us “but you were on something”.
Final Thoughts…
Looking back in Taylor’s history, an unexpected kiss in a crowded room definitely lead to many sleepless nights with many questions. I think the blurriness that she conveys in this song is a way to interpret it in many different ways and I would love to hear your thoughts down below in the comments.
I didn’t get into the Lavendar Haze music video connection in this analysis, but it definitely makes an appearance, if you want to know more check out that video.
Check out my TikTok’s on this as I explain the parallels
Breaking Down Question…? from Taylor Swift Midnights Episode 1
Breaking Down Question…? from Taylor Swift Midnights Episode 2
Breaking Down Question…? from Taylor Swift Midnights Episode 3
Breaking Down Question…? from Taylor Swift Midnights Episode 3.1 (yes, I messed up recording)
Breaking Down Question…? from Taylor Swift Midnights Episode 4
Breaking Down Question…? from Taylor Swift Midnights Episode 5
Question… ? Lyrics
(I remember)
Good girl, sad boy
Big city, wrong choices
We had one thing going on
I swear that it was something
‘Cause I don’t remember who I was before you
Painted all my nights
A color I have searched for since
But one thing after another
Fuckin’ situations, circumstances
Miscommunications and I
Have to say
By the way
I just may like some explanations
Can I ask you a question?
Did you ever have someone kiss you in a crowded room
And every single one of your friends was making fun of you
But fifteen seconds later they were clapping too?
Then what did you do?
Did you leave her house in the middle of the night? Oh
Did you wish you’d put up more of a fight, oh
When she said it was too much?
Do you wish you could still touch her?
It’s just a question
Half-moon eyes, bad surprise
Did you realize out of time?
She was on your mind
With some dickhead guy
That you saw that night
But you were on something
It was one drink after another
Fuckin’ politics and gender roles
And you’re not sure and I don’t know
Got swept away in the gray
I just may like to have a conversation
Can I ask you a question?
Did you ever have someone kiss you in a crowded room
And every single one of your friends was making fun of you
But fifteen seconds later they were clapping too?
Then what did you do?
Did you leave her house in the middle of the night? Oh
Did you wish you’d put up more of a fight, oh
When she said it was too much?
Do you wish you could still touch her?
It’s just a question
Does it feel like everything’s just like second best after that meteor strike?
And what’s that that I heard, that you’re still with her?
That’s nice, I’m sure that’s what’s suitable
And right
But tonight
Can I ask you a question? (Can I ask you a question?)
Did you ever have someone kiss you in a crowded room? (In a crowded room)
And every single one of your friends was making fun of you (You, making fun of you)
But fifteen seconds later they were clapping too?
Then what did you do?
Did you leave her house in the middle of the night? Oh
Did you wish you’d put up more of a fight, oh
When she said it was too much?
Do you wish you could still touch her?
It’s just a question
Question…? Credits
Album: Midnights (2022)
Singer: Taylor Swift
Written By: Taylor Swift & Jack Antonoff
Length: 3 min 31 sec
Song Credits:
Vocals: Taylor Swift
Programming, Percussion, Juno6, Mellotron, Background Vocals: Jack Antonoff
Drums: Dominik Rivinius
Synths – Evan Smith
Drums & Percussion – Sean Hutchinson
Crowd Applause – Austin Swift, Rachel Antonoff, Dylan O’Brien, Jack Antonoff
Will this song be on the Eras Tour?
My predication, yes. And with the Out of the Woods intro, I would love to hear a mash up!
Interesting facts about the song?
Taylor revealed who was behind the crowd vocals on October 27: “Can I ask you a question… did you ever wonder who was responsible for those immaculate crowd vocals?” This included her brother Austin Swift, Jack’s sister Rachel, and Dylan O’Brien who started as HIM in the 10 minute short film of All Too Well
Is Question? about Harry Styles? Who is Question? About?
The answer doesn’t concern you. Sorry, but it’s just the truth. We aren’t in crowded rooms with Taylor when she accidentally kisses someone. Or have a camera on her or someone she’s with leaving a house in the middle of the night. Enjoy the rich lyrics. Connect your own personal experiences to her songs. And celebrate her song writing craft.
xo,
Kellie
More workouts for your viewing pleasure can be found here.
Can I ask you a question…? Do you want to see what I packed to a wedding in Lake Como, Italy?
Watch my Midnights Rankings video.
