The closing track on reputation uses a New Year’s party as a metaphor to discuss holding on to people and memories from both good and bad times. Taylor recognizes that when the ‘parties’ in her life are over and the ‘new year’ begins, such memories are all she will have left to hold on to and learn from. She relates a lasting love to someone who shares a midnight kiss with you on New Year’s, but who still stays with you the next morning for the aftermath of the party and begins the new year together with you.

Musically, the song is reminiscent of Taylor’s older tracks, with sparse production and simply guitar and piano as backing. Contrasting many prior songs on the album where Taylor takes shots at various people, she creates a more mature image here–thankful for her past and ready to ‘clean up’ and move on in the future.