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Forever & Always
"Forever & Always" is a song written and recorded by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift for her second studio album, Fearless (2008). Inspired by her relationship with Joe Jonas in 2008, the lyrics are about an abrupt breakup that leaves the narrator angered and confused. Produced by Swift and Nathan Chapman, "Forever & Always" is a country pop and pop rock song instrumented by guitars and fiddles. It was the last track recorded for Fearless, being added to the album shortly before it was mastered and published. A "Piano Version" was released as part of the Fearless: Platinum Edition reissue. Music critics found the production of "Forever & Always" catchy and highlighted the tumultuous emotions in Swift's vocals, but a few found the track generic. Journalists have commented that the song became the blueprint for Swift's songwriting inspired by her high-profile romantic relationships in her later career. Swift performed "Forever & Always" at the 2009 Country Music Association Awards and on her Fearless Tour (2009–2010). The track peaked at number 34 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number 32 on the Canadian Hot 100, and it was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. After a 2019 dispute regarding the ownership of Swift's back catalog, she re-recorded the song as "Forever & Always (Taylor's Version)" for her 2021 re-recorded album Fearless (Taylor's Version). The re-recorded song peaked at number 41 on the Billboard Global 200 and charted in Australia, Canada, Singapore, and the United States. BackgroundTaylor Swift wrote songs for her second studio album, Fearless, while touring as an opening act for other country musicians to promote her debut album Taylor Swift during 2007–2008, when she was 17–18 years old.[1][2] Continuing the romantic themes of her first album, Swift wrote songs about love and personal experiences from the perspective of a teenage girl to ensure her fans could relate to Fearless; she said that nearly every album track had a real-life "face" that she associated with it.[3] The end product is a collection of songs about the challenges of love told from a teenage girl's perspectives.[4] Production and release"Forever & Always" was the last song that Swift wrote for Fearless. She pleaded with Big Machine Records' head Scott Borchetta to let her include the track on the album a day before the track list finalized[5] because it was about "something really, really dramatic and crazy" that needed to be addressed via music, as she told Rolling Stone.[6] The production was rushed at the last minute because Swift wrote songs as life events happened around her; "I can write something, call up my producer, we can get in the studio, put a rush on it, get an overnight mix."[6] Recording for "Forever & Always" completed in October 2008, one day before Fearless was mastered and published.[5][7] Swift and Nathan Chapman produced the track, which was recorded and mixed by Chad Carlson at Starstruck Studio in Nashville.[8] Big Machine released Fearless on November 11, 2008; "Forever & Always" is track number 11.[9] A "Piano Version" of "Forever & Always" was released as part of the Platinum Edition reissue of Fearless on October 26, 2009.[10] Supported by this "Piano Version", the track peaked at number 34 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart dated November 5, 2009.[11][12] It was one of Swift's nine songs on the Hot 100 that week, making her the first female artist to have nine chart entries at the same time.[13] The Recording Industry Association of America certified the song platinum for surpassing one million units based on sales and streaming.[14] The song peaked at number 37 on the Canadian Hot 100[15] and was certified gold in Australia.[16] Swift left Big Machine and signed a new contract with Republic Records in 2018.[17] She began re-recording her first six studio albums that had been released under Big Machine in November 2020; this decision followed a 2019 dispute between Swift and the talent manager Scooter Braun, who acquired Big Machine Records and the masters of Swift's albums.[18][19] Re-recording them would enable her to have full licensing rights of her songs for commercial use.[17] The re-recordings of "Forever & Always" and its "Piano Version", both subtitled "Taylor's Version", were released as part of Fearless's re-recording, Fearless (Taylor's Version).[20] Republic Records released Fearless (Taylor's Version) on April 9, 2021.[21] Both the re-recorded versions were produced by Swift and Christopher Rowe, and they were recorded by David Payne at Black Bird and Prime Recording Studios in Nashville. Rowe recorded Swift's lead vocals at her home studio in London, and Serban Ghenea mixed the tracks at MixStar Studios in Virginia Beach, Virginia.[22] "Forever & Always (Taylor's Version)" charted in Australia (45),[23] Canada (37),[15] Singapore (28), and the United States (65).[11] It peaked at number 41 on the Billboard Global 200 chart.[24] Writing and lyrics Swift was inspired to write "Forever & Always" by her breakup with the singer Joe Jonas, whom she dated from July to October 2008.[25] Appearing on The Ellen DeGeneres Show to promote Fearless in November 2008, Swift said that Jonas broke up with her "over the phone in 25 seconds".[7] Feeling that she "owed it" to her fans to be open about this breakup, Swift publicized it via press interviews, on radio, and on her Myspace.[26][27] Jonas addressed the song in a 2009 issue of Seventeen magazine: "It's flattering. It's always nice to hear their side of the story."[28] Swift, in a May 2019 appearance on the Ellen show, recalled that "[putting] Joe Jonas on blast" in the past was the "most rebellious thing" she did as a teenager, admitting that her outburst was "too much".[7][25] The lyrics of "Forever & Always" channel Swift's anger, sadness, and frustration in the immediate aftermath of the breakup.[7] She titled the track as a sarcastic turn of the phrase "forever and always":[29] although the ex-boyfriend in the lyrics promised to stay with Swift's narrator forever, he unceremoniously broke up with her without proper explanations.[30][31] This leaves the narrator wondering if it was because of something she did.[5] Angered, she calls out the ex-boyfriend's immature behaviors, such as not calling her[30] and running and hiding "like a scared little boy" when she told him something too direct.[32][33] The lyrics use rain imagery to depict feelings of betrayal ("It rains in your bedroom, everything is wrong/ It rains when you're here and it rains when you're gone"),[34][35] subverting its usage as a romantic trope in Swift's other songs.[7][36] In the liner notes of Fearless, Swift includes two "secret messages" for "Forever & Always" ("If you play these games, we're both going to lose") and its "Piano Version" ("Still miss who I thought he was").[37][38][a] Annie Zaleski describes the tone of the track as "raw-nerve".[7] Whereas Fearless features prominent influences from fairy tales,[35] the heartache portrayed in "Forever & Always" is rooted in real-life experiences and thus embodies a more realistic outlook on love.[37][40] Gigwise's Kelsey Barnes opined that the track represents a universal experience: a first-time heartbreak that was life-changing. Barnes added that she was fascinated by Swift's young age when she went through such a devastating loss.[37] Lizzie Widdicombe of The New Yorker described the lyrics as "wistful" and "theatrically sad",[35] and Callie Ahlgrim of Business Insider highlighted how the track shows Swift "practically [...] pacing around her bedroom", pondering over what went wrong.[41] MusicAt 3 minutes and 45 seconds long,[8] "Forever & Always" is a country pop[42] and pop rock song that features guitars and fiddles.[37][43] Zaleski calls it an "emo-country tune".[7] Swift said that the music channeled her real-time emotions: the track begins with what Swift described as "this pretty melody that's easy to sing along with", and it ends with her "basically screaming it" to reflect her anger.[5] Tom Gardner of the Associated Press felt that the track showcased her "sweet unassuming voice [taking] on an edge".[44] The arrangement of "Forever & Always (Taylor's Version)" is the same as the original's, but the production has a few differences: the rattle of the hi-hats is clearer[45] and the fade-out in the outro is faster.[46] Pitchfork's Dani Blum wrote that the vocals on "Taylor's Version" are "subdued but more full", suggesting sorrow and acceptance.[47] The "Piano Version", at 4 minutes and 27 seconds long,[48] is instrumented by piano and cello.[9] John Moser of The Morning Call described the sound of this version as "piano rock" that resembled the styles of the Fray and Jack's Mannequin.[49] For Barnes, this slower and plaintive piano production adds a new layer to the narrative: after expressing an angry outburst, Swift spent time to reflect on her pain and disbelief, bringing forth a more "heartbreaking" atmosphere.[37] According to the professor in commercial music Michael A. Lee, the "Taylor's Version" re-recording features Swift's mature vocals and an enhanced piano production, recorded with a fuller range of frequencies. These changes make the piano sound more like a grand piano rather than an "upright, bordering on honky-tonk" one as in the original.[46] Critical receptionSeveral reviews of "Forever & Always" commented on its production. Jim Farber of the New York Daily News selected it as one of the album's catchiest tracks that "soar",[50] and Jane Song of Paste deemed it a "perfect pencil-drumming song".[51] The musicologist James E. Perone similarly complimented the radio-friendly production but felt that it was too generic and "market-oriented" for a singer-songwriter like Swift.[30] Blum selected the track as the album's best, highlighting the tumultuous emotions in Swift's vocals.[47] Moser and Billboard's Lisa Brown preferred the "Piano Version" to the original; the former deemed it the most interesting track of the Platinum Edition and praised Swift's vocals that suggested she could deliver more than just "teenage love songs",[49] while the latter found it more mature and cathartic.[52] Writing for The A.V. Club, Mark Kate Carr complimented the original as a "certified banger" and the "Piano Version" for its "lovely arrangement" that allows for a brooding listening experience.[42] Reviewing the re-recording "Taylor's Version", Stereogum's Tom Breihan opined that Swift's matured vocals added a refreshing perspective to a song about teenage feelings.[53] Other reviews focused on the lyricism. Several critics contended that "Forever & Always" became a blueprint for Swift's songwriting about her failed relationships that received media coverage.[40][42][43][54] Billboard's Jennifer Keishin Armstrong regarded the track as Swift's first "tabloid-bating kiss-off" that still managed to preserve Swift's image as an unassuming "suburban girl" who happened to be talented at songwriting.[40] Hazel Cills of Pitchfork focused on the storytelling aspect of "Forever & Always": by "stacking minute summaries of a moment on top of each other", the track feels like a mini-story with a storyboard of successive imagery.[33] Carr and NME's Hannah Mylrea said that the song contains some strong lyrics; the former thought that they contain a sophistication,[42] and the latter was impressed by Swift's ability to "evoke the crushing feeling of a crumbling relationship in under four minutes".[55] Vulture's Nate Jones placed the track at number 26 on his ranking of Swift's 245 songs up until April 2024; he praised the "colloquial" vocal delivery and contended that although the rain imagery does not make sense, it works "on an instinctual level".[43] Live performances Swift first performed "Forever & Always" at the 2009 Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve, held on December 31, 2008, in New York City. She performed the song as part of a medley with "Picture to Burn", "Love Story", and "Change".[56] She performed "Forever & Always" again in a January 2009 episode of Saturday Night Live[57] and the 2009 Country Music Association Awards in November,[58] and she included it in the set lists of her concerts during multiple festivals that she headlined in 2009, including the Florida Strawberry Festival in February,[59] the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo in March,[60] and Craven Country Jamboree in July.[61] "Forever & Always" was part of the regular set list of Swift's first headlining concert tour, the Fearless Tour (2009–2010).[62] Before the performance, the stage screened a video of Swift's mock interview with Hoda Kotb; Kotb asked why men should date Swift if she was going to write songs to call them out, to which Swift replied that they "shouldn't do bad things".[62] After the mock interview, Swift appeared onstage in a red dress to sing the song. Midway through the number, she threw an armchair down the stairs onstage.[63][64] Swift occasionally performed "Forever & Always" on her later concert tours. She sang it at the March 22, 2013, show in Columbia, South Carolina, as part of the Red Tour,[65] and the September 15, 2018, show in Indianapolis, Indiana, as part of the Reputation Stadium Tour.[66] On the Eras Tour (2023–2024), she performed "Forever & Always" twice: at the May 13, 2023, show in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,[67] and as part of a piano mashup with her 2022 song "Maroon" at the February 26, 2024, show in Sydney, Australia.[68] Personnel"Forever & Always" (2008)[8]
"Forever & Always (Taylor's Version)" (2021)[22]
Charts
Certifications
NoteReferences
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