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Forever & Always

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This article is about the Taylor Swift song. For other uses, see Forever and Always (disambiguation).

"Forever & Always" is a song written and recorded by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift for her second studio album, Fearless (2008). Swift was inspired to write the song by her short-lived relationship with Joe Jonas in 2008. Produced by Swift and Nathan Chapman, "Forever & Always" is a country pop and pop rock song with lyrics about a troubled relationship with an ex-boyfriend. Music critics found the song catchy but generic, and they commented that it set the precedent to Swift's songwriting about her highly publicized personal life on subsequent albums.

"Forever & Always"
Song by Taylor Swift
from the album Fearless
ReleasedNovember 11, 2008 (2008-11-11)
RecordedOctober 2008
Genre
Length3:46
Label
Songwriter(s)Taylor Swift
Producer(s)
"Forever & Always (Taylor's Version)"
Song by Taylor Swift
from the album Fearless (Taylor's Version)
ReleasedApril 9, 2021 (2021-04-09)
Length3:46
LabelRepublic
Songwriter(s)Taylor Swift
Producer(s)
Lyric video
"Forever & Always (Taylor's Version)" on YouTube

Swift performed "Forever & Always" at the 2009 Country Music Association Awards and on her Fearless Tour. After Fearless was released, the track peaked at number 34 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number 32 on the Canadian Hot 100. 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). It peaked at number 41 on the Billboard Global 200 and reached the charts of Australia, Canada, Singapore, and the U.S.

Background and writing

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Taylor Swift wrote songs for her second studio album, Fearless, while touring as an opening act for other country musicians to promote her self-titled debut studio album 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. To this extent, Swift said that nearly every album track had a "face" that she associated with it.[3]

 
Swift's breakup with Joe Jonas (pictured) inspired "Forever & Always".

"Forever & Always" was the last song that Swift wrote for Fearless, and she pleaded with Scott Borchetta, the president of her then-label Big Machine Records, to let her include it on the album a day before the track list finalized.[4] She told Rolling Stone that the track addressed "something really, really dramatic and crazy" and she "[needed] to address it in the form of music".[5] Explaining on the last-minute production, she said that it was because she "[wrote songs] as life happens to [her]"; "I can write something, call up my producer, we can get in the studio, put a rush on it, get an overnight mix."[5] Swift recorded "Forever & Always" with the producer Nathan Chapman in October 2008, and Chad Carlson recorded and mixed it at Starstruck Studio in Nashville.[4][6]

During promotion of Fearless, Swift confirmed on social media and television interviews that she was inspired to write "Forever & Always" by her breakup with the singer Joe Jonas, whom she briefly dated from July to October 2008.[7] On The Ellen DeGeneres Show, she described him as "the boy who broke up with me over the phone in 25 seconds when I was 18".[8] She told MTV News that she "owed it" to her fans to address her personal life through music.[9] 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."[10] In May 2019, Swift appeared on the Ellen show and recalled that "[putting] Joe Jonas on blast" in the past was the "most rebellious thing" she did as a teenager.[7]

Release

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"Forever & Always" was released as an album cut on Fearless, on November 11, 2008, by Big Machine Records.[11] A "Piano Version" was included on the track list for Fearless: Platinum Edition, released on October 26, 2009.[12] "Forever & Always" peaked at number 34 on the US Billboard Hot 100 on the chart dated November 5, 2009, supported by the "Piano Version".[13] 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 simultaneously.[14] In July 2018, the Recording Industry Association of America certified the song platinum for surpassing one million units based on sales and streaming.[15] In Canada, the song peaked at number 37 on the Canadian Hot 100.[16]

After signing a new contract with Republic Records, Swift began re-recording her first six studio albums in November 2020.[17] The decision followed a 2019 dispute between Swift and the talent manager Scooter Braun, who acquired Big Machine Records, including the masters of Swift's albums which the label had released.[18][19] By re-recording the albums, Swift had full ownership of the new masters, which enabled her to encourage licensing of her re-recorded songs for commercial use in hopes of substituting the Big Machine-owned masters.[20]

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).[21] Republic Records released Fearless (Taylor's Version) on April 9, 2021.[22] 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.[23] "Forever & Always (Taylor's Version)" charted in Australia (45), Canada (37), Singapore (28), and the U.S. (65). It peaked at number 41 on the Billboard Global 200 chart.[24]

Composition and critical reception

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"Forever & Always" is 3 minutes and 46 seconds long.[6] It is a country pop[25] and pop rock song that features guitars and fiddles.[26] Channeling her feelings of rejection after the breakup, 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 because [she's] so mad".[4] Tom Gardner of the Associated Press felt that the track showcased Swift's "sweet unassuming voice [taking] on an edge".[27]

Swift said that the lyrics were a sarcastic turn of the phrase "forever and always",[28] and the track is about a troubled relationship with an ex-boyfriend, who promised the narrator (Swift's character) that he would be there with her forever.[29] The boyfriend is depicted as immature who "hasn't called"[29] and leaves the narrator wondering what she did wrong when the relationship fades away.[4] She confronts him, "Was I out of time? Did I say something way too honest, made you run and hide like a scared little boy?"[30][31] In the album's liner notes, Swift includes the song's secret message: "If you play these games, we’re both going to lose."[32][a] According to Billboard's Jennifer Keishin Armstrong, whereas much of Fearless explores the ideal fairy-tale-inspired romance, "Forever & Always" examines a real-life heartbreak.[34]

James E. Perone, an academic in music, complimented the song's radio-friendly production, but felt that it was "too generic and market-oriented" for a singer-songwriter.[29] Jim Farber of the New York Daily News contended that "Forever & Always" was one of the album's "pop-catchy" tracks that "soar".[35] Writing for Billboard, Jennifer Keishin Armstrong felt that Swift's songwriting on "Forever & Always" set a precedent to her subsequent songs about revenge and contempt for ex-lovers.[34] Nate Jones of Vulture and Hazel Cills of Pitchfork agreed, finding the Joe Jonas-inspired "Forever & Always" introduced Swift's trademark songwriting about failed romance and celebrity;[26] Cillz wrote: "[Swift] likes to give a play-by-play, stacking minute summaries of a moment on top of each other like she’s story-boarding the perfect montage out of an indelible memory."[31] In another review for Pitchfork in 2021, Dani Blum selected "Forever & Always" as the best song on Fearless, highlighting the tumultuous emotions in Swift's vocals.[36]

Live performances

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Swift performing "Forever & Always" on the Fearless Tour (2010)

Swift first performed "Forever & Always" during her concert for the 2009 Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve, as part of a medley with "Picture to Burn", "Love Story", and "Change", on December 31, 2008.[37] In a January 2009 episode of Saturday Night Live, Swift performed "Forever & Always" and "Love Story".[38] She sang the song again as part of her performances for the Florida Strawberry Festival in February[39] and the 2009 Country Music Association Awards in November.[40]

The song was part of the regular set list for shows of Swift's first headlining concert tour, the Fearless Tour (2009–2010).[41] Before performing "Forever & Always", Swift gave a mock interview with Today host 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".[41] After the mock interview, Swift appeared onstage in a red dress, and while performing the song, threw an armchair down the stairs onstage.[42][43]

Swift performed "Forever & Always" during some select dates of her following world tours. She included it on the set list for her March 22, 2013, show in Columbia, South Carolina, as part of the Red Tour.[44] She performed the song during her September 15, 2018, show in Indianapolis, Indiana, as part of her Reputation Stadium Tour.[45] "Forever & Always" was also a "surprise song" at the May 13, 2023, Philadelphia concert of Swift's Eras Tour.[46]

Personnel

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"Forever & Always" (2008)[6]

  • Taylor Swift – lead vocals, songwriter, producer
  • Chad Carslon – recording engineer, mixing engineer
  • Nathan Chapman – producer
  • Shawn Daugherty – assistant mixer
  • Todd Tidwell – assistant mixer

"Forever & Always (Taylor's Version)" (2021)[23]

  • Taylor Swift – lead vocals, background vocals, songwriter, producer
  • Max Bernstein – electric guitar
  • Matt Billingslea – drums, percussion programming
  • Dan Burns – percussion programming
  • Derek Garten – additional engineer
  • Serban Ghenea – mixing
  • John Hanes – engineer
  • Amos Heller – bass guitar
  • Mike Meadows – acoustic guitar, background vocals
  • David Payne – recording
  • Lowell Reynolds – assistant recording engineer, additional engineer
  • Christopher Rowe – producer, vocals recording
  • Paul Sidoti – electric guitar, background vocals
  • Jonathan Yudkin – fiddles

Charts

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Certifications

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Certifications for "Forever & Always"
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[52] Gold 35,000‡
United States (RIAA)[15] Platinum 1,000,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Note

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  1. ^ The "secret messages" of Swift's songs are decoded by arranging certain capitalized letters in each song's lyrics, printed in the album booklet, in the order they appear to spell out a certain word or phrase.[33]

References

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  1. ^ Kawashima, Dale (February 16, 2007). "Special Interview (2007): Taylor Swift Discusses Her Debut Album, Early Hits, and How She Got Started". Songwriter Universe. Archived from the original on March 24, 2016. Retrieved December 17, 2010.
  2. ^ Tucker, Ken (March 26, 2008). "The Billboard Q&A: Taylor Swift". Billboard. Archived from the original on July 5, 2013. Retrieved June 21, 2011.
  3. ^ Graff, Gary (March 26, 2010). "Living Fearless Taylor Swift Talks About Her Whirlwind Rise to the Top". The Oakland Press. Archived from the original on July 16, 2012. Retrieved July 1, 2011.
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Sources

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