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"Forever Winter"
Song by Taylor Swift
from the album Red (Taylor's Version)
ReleasedNovember 12, 2021 (2021-11-12)
GenrePower pop
Length4:23
LabelRepublic
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)

"Forever Winter"[a] is a song by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. Originally written for her fourth studio album Red (2012), Swift ultimately left it out from the original and deluxe tracklist and later re-recorded the song for her second re-recorded album, Red (Taylor's Version) (2021) as a "From the Vault" track.[b] Co-written and co-produced with American musicians Mark Foster and Jack Antonoff respectively, "Forever Winter" is a power pop song about a friend's mental health issues.

Background

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After ending her 13-year contract with Big Machine Records and signing a new deal with Republic Records in 2018, Swift began re-recording her first six studio albums in November 2020.[1] The decision followed a public 2019 dispute between Swift and the talent manager Scooter Braun, who had acquired Big Machine, including the masters of her albums which the label had released.[2][3] 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.[4]

In April 2021, Swift released her first re-recorded album: the re-recording of her 2008 studio album Fearless, subtitled Taylor's Version. In addition to the re-recorded tracks, it contained several unreleased "From the Vault" tracks that she had written but left out of the original album.[5] On November 12, 2021, she released her second re-recorded album: the re-recorded version of her 2012 studio album Red, also subtitled Taylor's Version.[6] As with its predecessor, Red (Taylor's Version) also includes "From the Vault" tracks that Swift had intended for but left out of the original Red.[7]

Around the release of Swift’s third studio album, Speak Now (2010), a troubled high-school friend of hers died from a drug overdose.[8]

Composition and critical reception

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"Forever Winter" is a power pop song opening with energetic brass[9] before proceeding to the chorus that features Swift's dynamic vocals and incorporates horns, flutes, and guitars.[10] The song is four minutes and 23 seconds long.[11] Lyrically, "Forever Winter" is about Swift trying to help a friend through his mental health struggles.[12][13] Swift worries about the dark path her friend is taking because of them, even though what he says through their phone calls seem less suicidal that it actually is.[8]

Chris Willman, writing for Variety, praised the "breezing lilt" of "Forever Winter" in his ranking of 25 of Swift’s bonus tracks, placing it in 19th place.[8] In a Billboard ranking of every vault track in Red (Taylor’s Version), Jason Lipshutz ranked it at 8th, praising its "intricate" production and Swift’s "nuanced" vocal range in the song.[10] Uproxx's Josh Kurx ranked "Forever Winter" at 15th out of 25 vault tracks, noting a "voice crack" he found around the chorus but later praising it as giving the song "texture".[14] In a ranking of every song on Swift’s discography by Vulture's Nate Jones, "Forever Winter" is ranked at 120th place. Jones praises the truth in Swift’s emotions in the song.[15] In another ranking by Rolling Stone, Rob Sheffield ranked it at 168th place, praising its "empathetic look" to its subject, connecting it her 2021 single, "Renegade".[16]

Release

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Red (Taylor’s Version) was released on November 21, 2021; "Forever Winter" is track 27.[11] "Forever Winter" charted in Canada (64),[17] Australia (64),[18] and the Billboard Hot 100 (79)[19] and Global 200 (87).[20]

Charts

[edit]
Chart performance for "Forever Winter"
Chart (2023) Peak

position

Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[17] 64
Global 200 (Billboard)[20] 87
Australia (ARIA)[18] 64
US Billboard Hot 100[19] 79

Notes

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  1. ^ subtitled "(Taylor's Version) (From the Vault)"
  2. ^ Referred to as "vault tracks" for simplicity.

References

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  1. ^ Melas, Chloe (November 16, 2020). "Taylor Swift Speaks Out about Sale of Her Masters". CNN. Archived from the original on November 18, 2020. Retrieved November 19, 2020.
  2. ^ "Taylor Swift Wants to Re-Record Her Old Hits". BBC News. August 22, 2019. Archived from the original on August 22, 2019. Retrieved August 22, 2019.
  3. ^ Finnis, Alex (November 17, 2020). "Taylor Swift Masters: The Controversy around Scooter Braun Selling the Rights to Her Old Music Explained". i. Archived from the original on February 12, 2021. Retrieved February 13, 2021.
  4. ^ Shah, Neil (April 9, 2021). "Taylor Swift Releases New Fearless Album, Reclaiming Her Back Catalog". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on October 8, 2021. Retrieved September 25, 2022.
  5. ^ "Taylor Swift Remade Fearless as Taylor's Version. Let's Discuss". The New York Times. April 9, 2021. Archived from the original on April 9, 2021. Retrieved April 9, 2021.
  6. ^ Lipshutz, Jason (July 6, 2023). "7 Key Stats Proving That Taylor Swift's First Two Taylor's Version Re-Recordings Have Been Dominant". Billboard. Archived from the original on July 7, 2023. Retrieved July 7, 2023.
  7. ^ Al-Heeti, Abrar (November 11, 2021). "Red (Taylor's Version): Release date, tracklist, why Taylor Swift is rerecording her albums". CNET. Archived from the original on November 20, 2021. Retrieved November 13, 2021.
  8. ^ a b c Willman, Chris (2023-08-09). "Taylor Swift's 25 Best Bonus Tracks, Ranked". Variety. Retrieved 2024-10-13.
  9. ^ Brown, Helen (November 12, 2021). "Taylor Swift's Red Is a Better, Brighter Version of a Terrific Pop Album". The Independent. Archived from the original on November 12, 2021. Retrieved November 12, 2021.
  10. ^ a b Lipshutz, Jason (November 12, 2021). "Every 'From The Vault' Song Ranked on Taylor Swift's Red (Taylor's Version): Critic's Picks". Billboard. Retrieved November 12, 2021.
  11. ^ a b Red (Taylor's Version) (digital media liner notes). Taylor Swift. Taylor Swift / Republic Records. 2021.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  12. ^ "The Best Taylor Swift Vault Songs, Ranked". Time. October 25, 2023. Archived from the original on November 5, 2023. Retrieved April 5, 2024.
  13. ^ Kurp, Josh (October 27, 2023). "Every Taylor Swift 'From The Vault' (Taylor's Version) Song, Ranked". Uproxx. Archived from the original on November 4, 2023. Retrieved April 5, 2024.
  14. ^ "Every Taylor Swift 'From The Vault' (Taylor's Version) Song, Ranked". UPROXX. 2023-10-27. Retrieved 2024-10-15.
  15. ^ Jones, Nate (2024-05-20). "All 245 Taylor Swift Songs, Ranked". Vulture. Retrieved 2024-10-15.
  16. ^ ""Forever Winter" (2021)". Rolling Stone Australia. 2024-04-26. Retrieved 2024-10-15.
  17. ^ a b "Taylor Swift Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved November 7, 2023.
  18. ^ a b "Taylor Swift – Forever Winter". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved April 1, 2024.
  19. ^ a b "Taylor Swift Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved April 1, 2024.
  20. ^ a b "Taylor Swift Chart History (Global 200)". Billboard. Retrieved April 1, 2024.
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