![]() ![]() Larocca: I understand why Swift kept "Babe" off the original album and gave it away to Sugarland. "Babe" doesn't have an arena-ready muscle like "State of Grace" or the heady lyrics of "All Too Well." But despite its perky sheen and conversational style, it paints a vivid portrait of broken promises and certainly belongs in the same division. The album's best songs show us the future she once saw so clearly, but was forced to abandon before she was ready. "Red" is the era of Swift's most potent yearning. "Babe" is the 24th track on "Red (Taylor's Version)."Īhlgrim: I would take "Babe" over several standard-edition "Red" tracks, including "22," "Stay Stay Stay," "The Lucky One," "Starlight," and "Girl at Home." None of these could stand up to that country-rock beat drop in the chorus, the glorious bed of horns beneath Swift's harmonies, or her anguished delivery of the bridge's fatal blow: "I hate that because of you, I can't love you." No one I know likes to be the person that their friends were brainstorming an intervention for behind the scenes. While "Renegade" is personal and recalls a tough-love conversation with somebody who really needs it, "Forever Winter" sounds like Swift is recruiting opinions and asking everyone she knows, "What are we going to do with him?" I much prefer "Renegade," because she's in conversation with her subject the entire time. The song is strongest in the choruses, however, when she's singing directly to the person. I can tell Swift is trying to be empathetic and understanding, but without this direct action, it feels like she sees him as a problem she needs to solve, and that maybe she's talking about him to someone else behind his back. As someone who is self-aware enough to know I'll never be someone's summer sun forever, I relate more to Swift's subject here, and it bugs me that she talks about him instead of to him in the verses. Larocca: If you're going to center yourself in someone else's suffering, chances are you're going to rub some listeners the wrong way. It doesn't contain the same gut-punch revelations or keen-eyed observations, instead casting Swift as a kind of happiness tool at a man's disposal, desperately pleading to be the "summer sun" to thaw his sadness. Unfortunately, because we heard "Renegade" first, I can't help but feel that "Forever Winter" is lacking. "I tapped on your window on your darkest night / The shape of you was jagged and weak," she sings in the latter. "I call, just checking up on him / He's up, 3 am, pacing," she sings in the former. Will Heath/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty ImagesĪhlgrim: "Forever Winter" is best understood as a spiritual relative of "Renegade," the better of Swift's two collaborations with Big Red Machine, released in July 2021.īoth songs explore a tenuous relationship with someone who's falling victim to late-night doom spirals, as well as the toll that's taking on Swift's own mental health. "Forever Winter" is the 27th track on "Red (Taylor's Version)." ![]()
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