Taylor Swift Wiki

"I Forgot That You Existed" is the first track from American singer and songwriter Taylor Swift's seventh studio album, Lover, released on August 23, 2019, through Republic Records.

Background[]

This song’s beginning stages were recorded on the piano and released on the deluxe editions of Lover as a voice memo, placed as the 19th track on the CD. A notable difference between this and the final cut is that the second line in the chorus used to be "I thought that I would miss you but I didn’t." This was later replaced by “I thought that it would kill me but it didn’t.” This song is rumored to be about either Calvin Harris or Kanye West.

Taylor_Swift_-_I_Forgot_That_You_Existed_(Piano-Vocal_-_Official_Voice_Memo)

Taylor Swift - I Forgot That You Existed (Piano-Vocal - Official Voice Memo)

Spotify storyline[]

Swift discussed several topics within the storyline that accompanied this song on Spotify.

With the first song on this new album I wanted to bring us out of the 'reputation' album era. / 'reputation' for me was about grieving the loss of your reputation and all of the phases you go through. / The song closes the book on 'reputation' in resolving that whole conflict with a shrug. / 'Well, I guess I'm over it now, because I forgot that you existed.'

—Taylor's Spotify story, each slide separated by a slash

Lyrics[]

[Verse 1]
How many days did I spend thinking
'Bout how you did me wrong, wrong, wrong?
Lived in the shade you were throwing
Till all of my sunshine was gone, gone, gone
And I couldn't get away from ya
In my feelings more than Drake, so, yeah
Your name on my lips, tongue-tied
Free rent, living in my mind

[Pre-Chorus 1]
But then, something happened one magical night

[Chorus]
I forgot that you existed
And I thought that it would kill me, but it didn't
And it was so nice
So peaceful and quiet
I forgot that you existed
It isn't love, it isn't hate, it's just indifference
I forgot that you

[Verse 2]
Got out some popcorn
As soon as my rep started going down, down, down
Laughed on the school yard
As soon as I tripped up and hit the ground, ground, ground
And I would've stuck around for ya
Would've fought the whole town, so, yeah
Would've been right there, front row
Even if nobody came to your show

[Pre-Chorus 2]
But you showed who you are, then, one magical night

[Chorus]
I forgot that you existed
And I thought that it would kill me, but it didn't
And it was so nice
So peaceful and quiet
I forgot that you existed
It isn't love, it isn't hate, it's just indifference
I forgot that you

[Bridge]
Sent me a clear message
Taught me some hard lessons
I just forget what they were
It's all just a blur

[Chorus]
I forgot that you existed
And I thought that it would kill me, but it didn't
And it was so nice
So peaceful and quiet
I forgot that you existed
I did, I did, I did
It isn't hate, it's just indifference
It isn't love, it isn't hate, it's just indifference
So, yeah

Live performances[]

The song made its live debut as a surprise song at The Eras Tour on August 24, 2023, in Mexico City. A mashup of the song and "This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things" was performed as an Eras Tour surprise song on June 18, 2024, in Cardiff, Wales.

Lover
"I Forgot That You Existed" • "Cruel Summer" • "Lover" • "The Man" • "The Archer" • "I Think He Knows" • "Miss Americana & The Heartbreak Prince" • "Paper Rings" • "Cornelia Street" • "Death By A Thousand Cuts" • "London Boy" • "Soon You'll Get Better" • "False God" • "You Need To Calm Down" • "Afterglow" • "ME!" • "It's Nice To Have A Friend" • "Daylight"
The More Lover Chapter
"All Of The Girls You Loved Before"