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"Lover" is the third track from American singer and songwriter Taylor Swift's seventh studio album, Lover, released on August 16, 2019, through Republic Records. The song became the third single for the album on August 16, 2019.
Background[]
Swift talked about the song in an interview with Vogue, published in September 2019: "'This has one of my favorite bridges', she says. 'I love a bridge, and I was really able to go to Bridge City.' It's a romantic, haunting, waltzy, singer-songwritery nugget: classic Swift. 'My heart's been borrowed and yours has been blue,' she sings. 'All's well that ends well to end up with you.'"[1]
Spotify storyline[]
Swift discussed several topics within the storyline that accompanied this song on Spotify, including why it was chosen for the title track, and her choice behind the instrumentation and sound of the song.
| ā | I chose this song as the title track because it's such a perfect example of what I was trying to do with the album. / I wanted to make music that in a lot of ways feels timeless and is really confessional. / I wrote this one alone. / Jack Antonoff helped produce this song and we wanted to make music that could've been played on a wedding reception stage in 1970. | ā |
āTaylor's Spotify story, each slide separated by a slash | ||
Voice memo[]
This songās beginning stages were recorded on the piano and released on the deluxe editions of Lover as a voice memo, placed as the 20th track on the CD. Taylor stated, on this and during Lover's Lounge and the NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert, that as soon as she wrote this song, late at night by herself, she knew that it would be the title of the album as well.[2]
Lyrical differences[]
A notable difference between this demo and the final cut is that the first line in the second verse used to be "We could let our friends crash on the couches. This is our place, we would make the call." This was later replaced by "We could let our friends crash in the living room. This is our place, we make the call." She also says "hands" in the bridge instead of the final lyric, "hand." She proceeds to swear after this.
Lyrics[]
[Verse 1]
We could leave the Christmas lights up till January
This is our place, we make the rules
And thereās a dazzling haze
A mysterious way about you, dear
Have I known you 20 seconds or 20 years?
[Chorus]
Can I go where you go?
Can we always be this close?
Forever and ever and
Take me out
And take me home
Youāre my, my, my, my...
Lover
[Verse 2]
We could let our friends crash in the living room
This is our place, we make the call
And Iām highly suspicious
That everyone who sees you wants you
Iāve loved you three summers now, honey
But I want them all
[Chorus]
Can I go where you go?
Can we always be this close?
Forever and ever and
Take me out
And take me home
Youāre my, my, my, my...
Lover
[Bridge]
Ladies and gentlemen
Will you please stand?
With every guitar string scar on my hand
I take this magnetic force of a man to be my lover
My heartās been borrowed
And yours has been blue
Allās well that ends well to end up with you
Swear to be overdramatic and true to my lover
And youāll save all your dirtiest jokes for me
And at every table, Iāll save you a seat
Lover
[Chorus]
Can I go where you go?
Can we always be this close?
Forever and ever and
Take me out
And take me home
Youāre my, my, my, my...
Lover
[Outro]
Oh, youāre my, my, my, my...
Darling, youāre my, my, my, my...
Lover
[Spoken]
Writing the song "Lover" was one of those magical experiences
That you sometimes get toā
haveā
as a songwriter
Umm, I wrote it really quickā
in the middle of the night
As soon as I wrote it, I knew I wanted it to be the album title
And I knew that writing it kinda would depict the tone of the entire record
So, it was a real catalyst for what this album turned into
And I wrote it alone, so, I wanted to go in and play it for Jack Antonoff
Who I knew who would be the perfect person to produce it
And, so, I walked into the studio and I sat in the piano
And this is what happened
So, it is, it's basically, I don't see it as a piano
I think it's that like, kinda of, dreamy, guitary, throwback
But not like camp throwback, so
[Verse 1]
We could leave the Christmas lights up till January
This is our place, we make the rules
And there's a dazzling haze
A mysterious way about you, dear
Have I known you 20 seconds or 20 years?
[Chorus]
Can I go where you go?
Can we always be this close
Forever and ever and
Ah, take me out
Take me home
You're my, my, my, my
Lover
[Spoken]
Yeah, I love the walk down
I love the walk down
I was trying to figure out, "What the Hell is gonna happen there?"
So, the, so
[Chorus]
My, my, my, my
Lover
[Verse 2]
We could let our friends crash on the couches
This is our place, we make the call
And I'm highly suspicious
That everyone who sees you wants you
I've loved you three summers now, honey
But I want 'em all
[Chorus]
Can I go where you go?
Can we always be this close
Forever and ever and
Ah, take me out
Take me home
You're my, my, my, my
Lover
[Spoken]
Okay, and, then, I have this bridge thing that's umm, essentially
Well, no, I was
I did, I did it in this key
But it could be, like, a thing where's like a key change
So, it plays off of the walk down-ish
But it's, this is the melody of it, it goes, it's like
[Bridge]
Ladies and gentlemen
Will you please stand?
With every guitar string scar on my hands
I take this magnetic force-
Oh, fuck
I take this magnetic force of a man to be my lover
My heart's been borrowed
And yours has been blue
All's well that ends well to end up with you
Swear to be overdramatic and true to my lover
And you'll save all your dirtiest jokes for me
[Bridge]
And you'll save all your dirtiest jokes for me
And at every table, I'll save you a seat
[Bridge]
And you'll save all your dirtiest jokes for me
My heart's been borrowed
Your heart's been blue
All's well that ends well to end up with you
Swear to be overdramatic
Swear to be overdramatic and true to my lover
And you'll save all your dirtiest jokes for me
And at every table, I'll save you a seat
[Spoken]
You like? Yeah!
I've never, I never do these cords, but
I was really at the piano, like, hashing it out yesterday
[Verse 1: Taylor Swift]
We could leave the Christmas lights up till January
This is our place, we make theā
rules
Andā
there's a dazzlingā
haze
A mysterious way about you,ā
dear
Have I known you 20 seconds or 20 years?
[Chorus: Taylor Swift]
Can I go where you go?
Can we always be this close?
Forever and ever and
Ah, take me out
And take me home
Youāre my, my, my, my...
Lover
[Verse 2: Shawn Mendes & Taylor Swift]
We could light a bunch of candles
And dance around the kitchen, baby
Pictures of when we were young would hang on the wall
We would sit on the stoop
I'll sing love songs to you when we're eighty
See? I finally got you now, honey, I won't let you fall
[Chorus: Shawn Mendes & Taylor Swift]
Can I go where you go?
Can we always be this close?
Forever and ever and
Ah, take me out
And take me home
(Forever and ever)
You're my, my, my, my
Lover
[Bridge: Taylor Swift, Shawn Mendes]
Ladies and gentlemen
Will you please stand?
With every guitar string scar on my hand
I take this magnetic force of a man to be my lover
Look in my eyes, they will tell you the truth
The girl in my story has always been you
I'd go down with the Titanic, it's true, for you, lover
And you'll save all your dirtiest jokes for me
And at every table, I'll save you a seat,
Lover (Save you a seat)
[Chorus: Shawn Mendes & Taylor Swift]
Can I go where you go? (Can I go where you go, baby?)
Can we always be this close?
Forever and ever and
Ah, take me out
And take me home (Forever and ever)
You're my, my, my, my
[Outro]
Oh, you're my, my, my, my
Darling, you're my, my, my, my
Lover
Videos[]
Live performances[]
Swift performed "Lover" live on many occasions during promotion of Lover in 2019, including the 2019 MTV Video Music Awards, during a concert held at BBC Radio 1's Live Lounge, at her one-off City of Lover concert in Paris, and on Saturday Night Live. It was also performed as part of a medley of some of Swift's most famous singles at the 2019 American Music Awards, during which Swift won the Artist of the Decade award.
Swift also performed the song throughout 2023 and 2024 as the fifth song of the Lover act of The Eras Tour.
Music video[]
The music video for "Lover" featured a house with different rooms representing her different albums. The love interest is played by former backup dancer Christopher Owens, known professionally as OWENN. The music video features many Easter eggs, including two board games with lyrics from "Cruel Summer". "Afterglow", another song from Lover, can be seen written in Scrabble tiles.
Music video gallery[]
Behind the scenes[]
A behind the scenes video was shown during the preshow of The Eras Tour, and several clips of it were featured in the "Behind The Scenes" video trailers, yet it was never released.
References[]
| Lover | ||
|---|---|---|
| "I Forgot That You Existed" ā¢ "Cruel Summer" ā¢ "Lover" ā¢ "The Man" ā¢ "The Archer" ā¢ "I Think He Knows" ā¢ "Miss Americana & The Heartbreak Prince" ā¢ "Paper Rings" ā¢ "Cornelia Street" ā¢ "Death By A Thousand Cuts" ā¢ "London Boy" ā¢ "Soon You'll Get Better" ā¢ "False God" ā¢ "You Need To Calm Down" ā¢ "Afterglow" ā¢ "ME!" ā¢ "It's Nice To Have A Friend" ā¢ "Daylight" | ||
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