“He is my co-writer on ‘Betty’ and ‘Exile,'” repliesTaylor Swiftwith deadpan precision.
An unknown writer credited on the year’s biggest album?
It must be an alias.
Taylor Swift’s Entertainer of the Year cover reunites the pop star with her ‘Folklore’ photographer, Beth Garrabrant.Beth Garrabrant for EW
Is he your brother?
“He’s William Bowery,” says Swift with a smile.
“Early in quarantine, I started watching lots of films,” she explains.
The stories behind Swift’s 2020 album were further illuminated in Disney+‘sFolklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions..Disney+
And yet, it wouldn’t be a Swift album without a few barbed postmortems over her own history.
For her, that means basking in the world of, and favorable response to,Folklore.
But with this one, I still love it."
“I almost didn’t process it as an album,” says Taylor Swift of makingFolklore. “And it’s still hard for me to process as an entity or a commodity, because [it] was just my daydream space.".Beth Garrabrant for EW
Were you surprised by your ability to create and release a full album in the middle of a pandemic?
TAYLOR SWIFT:I was.
I wasn’t expecting to make an album.
Early on in quarantine, I started watching lots of films.
We would watch a different movie every night.
I’m ashamed to say I hadn’t seenPan’s Labyrinthbefore.
One night I’d watch that, then I’d watchL.A.
Why have I never created characters and intersecting story lines?
And why haven’t I ever sort of freed myself up to do that from a narrative standpoint?”
That was huge for me.
And hearing him sing it, I thought, “That sounds really cool.”
Patty Griffin wrote this song,“Top of the World.
So, I thought, “This is something that people I am a huge fan of have done.
This would be fun to kind of take this for a spin.”
What are your favorite William Bowery conspiracies?
I love them all individually and equally.
I loveallthe conspiracy theories around this album.
And that’s exactly what I was hoping would happen with this album.
And I wanted it to start out as mine and become other people’s.
It’s been really fun to watch.
One of the other unique things aboutFolklorethe parameters around it were completely different from anything you’d done.
There was no long roll out, no stadium-sized pop anthems, no aiming for the radio-friendly single.
How fearful were you in avoiding what had worked in the past?
I didn’t think aboutanyof that for the very first time.
What stories do I want to tell?
What melodies do I want to sing?
What production is essential to tell those stories?”
It was a very do-it-yourself experience.
My management team, we created absolutely everything in advanceevery lyric video, every individual album package.
The photo shoot was me and the photographer walking out into a field.
I’d done my hair and makeup and brought some nightgowns.
It was a new challenge, because I love collaboration.
Did you find it freeing?
A pioneer woman sleepwalking at night.
It was a blast.
Folkloreincludes plenty of intimate acoustic echoes to what you’ve done in the past.
But there are also a lot of new sonics here, toothese quiet, powerful, intricately layered harmonics.
Well, Aaron is one of the most effortlessly prolific creators I’ve ever worked with.
It’s really mind-blowing.
It’ll change the way you create."
He would send me thesehe calls them sketches, but it’s basically an instrumental track.
Music can be beautiful, but it can be lacking that evocative nature.
So much so that I’d start writing as soon as I heard a new one.
So that’s the smallest number of people I’ve ever had know about something.
I’m usually playing it for everyone that I’m friends with.
Was it nice to be able to keep it a secret?
Well, it felt like it was onlymything.
I wasn’t making these things with any purpose in mind.
I almost didn’t process it as an album.
This was just my daydream space.
Does it still feel like that?
Yeah, because I love it so much.
But with this one, I just still love it.
I’m so proud of it.
And so that feels very foreign to me.
That doesn’t feel like a normal experience that I’ve had with releasing albums.
When did you first learn about Rebekah Harkness?
And as soon as I found out about her, I wanted to know everything I could.
So I started reading.
I found her so interesting.
And I finally found it.
I love that you break the fourth wall in the song.
Did you go in thinking you’d include yourself in the story?
It was me."
You bring it personal for the last verse.
So in every single room, there’s a different anecdote about Rebekah Harkness.
She’s got to tell you the story about how the ballerinas used to practice on the lawn."
And they’ll go get a drink and skip it because it’s the same every time.
She just did whatever she wanted.
Then all of a sudden the things that you have been through together, hurt.
All of a sudden, the person who was your best friend is now your biggest nemesis, etc.
So these songs are in some ways imaginary, in some ways not, and in some ways both.
How did it feel to drop an F-bomb on “Mad Woman”?
F—ing fantastic.
And that’s the first time you ever recorded one on a record,right?
Every rule book was thrown out.
I wasn’t adhering to any of the guidelines that I had placed on myself.
I decided to just make what I wanted to make.
And I’m really happy that the fans were stoked about that because I think they could feel that.
I’m not blaming anyone else for me restricting myself in the past.
That was all, I guess, making what I want to make.
Let’s talk about “Epiphany.”
The first verse is a nod to your grandfather, Dean, who fought in World War II.
What does his story mean to you personally?
I wanted to write about him for awhile.
My grandfather would reply, “Well, I’m not supposed to be here.
I shouldn’t be here.”
He had seen a lot of heavy fire and casualtiesall of the things that nightmares are made of.
He was one of the first people to sign up for the war.
And that was the connection that I drew.
You had the Lover Fest East and West scheduled this year.
It’s hard to watch.
And that’s a scary thing.
When you are able to perform again, do you have plans on resurfacing a Lover Fest-punch in event?
I’m going to try really hard to.
Where were you when it was called in their favor?
He’s won the election."
It wasn’t popping bottles of champagne.
It was this moment of quiet, cautious elation and relief.
I think about it all the time.
That was truly my intent.
Just trying to hug them when I can’t hug them.
Was there an “aha moment” for you while writing that?
And that was actually the first song that I wrote of the “Betty” triangle.
So the Betty songs are “August,” “Cardigan,” and “Betty.”
Yeah, I assumed you wrote “Cardigan” first.
It would be safe to assume that “Cardigan” would be first, but it wasn’t.
It kind of explores the idea of the undefined relationship.
How did that line come to you?
I’m really proud of that one too.
I heard the track immediately.
Aaron sent it to me, and it had this immediate sense of serenity running through it.
That’s a common phrase that is used in the English language every day.
And I just thought it sounded really cool because of the D, D sound.
Everybody’s complex when you look under the hood of the car."
There’s another clever turn of phrase on “This is Me Trying.”
And then, the second verse is about dealing with addiction and issues with struggling every day.
And then, the third verse, I was thinking, what would the National do?
What lyric would Matt Berninger write?
What chords would the National play?
Yeah, I was at the show where they were playing throughI Am Easy to Find.
It just sparked something in me.
And obviously, you mentioning the National is the reason whyFolklorecame to be.
So, thank you for that, Alex.
[Laughs]I’m here for all of your songwriting muse needs in the future.
I can’t wait to see what comes out of this interview.
This interview has been edited and condensed.
(you could also pick up the full set of six covers here.
UPDATE: out of stock.)
