exile
Feat. Bon Iver | Single | folklore (2020)
Table of Contents
Background and Recording
«William Bowery is Joe [Alwyn], as we all know. And Joe plays piano beautifully. He’s always just playing, and making things up, and kind of creating things. ‘exile’ was crazy 'cause Joe had written that entire piano part and was singing the Bon Iver part, ‘I can see you standing honey, with his arms around your body, laughing but the joke’s not funny at all’. He was just singing it the way that the whole first verse is. And so I was entranced and asked if we could keep writing that one. It was pretty obvious that it should be a duet because he’s got such a low voice and it sounded really could sung down there in that register. We’re really big Bon Iver fans and we know that Aaron knows him. But I was too afraid to suggest it. When I sent it to Aaron I was just like, ‘This is hopefully a duet, I don’t know who it would be with, who do you think would be good with this?’ And Aaron was like, ‘I think Justin would love this!’ And then he [Justin Vernon] wrote the whole bridge! I kept thinking, ‘This isn’t really going to happen, Justin is going to change his mind about this because this isn’t a part of my reality. There’s no way this is going to happen. He’s gonna record the vocals and then decide that he doesn’t wanna be on the record’. And then that just never happened. He just is on the album and he’s just the coolest!»
Taylor Swift
Composition
«It was really the most accidental thing to happen in lockdown. It wasn’t like, ‘It’s three o’clock, it’s time to write a song!’ It was just messing around on a piano and singing badly and being overheard and then thinking, you know, 'What if we tried to get to the end of it together?'»
Joe Alwyn
Lyrical Theme
«‘exile’ is a song that was written about miscommunications in relationships, and in the case of this song I imagined that the miscommunications ended the relationship. They led to the demise of this love affair, and now these two people are seeing each other out for the first time, and they keep miscommunicating with each other. They can’t quite get on the same page, they never were able to. And even in their end, even after they’ve broken up, they’re still not hearing each other. So we imagined the beginning would be his side of the story, the second verse her side of the story, and the end would be the story of them talking over each other and not hearing each other. We’re really stoked about how it turned out because it really does seem to be about the tragedy of two people, of two ships passing in the night.»
Taylor Swift
Production
Live Performances
Critical Reception
Elle named the song as the second-best of 2020, while Men’s Health included it in its ranking of best 25 songs of 2020. Laura Paterson, editor at Vogue, listed “exile” as one of the 29 best songs of 2020, and christened it “the melancholic duo that 2020 deserved”, merging “an angsty, sing-your-guts-out Taylor anthem” with “mid-2000s nostalgia for the folksy sounds of Bon Iver”. Surprised by a Swift-Vernon duet, NBHAP named the song the eleventh best of 2020, and welcomed Vernon’s return to his “pure and deep voice”. Slant named “exile” as the fourth-best song of 2020. Complex critic Aia Adriano placed “exile” at No. 4 on her list ranking the best songs of 2020.
Commercial Performance
Award Recognition
Lyrics
[Verse 1: Justin Vernon]
I can see you standing, honey
With his arms around your body
Laughing but the joke’s not funny at all
And it took you five whole minutes
To pack us up and leave me with it
Holdin’ all this love out here in the hall
[Chorus 1: Justin Vernon]
I think I’ve seen this film before
And I didn’t like the ending
You’re not my homeland anymore
So what am I defending now?
You were my town
Now I’m in exile seeing you out
I think I’ve seen this film before
[Post-Chorus: Justin Vernon]
Oh, oh, oh
[Verse 2: Taylor Swift]
I can see you staring, honey
Like he’s just your understudy
Like you’d get your knuckles bloody for me
Second, third, and hundredth chances
Balancing on breaking branches
Those eyes add insult to injury
[Chorus 2: Taylor Swift]
I think I’ve seen this film before
And I didn’t like the ending
I’m not your problem anymore
So who am I offending now?
You were my crown
Now I’m in exile seeing you out
I think I’ve seen this film before
So I’m leaving out the side door
[Bridge: Justin Vernon, Taylor Swift & Both]
So step right out
There is no amount
Of crying I can do for you
All this time
We always walked a very thin line
You didn’t even hear me out (Didn’t even hear me out)
You never gave a warning sign (I gave so many signs)
All this time
I never learned to read your mind (Never learned to read my mind)
I couldn’t turn things around (You never turned things around)
‘Cause you never gave a warning sign (I gave so many signs)
So many signs
So many signs
You didn’t even see the signs
[Chorus: Taylor Swift & Justin Vernon, Taylor Swift]
I think I’ve seen this film before
And I didn’t like the ending
You’re not my homeland anymore
So what am I defending now?
You were my town
Now I’m in exile seeing you out
I think I’ve seen this film before
So I’m leaving out the side door
[Outro: Justin Vernon, Taylor Swift & Both]
So step right out
There is no amount
Of crying I can do for you
All this time
We always walked a very thin line
You didn’t even hear me out (Didn’t even hear me out)
You never gave a warning sign (I gave so many signs)
All this time
I never learned to read your mind (Never learned to read my mind)
I couldn’t turn things around (You never turned things around)
‘Cause you never gave a warning sign (I gave so many signs)
You never gave a warning sign (All this time)
(So many signs)
I never learned to read your mind
(So many signs)
I couldn’t turn things around (I couldn’t turn things around)
‘Cause you never gave a warning sign (You never gave a warning sign)
You never gave a warning sign
Ah, ah
Artist | Taylor Swift | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Album | folklore | |||
Feature | Bon Iver | |||
Released | July 24, 2020 | |||
Recorded | May–July 2020 | |||
Studios | Kitty Committee (Los Angeles) April Base (Fall Creek) Long Pond (Hudson Valley) | |||
Genre | Folk Pop | |||
Length | 4:45 | |||
Label | Republic Records | |||
Songwriters | Taylor Swift William Bowery (Joe Alwyn) Justin Vernon | |||
Producers | Aaron Dessner Joe Alwyn | |||
FOLKLORE CHRONOLOGY | ||||
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