Red
Single | RED (2012) | RED (Taylor's Version) [2021]
Background and Production
Taylor released her third studio album, Speak Now, in October 2010. She wrote the album entirely by herself and co-produced it with Nathan Chapman, her longtime collaborator. The album’s sound expands on the country pop sound of her two previous albums, with elements of radio-friendly pop crossover that had been evident on its predecessor Fearless (2008). On Speak Now‘s follow-up, RED, Taylor aimed to experiment beyond her previous albums’ formulaic country pop sound.
Taylor initially continued working with Chapman in her career base of Nashville, Tennessee, until her creativity “started wandering to all the places [she] could go” while she was writing “Red”, the title track. Scott Borchetta, president of her then-label Big Machine Records, overheard the original production by Chapman and suggested a pop-oriented sound. After several failed attempts at the desired sound, Taylor asked Borchetta to recruit Swedish producer Max Martin, whose chart-topping pop tunes had intrigued her by “how [they] can just land a chorus”. Even though she went to Los Angeles to work with Martin and his frequent collaborator Shellback on three songs on RED, they did not produce the final version of “Red”. It was produced by Taylor, Chapman, and Dann Huff — a Nashville-based country producer.
«I knew I hadn't jumped out of my comfort zone, which at the time was writing alone and working with Nathan. ['Red'] the song was a real turning point for RED, the album. When I wrote that song my mind started wandering to all the places we could go. If I were to think outside the box enough, go in with different people, I could learn from and have what they do rub off on me as well as have what I do rub off on them.»
Release
To promote RED, Taylor premiered one album track on Good Morning America and released it onto the U.S. iTunes Store, each week from September 24 until the album’s release date of October 22, 2012, as part of a four-week release countdown. “Red” was released as the second promotional single from RED during the second countdown week, on October 2, 2012. The song was released to U.S. country radio as a single from the album on June 24, 2013, by Big Machine Records.
“Red” was Taylor’s final performance at the CMA Awards on November 6, 2013. That night, she received country music’s highest honor, the “Pinnacle Award” and was simultaneously saying goodbye to the genre that made her a star. Her performance featured an acoustic version of “Red” with Alison Krauss on fiddle and Vince Gill on guitar (both on background vocals), Sam Bush on mandolin, Edgar Meyer on acoustic bass, and Eric Darken on percussion. It was released for digital download through the iTunes Store by Big Machine Records the following day.
Lyrical Theme
«I wrote this song about the fact that some things are just hard to forget because the emotions involved with them were so intense and, to me, intense emotion is red.»
Music Video
Critical Reception
Commercial Performance
Taylor's Version
«The title track on this album is a song that I think really combines what I love of country instrumentation with my love of pop-rock sensibilities. This was one of those songs that was really a hybrid because it could be performed like a pop song, or a rock song, or it could be performed like a bluegrass song. It was one of those songs that made me think, 'Maybe I wanna be expanding what I'm trying to do with my music, sonically.' But lyrically, I loved taking all these metaphors of what it was like loving someone. You know, dirving in your Maserati down a dead end street. As a lyricist, I love to expand upon a metaphor, so that song is basically just a list of metaphors that all make sense about heartbreak. Saying, 'Losing him was blue, missing him was dark gray, but loving him was red.' To me that says everything that I wanted to say on this album, and so it was amazing to get to this with that particular song because it's one that I'm really, really proud of.»
Lyrics
[Verse 1]
Loving him is like driving a new Maserati down a dead end street
Faster than the wind
Passionate as sin, ending so suddenly
Loving him is like trying to change your mind once you’re already flying through the free fall
Like the colors in autumn so bright just before they lose it all
[Chorus]
Loving him was blue like I’d never known
Missing him was dark gray all alone
Forgetting him was like trying to know somebody you’ve never met
But loving him was red
Loving him was red
[Verse 2]
Touching him was like realizing all you ever wanted was right there in front of you
Memorizing him was as easy as knowing all the words to your old favorite song
Fighting with him was like trying to solve a crossword and realizing there’s no right answer
Regretting him was like wishing you never found out that love could be that strong
[Chorus]
Losing him was blue like I’d never known
Missing him was dark gray all alone
Forgetting him was like trying to know somebody you never met
But loving him was red,
Oh red, burning red
[Bridge]
Remembering him comes in flashbacks and echoes
Tell myself it’s time now gotta let go
But moving on from him is impossible when I still see it all in my head
In burning red
Loving him was red
[Chorus]
Losing him was blue, like I’d never known
Missing him was dark gray all alone
Forgetting him was like trying to know somebody you’ve never met
Cause loving him was red
Yeah, yeah, red
We’re burning red
[Outro]
And that’s why he’s spinning around in my head
Comes back to me in burning red
His love was like driving a new Maserati down a dead end street
| Albums | RED RED (Taylor’s Version) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Released | October 2, 2012 | |||
| Re-Released | November 12, 2021 | |||
| Studio | Blackbird (Nashville) | |||
| Genre | Country Rock | |||
| Length | 3:43 | |||
| Labels | Big Machine Records Republic Records | |||
| Songwriter | Taylor Swift | |||
| Producers | Nathan Chapman (original) Dan Huff (original) Christopher Rowe Taylor Swift | |||
RED CHRONOLOGY | ||||
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![RED (Taylor's Version) [Republic Records, 2021]](https://taylorswiftswitzerland.ch/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/8k-RED-Taylors-Version-scaled.jpg)
