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Treacherous

RED (2012) | RED (Taylor's Version) [2021]

“Treacherous” is the third track on Taylor’s fourth studio album, RED (2012). She uses the word to convey the risk inherent in falling in love because it opens the possibility of heartbreak if the relationship ends. The re-recording of the song, “Treacherous (Taylor’s Version),” was released on 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 musically follows the country pop sound of her two previous albums, with elements of rock and radio-friendly pop crossover that had also been evident on its predecessor, Fearless (2008).

On Speak Now‘s follow-up, RED, Taylor aimed to experiment beyond her previous albums’ country pop sound. One of the resulting collaborations was “Treacherous”, which was co-written by Dan Wilson, a Grammy Award winner for his songwriting work with Adele on 21 and the Chicks’ on “Not Ready to Make Nice”. The two of them met up over a two-day period in Los Angeles in spring 2012. On the first day, they created “Come Back…Be Here.” The day after, Taylor said she wanted to write a song based on the word “treacherous.” Wilson told Billboard in October 2012:

«She sketched out the melody and we were off to the races in 20 minutes. We thought we were done, and then we decided it needed a more rocking element, so we added [another] chorus after the chorus. It was almost an afterthought, but the new section wound up defining the song.»

Dan Wilson

With the writing done, Taylor asked Wilson to produce the songs, and he reached out to Andy Thompson, a colleague from his hometown of Minneapolis to record some of the instruments. Wilson wound up using Taylor’s vocal from the demo recorded in Los Angeles. “An interesting quality, objectively speaking, was how on fire she was, the clarity she had. She was so open and excited about the things I would add. She works at a very high level of positivity, and that is rare. I followed my own joy [in producing the tracks]. We both had such similar visions of what the songs should sound like.”

Lyrical Theme

“Treacherous” was written by Taylor and Dan Wilson after she had the idea that she wanted to use the word in a song. The lyrics describe the conflicting moment in which she realizes that a new relationship is moving extremely fast and that it might be unhealthy for her but she also wants to explore it further. She told Taste of Country:

«I wrote ‘Treacherous’ with Dan Wilson, and we came up with a way to say, ‘This is dangerous and I realize that I might get hurt if I go through with this, if I move forward with you. But…but I want to.’ You know? It’s like that kind of conflicted feeling of it being a risk every time you fall in love – especially with certain types of people. That was a song that I’m really proud of because it’s got this bridge that sounds like a second chorus. It’s got all these big vocals, and it’s kind of the intensity of that moment when you’re deciding to let yourself fall in love with someone.»

Taylor Swift

The secret message for “Treacherous” featured in the RED album booklet is, “Won’t stop ‘till it’s over,” a lyric featured on The Temper Trap’s song “Sweet Disposition” (Jake Gyllenhaal’s favorite band). Another time, Taylor explained the song’s meaning as follows: “That song was about a person that I knew from the minute I saw him, that it would end in fiery, burning wreckage. There’s something about that magnetic draw that doesn’t really let up. You walk toward it anyway.”

Her co-writer Dan Wilson said: “It’s like deliberately putting yourself so close to someone that you will inevitably fall into their arms. Taking command of the situation by letting go of all command.”

Live Performances

Taylor first performed “Treacherous” during her Google+ live chat when she announced the RED album on August 13, 2012. She performed an acoustic version of the song at her mom‘s residence in Nashville. Taylor also included “Treacherous” on the regular set list of “The RED Tour” (2013-2014). Later, she sang the track as a “surprise song” at her “reputation Stadium Tour” show in Philadelphia on July 14, 2018. She played the song on piano on “The Eras Tour,” during her show on April 13, 2023, in Tampa, an on guitar on May 12, 2024, in Paris (this time as a mashup with “The Alchemy“). The professional recording of the latter performance was released a couple of days later.

Critical Reception

“Treacherous” was critically acclaimed by music critics, who complimented Taylor for her songwriting, comparing the song to her work on her third album, Speak Now (2010). Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone wrote, “Taylor braves the ski slopes of love, with a seething acoustic guitar that finally detonates halfway though. A weird sonic detail: if you play this immediately after Joni Mitchell’s ‘People’s Parties,’ the transition is almost frighteningly perfect.” Insider wrote in 2017, “This song has everything you could ever want from a Swiftian love song: there’s tension in the opening line; car imagery that leads back to her lover; impactful line changes; and one of the tightest couplets of her career (“And I’ll do anything you say / If you say it with your hands / And I’d be smart to walk away / But you’re quicksand”). All of that adds up to it being a brilliantly written song that exemplifies exactly why Taylor is one of the best songwriters of her generation.”

Commercial Performance

Upon the release of RED (Taylor’s Version), “Treacherous (Taylor’s Version)” debuted and peaked at No. 54 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, the week ending November 26, 2021.

Taylor's Version

On August 6, 2021, Taylor announced that a re-recorded version of “Treacherous”, titled “Treacherous (Taylor’s Version)”, would be included as the third track on her second re-recorded album, RED (Taylor’s Version), which was released on November 12, 2021, through Republic Records.

Lyrics

[Verse 1]
Put your lips close to mine
As long as they don’t touch
Out of focus, eye to eye
Till the gravity’s too much
And I’ll do anything you say
If you say it with your hands
And I’d be smart to walk away
But you’re quick sand

[Chorus]
This slope is treacherous
This path is reckless
This slope is treacherous
And I, I, I like it

[Verse 2]
I can’t decide if it’s a choice
Getting swept away
I hear the sound of my own voice
Asking you to stay
And all we are is skin and bone
Trained to get along
Forever going with the flow
But you’re friction

[Chorus]
This slope is treacherous
This path is reckless
This slope is treacherous
And I, I, I like it

[Bridge]
Two headlights shine through the sleepless night and I will…
Get you a, get you alone
Your name has echoed through my mind and I just…
Think you should, think you should know
That nothing safe is worth the drive and I would…
Follow you, follow you home
I’ll follow you, follow you home

[Breakdown]
This hope is treacherous
This daydream is dangerous
This hope is treacherous
I, I, I…I, I, I…I, I, I…

[Bridge]
Two headlights shine through the sleepless night and I will…
Get you, I’ll get you alone
Your name has echoed through my mind and I just…
Think you should, think you should know
That nothing safe is worth the drive and I would…
Follow you, follow you home
I’ll follow you, follow you home
I’ll follow you, follow you home
I’ll follow you, follow you home

[Outro]
This slope is treacherous
I, I, I like it