Carolina
Where The Crawdads Sing (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) | 2022
Table of Contents
Background and Release
The first trailer for the film was released on March 22, 2022, and featured “Carolina” being played in the background. The trailer also revealed that the song was written and performed by Taylor. Another snippet of the song was revealed through a longer trailer of the film on May 22, 2022. The release date of the song was teased by the film’s official Instagram account, when they made a series of posts on June 22 with captions that had capitalized letters, spelling out “Carolina This Thursday” together. The next day, the song’s release date was confirmed as June 24, 2022. A lyric video on YouTube accompanied the release.
Writing and Lyrical Theme
«Where The Crawdads Sing is a book I got absolutely lost in when I read it years ago. As soon as I heard there was a film in the works starring the incredible Daisy Edgar-Jones and produced by the brilliant Reese Witherspoon, I knew I wanted to be a part of it from the musical side. I wrote the song “Carolina” alone and asked my friend Aaron Dessner to produce it. I wanted to create something haunting and ethereal to match this mesmerizing story.»
Taylor Swift
Production
«About a year & half ago I wrote a song about the story of a girl who always lived on the outside, looking in. Figuratively & literally. The juxtaposition of her loneliness & independence. Her curiosity & fear all tangled up. Her persisting gentleness & the world’s betrayal of it. I wrote this one alone in the middle of the night and then Aaron Dessner and I meticulously worked on a sound that we felt would be authentic to the moment when this story takes place. I made a wish that one day you would hear it.»
Taylor Swift
Live Performance
«Now, on basically all of my days when I'm not doing shows, I'm just constantly trying to figure out what songs to do for you, and what songs might go together. And then practicing them constantly. So, this is really where it all comes down for me during the show. It's just like the most amount of, 'Don't mess this up, don't mess this up,' cause it's also my favorite part of the show. Uhm, I'm gonna call this 'The Murder Mashup.'»
Taylor Swift
Critical Reception
Commercial Performance
Accolades
Lyrics
[Verse 1]
Oh, Carolina creeks running through my veins
Lost I was born, lonesome I came
Lonesome I’ll always stay
Carolina knows why, for years, I roam
Free as these birds, light as whispers
Carolina knows
[Pre-Chorus]
And you didn’t see me here
No, they never did see me here
And she’s in my dreams
[Chorus]
Into the mist, into the clouds
Don’t leave
I make a fist, I’ll make it count
And there are places I will never, ever go
And things that only Carolina will ever know
[Verse 2]
Carolina stains on the dress she left
Indelible scars, pivotal marks
Blue as the life she fled
Carolina pines, won’t you cover me?
Hide me like robes down the back road
Muddy these webs we weave
[Pre-Chorus]
And you didn’t see me here
Oh, they never did see me
And she’s in my dreams
[Chorus]
Into the mist, into the clouds
Don’t leave
I make a fist, I’ll make it count
And there are places I will never, ever go
And things that only Carolina will ever know
[Refrain]
And you didn’t see me here
They never did see me here
No, you didn’t see me here
They never saw me
[Verse 3]
Oh, Carolina knows why for years they’ve said
That I was guilty as sin and sleep in a liar’s bed
But the sleep comes fast and I’ll meet no ghosts
It’s between me, the sand, and the sea
Carolina knows
[Verse 1]
Oh, Carolina creeks running through my veins
Lost I was born, lonesome I came
Lonesome I’ll always stay
Carolina knows why for years I roam
Free as these birds, light as whispers
Carolina knows
[Pre-Chorus]
And you didn’t see me here
No, they never did see me here
And she’s in my dreams
[Chorus]
Into the mist, into the clouds
Don’t leave
I make a fist, I make it count
And there are places I will never, ever go
And things that only Carolina will ever know
[Verse 2]
Carolina stains on the dress she left
Indeliblе scars, pivotal marks
Blue as the life shе fled
Carolina pines, won’t you cover me?
Hide me like robes, down the back road
Muddy these webs we weave
[Pre-Chorus]
And you didn’t see me here
They never saw me
[Verse 3]
Oh, Carolina knows
Why for years they’ve said
That I was guilty as sin
And sleep in a liar’s bed
But the sleep comes fast
And I’ll leave no ghosts
It’s between me, the sand, and the sea
Carolina knows
Artist | Taylor Swift |
---|---|
Released | June 24, 2022 |
Written | 2020 |
Recorded | 2020-2022 |
Genre | Americana Appalachian Folk |
Length | 4:24 (Full Edition) 2:44 (Video Edition) |
Label | Republic Records |
Songwriter | Taylor Swift |
Producers | Aaron Dessner Taylor Swift |