"This Love"
Song by Taylor Swift
from the album 1989
WrittenOctober 17, 2012 (2012-10-17)
ReleasedOctober 27, 2014 (2014-10-27)
StudioPain in the Art (Nashville)
Genre
Length4:10
LabelBig Machine
Songwriter(s)Taylor Swift
Producer(s)

"This Love" is a song written and recorded by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift for her fifth studio album, 1989 (2014). Swift produced the song with Nathan Chapman. An atmospheric ballad, "This Love" combines soft rock and synth-pop. Its lyrics use oceanic imagery to describe the revival of a faded romance.

After 1989 was released, the track charted on the Canadian Hot 100 at number 84 and the US Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles at number 19. It was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for one million track-equivalent units. In reviews of 1989, some music critics labeled the song as a highlight of 1989, but others deemed its balladic production out of place for the album's upbeat sound.

The re-recording of the song, titled "This Love (Taylor's Version)", was released on May 6, 2022, via Republic Records. It featured on the trailers for the Amazon Prime Video television series The Summer I Turned Pretty. "This Love (Taylor's Version)" features an enhanced production quality, exuding indie rock tendencies. The song is included as part of 1989 (Taylor's Version), which was released on October 27, 2023, and is part of Swift's plan to re-record her back catalog, following the dispute over the ownership of the masters of her first six albums.

Background and writing

Taylor Swift, an American singer-songwriter, had been known as a country artist prior to the release of her fourth studio album, Red (2012).[1][2] Many of the album's tracks incorporate predominantly pop or rock musical styles, a result of Swift's desire to experiment with the genres.[3][4] This prompted a media debate over the validity of her status as a country artist.[5] For her next album, 1989, Swift decided to create a "blatant pop" record and move away from the signature country styles of her previous releases.[6][7] She began writing songs for the album in mid-2013.[8]

"This Love" was the first song that Swift wrote for 1989,[9] and the only one that she wrote on her own.[10] According to 1989's liner notes, she did so on October 17, 2012, when she was in Los Angeles.[11] Swift initially envisioned "This Love" as a "fun, little short poem" for her personal journal; when she came up with a melody in her head, she opted to turn the poem into a song.[12] To this end, she enlisted the help of her long-time collaborator Nathan Chapman, who worked with Swift on all her previous albums, to produce the track with her.[13][11] "This Love" was the only song from 1989 produced by Chapman.[14] The track was recorded at his Pain in the Art Studio in Nashville, Tennessee, and mixed by Serban Ghenea at MixStar Studios in Virginia Beach, Virginia.[11]

Release and live performances

Taylor Swift on the 1989 World Tour in 2015
Swift performing on the 1989 World Tour in 2015

1989 was released on October 27, 2014, by Big Machine Records;[15] "This Love" places at number 11 on the album's track list.[16] "This Love" peaked at number 84 on the Canadian Hot 100 chart dated November 15, 2014.[17] In the United States, it peaked at number 19 on the Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart.[18] The track was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), which denotes one million units consisting of sales and on-demand streaming.[19]

After 1989's release, Swift included the song on the regular set list for the album's associated world tour, which began on May 5, 2015.[20] The track appeared as background music for a Victoria's Secret holiday advertisement that premiered in December 2015.[21] Swift performed a stripped-down, acoustic version of "This Love" as a "surprise song" on the first Atlanta show of her Reputation Stadium Tour, in 2018.[22] She sang a piano rendition of the song at the second concert in Philadelphia, as part of the Eras Tour, in 2023.[23]

Music and lyrics

"This Love" is a midtempo atmospheric ballad.[24] It has a duration of around four minutes and is one of the slowest tracks in the album.[25][26] The song is a primarily synth-pop[27] and soft rock song.[28][29] Time's Sam Lansky described it as an "electro-ballad".[30] "This Love" consists of both acoustic and electronic instruments with a slow-burning and melodramatic production.[31][32] It uses double tracking on Swift's vocals.[33] Rob Sheffield, a critic for Rolling Stone, compared the track's sound to that of 1980s power ballads, specifically citing Bon Jovi's "I'll Be There for You" (1989).[25]

The lyrics are about feelings of heartbreak: "Lantern, burning, flickered in my mind for only you / But you were still gone, gone, gone."[34] Swift uses the ocean as a metaphor for a love that disappears and then comes back like the tides.[26] Critics considered it one of 1989's saddest songs.[26][35] Time magazine's Sam Lansky argued that the chorus's catchiness made it more hopeful than anguished.[30] Swift remarked that she frequently listened to "This Love", citing it as one of her favorites on the album.[9]

Critical reception

Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone selected "This Love" as one of the three best tracks on 1989, the other two being "How You Get the Girl" and "Clean".[25] In an album review for musicOMH, critic Shane Kimberline lauded it as 1989's best song, emphasizing the chorus and "classic Swiftian" lyrics.[36] Jon Caramanica of The New York Times thought that Swift's songwriting in "This Love" was less detail-oriented compared to her past work;[34] Mikael Wood from the Los Angeles Times took issue with the generic lyrics.[37] Marah Eakin from The A.V. Club considered "This Love" as one of 1989's weaker songs because of its midtempo balladry compared to the album's upbeat production,[24] and Corey Beasley from PopMatters found the atmospheric balladry out of place for the album's overall sound.[38]

Personnel

Credits are adapted from 1989 album liner notes.[11]

  • Taylor Swift – vocals, background vocals, producer, acoustic guitar
  • Nathan Chapman – producer, recording engineer, bass, drums, electric guitar, keyboard
  • Jason Campbell – miscellaneous support
  • John Hanes – engineer
  • Serban Ghenea – mixing

Charts

2014 weekly chart performance for "This Love"
Chart (2014) Peak
position
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[17] 84
US Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (Billboard)[18] 19
2022–2023 weekly chart performance for "This Love"
Chart (2022–2023) Peak
position
Portugal (AFP)[39] 103

Certifications

Certification for "This Love"
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[40] Gold 35,000‡
United States (RIAA)[19] Platinum 1,000,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

"This Love (Taylor's Version)"

"This Love (Taylor's Version)"
Cover artwork of "This Love (Taylor's Version)"
Promotional single by Taylor Swift
from the album 1989 (Taylor's Version)
B-side"Wildest Dreams (Taylor's Version)"
ReleasedMay 6, 2022 (2022-05-06)
Genre
Length4:10
LabelRepublic
Songwriter(s)Taylor Swift
Producer(s)
Lyric video
"This Love (Taylor's Version)" on YouTube

A re-recorded version of "This Love", titled "This Love (Taylor's Version)", was released by Swift on May 6, 2022, via Republic Records. The song is part of Swift's re-recording plan following the dispute over the ownership to her older discography's masters.

Background and release

Following a dispute with Big Machine Records in 2019 over the rights to the masters of her first six studio albums, including 1989, Swift announced her goal to re-record each of these albums. A snippet of "This Love (Taylor's Version)" was featured in the first trailer for the 2022 Prime Video original series The Summer I Turned Pretty, released on May 5, 2022.[41] The song was released on digital platforms on May 6.[9] Along with a digital single for "This Love (Taylor's Version)", Swift also released The Old Taylor Collection, merchandise themed to both 1989 and Swift's 2010 album Speak Now.[42] The re-recorded track is included as part of 1989 (Taylor's Version), which was released on October 27, 2023.[43]

Composition and reception

Compared to the original version, "This Love (Taylor's Version)" features strong elements of indie rock, which critics noted as a possible influence of Swift's 2020 indie rock-indebted albums Folklore and Evermore.[12][44] Much of the production remains the same,[45] but the synthesizers are more subdued, and Swift's vocals are less processed, more amplified and resonant.[27][44][46] Mary Siroky of Consequence highlighted the track as a testament to Swift's songwriting ability to "capture the magic, devastation, and fantasy of romance".[45]

Track listing

Digital download and streaming[47]

  1. "This Love (Taylor's Version)" – 4:10
  2. "Wildest Dreams (Taylor's Version)" – 3:40

Credits and personnel

Credits are adapted from Tidal.[48]

Charts

Chart performance for "This Love (Taylor's Version)"
Chart (2022–2023) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[49] 23
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[50] 30
Global 200 (Billboard)[51] 35
Greece International (IFPI)[52] 85
Hungary (Single Top 40)[53] 36
Ireland (IRMA)[54] 26
Malaysia (RIM)[55] 5
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[56] 40
Philippines (Billboard)[57] 13
Singapore (RIAS)[58] 17
UK Singles (OCC)[59] 42
US Billboard Hot 100[60] 42
Vietnam (Vietnam Hot 100)[61] 23

Certification

Certification for "This Love (Taylor's Version)"
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[62] Gold 35,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Release dates and formats for "This Love"
RegionDateFormatVersionLabelRef.
Various May 6, 2022 Taylor's Version Republic [47]

References

Citations

  1. ↑ Caulfield, Keith (October 30, 2012). "Taylor Swift's Red Sells 1.21 Million; Biggest Sales Week for an Album Since 2002". Billboard. Archived from the original on February 1, 2013. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  2. ↑ McNutt 2020, p. 77.
  3. ↑ McNutt 2020, pp. 77–78.
  4. ↑ Doyle, Patrick (July 15, 2013). "Taylor Swift: 'Floodgates Open' for Next Album". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on February 25, 2019. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  5. ↑ McNutt 2020, p. 78.
  6. ↑ Eells, Josh (September 8, 2014). "The Reinvention of Taylor Swift". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on August 16, 2018. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  7. ↑ Light, Alan (December 5, 2014). "Billboard Woman of the Year Taylor Swift on Writing Her Own Rules, Not Becoming a Cliche and the Hurdle of Going Pop". Billboard. Archived from the original on December 26, 2014. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  8. ↑ Talbott, Chris (October 13, 2013). "Taylor Swift Talks Next Album, CMAs and Ed Sheeran". Associated Press. Archived from the original on October 26, 2013. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  9. 1 2 3 Willman, Chris (May 5, 2022). "Taylor Swift Debuts 'This Love (Taylor's Version),' From 1989 Redo, in Amazon's The Summer I Turned Pretty Trailer". Variety. Archived from the original on May 5, 2022. Retrieved May 5, 2022.
  10. ↑ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "1989 – Taylor Swift". AllMusic. Archived from the original on October 31, 2014. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  11. 1 2 3 4 1989 (CD liner notes). Taylor Swift. Big Machine Records. 2014. BMRBD0500A.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  12. 1 2 Paúl, María Luisa (May 6, 2022). "Taylor Swift Releases 'This Love' in Next Move Toward Owning Her Catalogue". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on May 6, 2022. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  13. ↑ Perone 2017, pp. 43–51.
  14. ↑ Perone 2017, p. 63.
  15. ↑ Strecker, Erin (October 27, 2014). "Taylor Swift's 1989 Liner Note Messages & Reference Guide". Billboard. Archived from the original on May 9, 2022. Retrieved May 9, 2022.
  16. ↑ Walker, John (October 22, 2014). "Taylor Swift Reveals Her 1989 Track List: Panic Accordingly". MTV News. Archived from the original on January 29, 2022. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  17. 1 2 "Taylor Swift Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  18. 1 2 "Taylor Swift Chart History (Bubbling Under Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  19. 1 2 "American single certifications – Taylor Swift – This Love". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  20. ↑ Lindner, Emilee (May 5, 2015). "Taylor Swift's 1989 World Tour: A Track By Track Breakdown". MTV News. Archived from the original on November 15, 2020. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  21. ↑ "Be Seduced By The Victoria's Secret Christmas Commercial". GQ Australia. December 11, 2015. Archived from the original on May 7, 2022. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  22. ↑ Iasimone, Ashley (November 20, 2018). "All the Surprise Songs Taylor Swift Has Performed On Her Reputation Stadium Tour B-Stage (So Far)". Billboard. Archived from the original on April 18, 2022. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  23. ↑ Iasimone, Ashley (May 8, 2023). "All the Surprise Songs Taylor Swift Has Performed on The Eras Tour (So Far)". Billboard. Archived from the original on March 19, 2023. Retrieved May 15, 2023.
  24. 1 2 Eakin, Marah (October 28, 2014). "With 1989, Taylor Swift finally grows up". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on October 28, 2014. Retrieved October 28, 2014.
  25. 1 2 3 Sheffield, Rob (October 24, 2014). "Taylor Swift 1989 Album Review". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on June 21, 2018. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  26. 1 2 3 Wickman, Forrest (October 25, 2014). "Taylor Swift's 1989: A Track-by-Track Breakdown". Slate. Archived from the original on February 14, 2019. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  27. 1 2 Jones, Abby (May 6, 2022). "Taylor Swift Releases 'This Love (Taylor's Version),' and We Can Almost Taste 1989 (Taylor's Version)". Consequence. Archived from the original on May 6, 2022. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  28. ↑ Farley, Rebecca (November 11, 2017). "This Is The Best Taylor Swift Song, No Arguing About It". Refinery29. Archived from the original on September 10, 2018. Retrieved November 2, 2022.
  29. ↑ Horton, Matthew (October 27, 2014). "Taylor Swift – 1989". NME. Archived from the original on October 27, 2014. Retrieved May 7, 2022.
  30. 1 2 Lansky, Sam (October 23, 2014). "Review: 1989 Marks a Paradigm Swift". Time. Archived from the original on October 23, 2014. Retrieved May 7, 2022.
  31. ↑ McKenna, Brittney (October 31, 2014). "A Track-by-Track Breakdown of What Makes 1989 the Year's Best Pop Album". Mic. Archived from the original on May 10, 2021. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  32. ↑ Sheffield, Rob (October 26, 2021). "All 206 of Taylor Swift's Songs, Ranked". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on February 15, 2021. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  33. ↑ Hasty, Katie (October 27, 2014). "Taylor Swift, 1989: Track-by-track album review". Uproxx. Archived from the original on October 3, 2021. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  34. 1 2 Caramanica, Jon (October 26, 2014). "A Farewell to Twang". The New York Times. Archived from the original on November 11, 2014. Retrieved May 7, 2022.
  35. ↑ Mylrae, Hannah (September 8, 2020). "Every Taylor Swift song ranked in order of greatness". NME. Archived from the original on September 17, 2020. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  36. ↑ Kimberlin, Shane (November 3, 2014). "Taylor Swift – 1989 | Album Review". musicOMH. Archived from the original on November 5, 2014. Retrieved February 5, 2019.
  37. ↑ Wood, Mikael (October 27, 2014). "Taylor Swift Smooths Out the Wrinkles on Sleek 1989". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on November 15, 2014. Retrieved May 7, 2022.
  38. ↑ Baesley, Corey (October 30, 2014). "Taylor Swift: 1989". PopMatters. Archived from the original on March 1, 2019. Retrieved May 7, 2022.
  39. ↑ "Taylor Swift – This Love". AFP Top 100 Singles. Retrieved November 9, 2023.
  40. ↑ "ARIA Top 50 Singles for week of 16 November 2023". Australian Recording Industry Association. November 16, 2023. Retrieved October 27, 2023.
  41. ↑ Kaufman, Gil (May 5, 2022). "Taylor Swift Teases 'This Love (Taylor's Version)' in The Summer I Turned Pretty Trailer". Billboard. Archived from the original on May 5, 2022. Retrieved May 5, 2022.
  42. ↑ Dailey, Hannah (May 5, 2022). "Taylor Swift Drops 'The Old Taylor' Merch Collection With Items Celebrating 1989 & Speak Now". Billboard. Archived from the original on May 5, 2022. Retrieved May 5, 2022.
  43. ↑ Minsker, Evan (September 20, 2023). "Taylor Swift Reveals 1989 (Taylor's Version) Vault Songs". Pitchfork. Retrieved September 25, 2023.
  44. 1 2 "Listen to Taylor Swift's Re-Record of 'This Love'". Rolling Stone. May 6, 2022. Archived from the original on May 5, 2022. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  45. 1 2 Siroky, Mary (May 7, 2022). "Song of the Week: Taylor Swift Has Us Falling Into 'This Love (Taylor's Version)'". Consequence. Archived from the original on May 9, 2022. Retrieved May 9, 2022.
  46. ↑ Saeed, Saeed (May 6, 2022). "Taylor Swift Records New Version of 'This Love' for TV Series The Summer I Turned Pretty". The National. Archived from the original on May 9, 2022. Retrieved May 9, 2022.
  47. 1 2 Swift, Taylor (May 6, 2022). "This Love (Taylor's Version) – Single". Apple Music (US). Archived from the original on May 6, 2022. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  48. ↑ "This Love (Taylor's Version) – Credits". Tidal. Archived from the original on May 6, 2022. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  49. ↑ "Taylor Swift – This Love (Taylor's Version)". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved May 19, 2022.
  50. ↑ "Taylor Swift Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved May 17, 2022.
  51. ↑ "Taylor Swift Chart History (Global 200)". Billboard. Retrieved November 7, 2023.
  52. ↑ "Digital Singles Chart (International)". IFPI Greece. Archived from the original on November 13, 2023. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
  53. ↑ "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Single (track) Top 40 lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. Retrieved May 20, 2022.
  54. ↑ "Official Irish Singles Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 14, 2022.
  55. ↑ "Top 20 Most Streamed International Singles In Malaysia – Week 19". Recording Industry Association of Malaysia. April 8–14, 2022. Retrieved May 21, 2022 – via Facebook.
  56. ↑ "Taylor Swift – This Love (Taylor's Version)". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved May 19, 2022.
  57. ↑ "Taylor Swift Chart History (Philippines Songs)". Billboard. Archived from the original on May 17, 2022. Retrieved May 3, 2022.
  58. ↑ "RIAS Top Charts Week 19 (6 – 12 May 2022)". Recording Industry Association Singapore. May 10, 2022. Archived from the original on May 17, 2022. Retrieved May 17, 2022.
  59. ↑ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 13, 2022.
  60. ↑ "Taylor Swift Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved November 7, 2023.
  61. ↑ "Taylor Swift Chart History (Billboard Vietnam Hot 100)". Billboard. Archived from the original on June 6, 2022. Retrieved May 21, 2022.
  62. ↑ "ARIA Top 50 Singles Chart". Australian Recording Industry Association. November 6, 2023. Retrieved November 3, 2023.

Bibliography

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