Cardigan (song)
"Cardigan" (stylized in all lowercase) is a song by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift and the lead single from her eighth studio album, Folklore (2020). Republic Records released the song on July 27, 2020. Written by Swift and its producer, Aaron Dessner, "Cardigan" is a folk, soft rock, and indie rock ballad, with a stripped-down arrangement of a piano, drums, and violins.
For the Don Toliver song, see Heaven or Hell (album)."Cardigan"
July 27, 2020
- Kitty Committee (Los Angeles)
- Long Pond (Hudson Valley, New York)
4:00
- Taylor Swift
- Aaron Dessner
Aaron Dessner
The song's lyrics discuss a romance lost in memories, from the perspective of a female narrator named Betty, one of the several fictitious characters narrated in Folklore. An accompanying music video, written, directed, and styled by Swift, was released alongside the album launch. The video has been described as following a cottagecore aesthetic, featuring Swift in three different settings: a "cozy cabin" in the woods, a moss-covered forest, and a dark stormy sea, which represents the concept of the different phases in relationships. "Cardigan" was praised by music critics for its poetic songwriting and laid-back sound. It received nominations for Song of the Year and Best Pop Solo Performance at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards. An acoustic version of the song, branded as "Cabin in Candlelight", was also released.
Commercially, "Cardigan" debuted atop the global Spotify songs chart with over 7.742 million streams, which was, at that time, the biggest opening day for a song on the platform in 2020. With the song's debut at the number-one spot of the Billboard Hot 100 as well, Swift scored the sixth U.S. number-one single of her career. Along with Folklore's debut atop the Billboard 200 the same week, she became the first artist ever to simultaneously debut atop the Hot 100 and Billboard 200. "Cardigan" further topped the Hot Alternative Songs, Hot Rock & Alternative Songs, Streaming Songs and Digital Song Sales charts, making Swift the first act in history to garner twenty chart-toppers on the latter. It reached number one in Australia, the top ten in Canada, Ireland, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, and the United Kingdom, and the top 20 in Denmark, Estonia, Lithuania and Scotland.
Production and release[edit]
The American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift began work on her eighth studio album, Folklore, during the COVID-19 lockdowns in early 2020. She conceived the record as figments of mythopoeic visuals in her mind, as a result of her imagination "running wild" while isolating herself during lockdown.[1][2] For the album's sound, Swift recruited the first-time collaborator, Aaron Dessner, as a producer on Folklore.[3] Much of the songs they worked on were originally Dessner's instrumental tracks that Swift would write the melody and lyrics over.[4] Due to the lockdown, they were separated and therefore had to send them via digital files to create the album.[5]
"Cardigan" was the first song Swift and Dessner wrote in their collaboration and for Folklore. It was based on one of Dessner's instrumentals called "Maple".[6][7] "Cardigan" has the same music as the instrumental, but with added orchestration written by his brother Bryce. On April 27, 2020, Aaron Dessner sent a folder of instrumentals to Swift that included it. After hearing "Maple", she sent a voice memo to him and they wrote the song in five hours.[8] "Cardigan" was recorded by Aaron Dessner and Jonathan Low at Long Pond in Hudson Valley. Its vocals were recorded by Laura Sisk at Swift's home studio (Kitty Committee) in Los Angeles. The track was mixed by Low at Long Pond and mastered by Randy Merrill at Sterling Sound in New York.[9]
On July 23, 2020, Swift announced Folklore and its release date at midnight. Out of the 16 songs, "Cardigan" is placed at number two. The song was released on July 24, alongside an accompanied music video posted on YouTube.[10] "Cardigan" serves as the lead single for Folklore;[11] Universal Music Group sent the track to Italian radio on July 27,[12] and Republic Records serviced it on US pop[13] and adult pop radio formats the next day.[14] A demo version of the song subtitled "Cabin in Candlelight" was also released on July 30; it was an exclusive that lasted for a day.[15]
Music and lyrics[edit]
"Cardigan" is a wistful, slow-burning, folk,[16] soft rock[17] and indie rock[18] song driven by a stripped-down arrangement of a tender piano and a clopping drum sample, over a moody atmosphere.[19][20] It is written in the key of E♭ major and has a moderately fast tempo of 130 beats per minute.[21] Swift's vocal range in the song spans from E♭3 to A♭4.[22] The lyrics display confidence, but are also "slightly embittered".[8] Swift told her fans that "Cardigan" is about "a lost romance and why young love is often fixed so permanently within our memories".[23] It is one of the three of the tracks on the album that depict the same love triangle from three different perspectives at different times in their lives, the other two being "August" and "Betty".[24]
In the song, Swift sings from the perspective of a fictional character named Betty, who recalls the separation and enduring optimism of a relationship with someone named James.[25] While promoting the limited edition version of the single, Swift told fans that she sent the original songwriting voice memo to Aaron Dessner on April 27, 2020, after hearing the instrumental tracks he created.[26] Roisin O'Connor of The Independent compared the song to "Call It What You Want" from Swift's sixth studio album, Reputation (2017),[27] while Spin's Bobby Olivier compared it to "Wildest Dreams" from her fifth studio album, 1989 (2014).[19]
Critical reception[edit]
Upon release, the song received universal critical acclaim from critics. Callie Ahlgrim of Insider Inc. dubbed the lyrics of "Cardigan" as an "effective way to evoke young love and innocence lost", describing them as simple, sharp and extremely poignant.[28] Pitchfork's Jillian Mapes wrote that the song's "overlapping details and central framing device—of a cardigan forgotten and found without a second thought—are pure Swift".[29] Courteney Larocca of Insider Inc. opined that the song has cues of Lana Del Rey.[28] Laura Snapes of The Guardian described the song as "cavernous and shimmering as a rock pool in a cave".[30] Jill Gutowitz of Vulture.com characterized "Cardigan" as "adorable, and yet, again, hurtful".[31]
The NME writer Hannah Mylrea defined the song as a "swirling amalgam" of gleaming production, swooning strings, flickering piano, and lyrics that exude pain from young love, and praised Swift's songwriting for "stunningly" conveying complex mixed emotions of hurt, jealousy and heartbreak in a "gorgeous" folk tune. Mylrea placed "Cardigan" at number four on her September 2020 list ranking all of Swift's 161 songs back then.[32] Caragh Medlicott of Wales Arts Review deemed the song as "a resurgence of self-worth discovered, somewhat ironically, through the love of another".[33] Uproxx's Philip Cosores stated that "Cardigan" is "rooted in the vivid details and melodic warmth that characterizes much of [Swift's] music".[34] Entertainment Weekly's Maura Johnston felt the song's lyrics are "confident" but "slightly embittered", which she thought "pay off at the album's end".[8] Billboard, on their list of 100 Best Songs of 2020, placed "Cardigan" at number 11, calling it "a lead single unlike anything Swift had released before."[35] Emphasizing its "finest" storytelling, The Plain Dealer ranked the song number 6 on its list of best songs of 2020.[36] Complex listed the song at number 21 on its ranking of best songs of 2020, highlighting Swift's evolved songwriting.[37]
Commercial performance[edit]
On Spotify, "Cardigan" debuted with over 7.742 million streams, garnering the biggest opening day for any song in 2020.[38][a] It remained atop of the chart for four consecutive days, as of July 27, 2020.[40] Following the inauguration of Billboard Global 200 chart seven weeks after the release of Folklore, "Cardigan" appeared at number 77 on the chart, dated September 19, 2020.[41]
On the US Billboard Hot 100, "Cardigan" debuted at number one,[42] earned Swift her sixth number-one single in the country and second number-one debut following "Shake It Off" (2014). This made Swift the first artist ever to debut at number-one on both the Hot 100 and Billboard 200 charts in the same week. The single was joined in the top-10 by fellow Folklore tracks "The 1" and "Exile", and increased Swift's number of top-10 songs to 28. Moreover, it extended her record as the woman with the most top-10 debuts to 18. In its opening week, "Cardigan" earned 34 million US streams, 12.7 million radio impressions and sold 71,000 digital downloads, debuting atop the Streaming Songs and Digital Song Sales charts dated August 8, 2020, further extending Swift's all-time record as the artist with the most number-ones on the Digital Song Sales chart to 20.[43][44] In its second week on the Hot 100, "Cardigan" descended to number eight.[42] Furthermore, the song also topped the Alternative Streaming Songs, Alternative Digital Song Sales, Hot Alternative Songs and Hot Rock & Alternative Songs charts.[44]
In Australia, "Cardigan" debuted at number one on the ARIA Singles Chart, becoming Swift's sixth chart-topping single in the country, and her first chart-topping single since "Look What You Made Me Do" (2017). It was one of five songs that debuted in the top 10 in the country, making Folklore the album with the most top-10 songs of 2020 in the country.[45] It also debuted at number two on New Zealand's Top 40 Singles chart, along with "The 1" and "Exile" in the top 10.[46][47]
On the Canadian Hot 100, "Cardigan" peaked at number three,[48] while in Ireland, the song debuted at number four on the Irish Singles Chart, accompanied by "Exile" and "The 1" in the top 10, bringing Swift's total Irish top-10 songs to 15.[49] In the United Kingdom, the song entered at number six on the Official Singles Chart, opening with over 35,000 units.[50] "Exile" and "The 1" also debuted in the top 10, taking Swift's total UK top-10s to sixteen, while making her the sixth woman in UK history to have three top-10 songs simultaneously.[51]
Outside of the English-speaking world, "Cardigan" topped the singles chart in the Netherlands,[52] reached number two in Malaysia[53] and Singapore,[54] and entered the top 20 in Denmark,[55] Estonia,[56] Lithuania,[57] and Scotland.[58]
Credits and personnel[edit]
Song[edit]
Credits adapted from the liner notes of "Cardigan".[9]