I Bet You Think About Me
"I Bet You Think About Me"[a] is a song by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift featuring harmony vocals from the American singer-songwriter Chris Stapleton. Swift wrote it with Lori McKenna in June 2011 and intended to include it on her fourth studio album, Red (2012). Although it did not make the cut, it was produced by Swift and Aaron Dessner for Red's re-recorded version, Red (Taylor's Version) (2021). Republic Records and MCA Nashville released the song to US country radio on November 15, 2021.
"I Bet You Think About Me"
"I Bet You Think About Me" is a country and folk-pop ballad with a harmonica-laced production that incorporates acoustic guitars, lap steel guitars, high-strung guitars, and a string section. Its tongue-in-cheek lyrics contrast the narrator's humble upbringing with an ex-lover's pretentious, high-class lifestyle. The accompanying music video, which marked Blake Lively's directorial debut, stars Swift as a woman who attempts to sabotage the wedding of her ex-boyfriend (Miles Teller).
Music critics generally complimented the country production, songwriting, and Stapleton's vocals. "I Bet You Think About Me" peaked at number 22 on the Billboard Global 200 and entered on the charts in Australia, Canada, and the United States. The song was nominated for Best Country Song at the 65th Annual Grammy Awards, and the music video was nominated for Video of the Year at both the 57th Academy of Country Music Awards and 56th Annual Country Music Association Awards.
Background and release[edit]
After ending her 13-year contract with Big Machine Records and signing a new deal with Republic Records in 2018, Swift began re-recording her first six studio albums in November 2020.[2] The decision followed a public 2019 dispute between Swift and the talent manager Scooter Braun, who had acquired Big Machine, including the masters of her albums which the label had released.[3][4] By re-recording the albums, Swift had full ownership of the new masters, which enabled her to encourage licensing of her re-recorded songs for commercial use in hopes of substituting the Big Machine-owned masters.[5]
In April 2021, Swift released her first re-recorded album: the re-recording of her 2008 studio album Fearless, subtitled Taylor's Version. In addition to the re-recorded tracks, it contained several unreleased "From the Vault" tracks that she had written but left out of the original album.[6] On November 12, 2021, she released her second re-recorded album: the re-recorded version of her 2012 studio album Red, also subtitled Taylor's Version.[7] As with its predecessor, Red (Taylor's Version) also includes "From the Vault" tracks that Swift had intended for but left out of the original Red.[8]
"I Bet You Think About Me" is one of the vault tracks on Red (Taylor's Version).[9] Swift wrote the song while staying in Foxborough, Massachusetts, to play two Gillette Stadium shows as part of her Speak Now World Tour in June 2011.[10][11] She then contacted the American musician Lori McKenna, whom she had known through their mutual friend Liz Rose, to ask McKenna to join the song as a co-writer. The two completed writing at McKenna's house in Stoughton, Massachusetts within the first day of the Gillette show.[12] McKenna recalled that Swift had the rough idea and title, and she helped Swift "bounce stuff off of".[13] Officially titled "I Bet You Think About Me (Taylor's Version) (From the Vault)", it is track number 26 on Red (Taylor's Version).[14] Republic Records and MCA Nashville released the song to US country radio on November 15, 2021.[15] On April 30, 2023, Swift performed "I Bet You Think About Me" on guitar as a "surprise song" at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, as part of her sixth headlining concert tour, the Eras Tour.[16]
Production and lyrics[edit]
Swift produced "I Bet You Think About Me" with Aaron Dessner, who recorded and engineered the track with Jonathan Low. Christopher Rowe recorded Swift's lead vocals at Kitty Committee Studio in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Dessner played acoustic guitar, bass guitar, high-strung guitar, and piano. Josh Kaufman was an additional recording engineer and played the harmonica, electric guitar, and lap steel guitar. The track features a string section (consisting of violins, violas, cellos) played by the London Contemporary Orchestra; their performance was conducted by Robert Ames, orchestrated by Dessner's brother Bryce, and recorded by Jeremy Murphy at the EBC Studio in London. Chris Stapleton's vocals were recorded at Sputnik Sound Studio in Nashville. Low mixed the track and Dessner recorded the instruments that he played at Long Pond Studios in New York.[14]
The end product is a country and folk-pop ballad.[17][18][19] It has a harmonica-driven production[20] with twangy vocals[21] and background vocal harmonies from Stapleton.[17] In the lyrics, Swift makes multiple sarcastic remarks towards an ex-lover and his lifestyle.[22] Swift said, "We wanted this song to be like a comedic, tongue-in-cheek, funny, not caring what anyone thinks about you sort of breakup song", and explained that she and McKenna wanted to write a drinking song.[11] The ex-lover in question has made Swift feel inferior towards him; she fails to fit in with his "upper-crust circles", and he has once told her that he and Swift are "too different".[23] Recounting the differences between the two former partners' childhoods, she labels herself as a girl "raised on a farm" and the ex-lover as someone born with a "silver spoon" and from a "gated community.[24] At the end of the song, Swift additionally references her ex-lover's "cool indie concerts", "organic shoes", and "million-dollar [couches]".[18][24] She concludes the song by referring to her songwriting profession: "When you say, 'Oh my god, she's insane, she wrote a song about me?'/ I bet you think about me."[25]