The Last Time (Taylor Swift song)
"The Last Time" is a song by Taylor Swift featuring Gary Lightbody, taken from Swift's fourth studio album, Red (2012). Swift wrote the track with Lightbody and Jacknife Lee; the latter two are members of the rock band Snow Patrol. A power ballad, the song sees Swift's and Lightbody's characters expressing their perspectives on a failed relationship, torn between heartbreak and forgiveness. The production combines alternative rock and folk over dramatic string instruments and an orchestral background in the refrain. "The Last Time" was released in the United Kingdom on November 4, 2013, as a single from Red.
"The Last Time"
Critics praised "The Last Time" for its production and Lightbody's performance, but some felt that Lightbody's and Swift's vocals do not complement each other. Retrospectively, they considered it one of Swift's weakest songs in her discography. Commercially, the song reached the top 30 on singles charts in Ireland, Scotland, and the UK. A re-recorded version, "The Last Time (Taylor's Version)", was included on Swift's re-recorded album Red (Taylor's Version), released on November 12, 2021.
Background and release[edit]
Swift released her third studio album, Speak Now, in October 2010.[1] She wrote the album by herself and co-produced it with Nathan Chapman.[2][3] Speak Now was similar to Swift's previous album, Fearless (2008), in its country pop production style.[4][5] On her fourth studio album, Red (2012), Swift wanted to experiment with other musical styles.[6] To this end, she approached different producers beyond her career base in Nashville, Tennessee.[2] Swift worked with musicians Gary Lightbody and Jacknife Lee of the Irish-Scottish band Snow Patrol, admiring their sentimental music "about loss or longing".[7] She was connected with Lightbody by their mutual friend, English singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran, when they were recording in the studio one day.[8] The song that Swift and Lightbody worked on together for Red is "The Last Time", which features Lightbody on guest vocals and Lee on writing and producing.[6]
"The Last Time" was released commercially as part of the album Red, on October 22, 2012, by Big Machine Records.[9][10] It was released as a single in the United Kingdom for the week of November 4, 2013, by Mercury Records.[11][12] Swift and Lightbody performed the track live during the Sacramento, California, concert of Swift's Red Tour on August 27, 2013—their first time singing live together. The performance was recorded by director Terry Richardson and released as the song's live music video on November 15, 2013.[13] The pair performed the song once again on the tenth season of British version of The X Factor on November 3, 2013.[14][15] On June 16, 2023, Swift performed "The Last Time" as a "surprise song" at the Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh, as part of her sixth concert tour the Eras Tour.[16]
Composition and lyrics[edit]
"The Last Time" is a power ballad.[17] Lewis Randy of the Los Angeles Times said that it is an alternative rock song, following the musical style of Snow Patrol.[18] Reviews from The Philippine Inquirer and The Daily Telegraph categorized the song as folk, with a relatively dark production compared to Red's upbeat tracks.[19][20] The refrain is accentuated by an orchestral background consisting of strings and brass.[17][21] The track ends with a strings-laden coda.[9] The strings were arranged and conducted by Owen Pallett.[22] Musicologist James E. Perone noted that "The Last Time" uses the '50s progression, I–vi–IV–V, which is associated with many American pop songs from the 1950s; Perone argued that this quality lent "The Last Time" a timeless feel. He further remarked that the orchestral stringed instruments are reminiscent of the music by the 1970s and early-1980s group Electric Light Orchestra.[23]
The lyrics tell the story of a crumbling relationship, with the two narrators detailing a vicious cycle of heartbreak and forgiveness. Swift said she was inspired to write "The Last Time" by a relationship with an unreliable ex-lover, "You never know when he's going to leave, you never know when he's going to come back, but he always does come back."[24] Swift imagined a scenario where outside a door is a boyfriend on his knees on the ground, with the girlfriend waiting inside the room, torn between allowing him to come back or not, after having been heartbroken many times.[24] The song features both Lightbody and Swift on lead vocals; Lightbody sings of his character's perspective on the failed relationship in the first verse, followed by Swift's presentation of her character's in the second.[25] Swift recalled, "It's a really fragile emotion you're dealing with when you want to love someone, but you don't know if it's smart to."[24]
Commercial performance[edit]
Upon Red's release, "The Last Time" peaked at number three on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart dated November 10, 2012.[36] During the same time frame, the song charted at number 73 on the Canadian Hot 100 chart.[37] In the United Kingdom, "The Last Time" debuted and peaked at number 25 on the UK Singles Chart for the week of November 10, 2013.[38] The track charted in the top 20 on the singles charts in Ireland and Scotland.[39][40]