Ivy (Taylor Swift song)

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"Ivy"
Song by Taylor Swift
from the album Evermore
Written2020
Recorded2020
StudioLong Pond (Hudson Valley)
GenreFolk
Length4:20
LabelRepublic
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Aaron Dessner
Lyric video
"Ivy" on YouTube

"Ivy" (stylized in all lowercase) is a song by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. It is the tenth track on her ninth studio album, Evermore, which was released on December 11, 2020, by Republic Records. The song was written by Swift, Aaron Dessner, and Jack Antonoff, and produced by the former two.

Musically, "Ivy" is a folk song documenting a married women's infidelity using several metaphors, the primary one being ivy vines growing over a stone house to convey the narrator's deep-rooted, irresistible attachment to her lover, where inevitable consequences could possibly dwindle the happy ending to the relationship. The song is built on a ticked arrangement of banjo, picked guitar, and trumpet, with Justin Vernon's harmonies in the background. "Ivy" is part of a series of several songs on Evermore depicting conflict and turmoil concerning marriage.

Upon Evermore's release, "Ivy" received critical acclaim for its heavily metaphorical lyrics and wintery atmosphere. In the United States, it debuted at 61 on the Billboard Hot 100, number 11 on the Billboard Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart, and 33 on the Rolling Stone Top 100. Internationally, it charted at number 28 on the Canadian Hot 100, 43 on the Billboard Global 200, and 43 on the Australian Singles Chart.

Background and release[]

On July 24, 2020, during the COVID-19 lockdowns, Swift surprise-released her eighth studio album, Folklore, to widespread critical acclaim and commercial success. In September 2020, Swift and her co-producers and co-writers for the album, Aaron Dessner and Jack Antonoff, assembled at Long Pond Studio, located in a secluded cabin in upstate New York, to film the documentary Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions. Released to Disney+ and accompanied by a live album released digitally, Swift performed the stripped-down renditions of all 17 tracks on Folklore and recounted the creative process of developing the album.[1] Following the release of Folklore and during the filming of The Long Pond Studio Sessions, Swift and Dessner continued writing songs, with Swift penning lyrics to Dessner's instrumental tracks:

To put it plainly, we just couldn't stop writing songs. To try and put it more poetically, it feels like we were standing on the edge of the folklorian woods and had a choice: to turn and go back or to travel further into the forest of this music. We chose to wander deeper in ... I've never done this before. In the past I've always treated albums as one-off eras and moved onto planning the next one after an album was released. There was something different with Folklore. In making it, I felt less like I was departing and more like I was returning. I loved the escapism I found in these imaginary/not imaginary tales. I loved the ways you welcomed the dreamscapes and tragedies and epic tales of love lost and found into your lives. So I just kept writing them.

— Swift on the origins of Evermore, NME[2]

The one physical trip Dessner made during the development of Evermore was to visit Justin Vernon, frontman of the band Bon Iver who featured on Folklore, who ended up harmonizing playing the guitar and banjo on "Ivy". Dessner highlighted a wintry nostalgia on much of Evermore and chose to play sleigh bells on "Ivy" to emphasize the autumn- and winter-oriented theme of Evermore compared to Folklore, which was intended to have a more spring- and summer-focused aesthetic.[3]

Before the release of Evermore, Swift teased the song "Ivy" as well as the album's lead single "Willow" in a social media post captioned "not a lot going on at the moment"; in the post, she sits on a couch in front of two framed pictures, one of a willow tree and one of ivy.[4] On December 10, 2020, Swift announced that her ninth studio album and Folklore's sister album, Evermore, would come out at midnight and revealed its track listing, where "Ivy" placed tenth. In the announcement, Swift teased imageries of various tracks, including "Ivy", which was one of three songs, along with "No Body, No Crime" and "Tolerate It", that was part of what Swift described as the "'unhappily ever after' anthology of marriages."[5][6] Lyric videos of each song on the album were released to Swift's YouTube channel; "Ivy" has since garnered over 6 million views as of June 2021.[7]

Composition and lyrics[]

The chorus of "Ivy" encapsulates an affair using the metaphor of ivy vines growing over a stone house and eventually covering it, referring to how the narrator's heart has been conquered by her lover so profoundly, in spite of the narrator's marriage to someone else.

"Ivy" is an intimate folk song depicting the affair of a married woman who is insatiably in love with a secret lover despite knowing the inevitable consequences that jeopardize the possibility of a happy ending. Insider described the song's lyrics as "cryptic,"[8] with "Ivy" built on the metaphor of her ivy vines growing over stone to portray her deep-rooted love.[9] Several lyrics document the narrator's inescapable fate: "So tell me to run / Or dare to sit and watch what we'll become / And drink my husband's wine" highlights her "nonchalant foil to her anxiety."[8] The song also features several references to literary tropes.[4] The song begins with the lyric "How's one to know? / I'd meet you where the spirit meets the bones", a reference to Miller Williams' 1997 poem "Compassion"[10] in which he writes "You do not know what wars are going on / down there where the spirit meets the bone."[11] Musically, the song is set in the key of D major with a tempo of 88 to 92 beats per minute. Swift's vocals span from D3 to A4.[12] Instrumented by a ticking arrangement of banjo, picked guitar,[13] and trumpet, the song features elastic vocals from Swift[14] accompanied by singer-songwriter Justin Vernon's gentle harmonies in the background.

Critical reception[]

"Ivy" received critical acclaim for its metaphorical lyrics and narrative. Callie Ahlgrim and Courteney Larocca of Insider selected "Ivy" as one of the five best songs on Evermore. Ahlgrim described it as "profoundly listenable and delightfully cryptic," comparing its prevalent metaphors to fairytales traced with sinister themes, while Larocca applauded its intimacy and immersion: "now I'm covered in ivy, too."[8] Sam Sodomsky of Pitchfork described "Ivy" as a "stunner", similarly comparing it to a fairytale and praising the character development that polishes "the storybook setting of Swift's early work."[10] In a review of Evermore published in The New York Times, Jon Pareles selected "Ivy" as an example of how Swift expanded the fictional storytelling and character studies between Folklore and Evermore.[13] Madeline Crone of American Songwriter praised the woodsy aesthetic of "Ivy" and opined that the song "meticulously employs whimsical metaphors" reminiscent of the Brothers Grimm.[6] Hannah Mylrea of NME chose "Ivy" as an example of Swift's "vibrant" lyricism on Evermore, pinpointing its "rich metaphors."[15] In a ranking of all 17 songs on Evermore, Jason Lipshutz of Billboard chose "Ivy" as the third-best song on the album, describing its lyrics and production as "gorgeous".[14] Patrick Ryan of USA Today opined that "Ivy" was one of "the most devastating love songs Swift has ever written."[16] In a less favorable review, Mikael Wood of The Los Angeles Times described "Ivy" as a "pretty but aimless" leftover from Folklore.[17]

Commercial performance[]

Following the release of Evermore, on the issue dated December 26, 2020, "Ivy" debuted at 61 on the Billboard Hot 100 alongside the album's 14 other songs; the next week, it dropped off the chart.[18] It debuted at 13 on the Rolling Stone Top 100, with 98,700 units sold and 11.9 million streams in its first week.[19] It debuted at number 11 on the Hot Alternative Songs chart, where it spent a total of five weeks.[20] It achieved success internationally, debuting at 28 on the Canadian Hot 100 and 43 on both the Billboard Global 200 and the Australian Top 50 Singles chart.

Credits and personnel[]

Credits adapted from Tidal.[21]

  • Taylor Swift – vocals, songwriting
  • Aaron Dessner – songwriting, production, recording, acoustic guitar, bass, drum machine, electric guitar, percussion, synth bass, synthesizer
  • Jack Antonoff – songwriting
  • Justin Vernon – background vocals, banjo, drums, electric guitar, triangle
  • Clarice Jensen – cello
  • Bryan Devendorf – drum machine, percussion
  • James McAlister – drum machine, keyboards, synthesizer
  • JT Bates – drums
  • Josh Kaufman – lap steel guitar
  • Gerg Calbi – mastering
  • Steve Fallone – mastering
  • Jonathan Low – mixing, recording, vocal engineering
  • Benjamin Lanz – synthesizer, trombone
  • Thomas Bartlett – synthesizer
  • Kyle Resnick – trumpet
  • Logan Coale – upright bass
  • Yuki Numata Resnick – violin

Charts[]

Chart (2020–2021) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[22] 43
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[23] 28
Global 200 (Billboard)[24] 43
Portugal (AFP)[25] 185
UK Streaming (OCC)[26] 77
US Billboard Hot 100[27] 61
US Hot Rock & Alternative Songs (Billboard)[28] 11
US Rolling Stone Top 100[29] 33

References[]

  1. ^ Spellberg, Claire (November 25, 2020). "Where is Long Pond Studio Located in Taylor Swift's 'Folklore' Movie?". Decider. Retrieved June 13, 2021.
  2. ^ Richards, Will (December 10, 2020). "Taylor Swift to release surprise ninth album 'Evermore' tonight". NME. Retrieved June 17, 2021.
  3. ^ Shaffer, Claire (December 18, 2020). "Aaron Dessner on How His Collaborative Chemistry With Taylor Swift Led to 'Evermore'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved June 17, 2021.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b Gutowitz, Jill (December 11, 2020). "So, What the Hell Folk Tales Is Taylor Swift Telling Now on evermore?". Vulture. Retrieved June 17, 2021.
  5. ^ Taylor Swift [@taylorswift13] (December 11, 2020). "I have no idea what will come next. I have no idea about a lot of things these days and so I've clung to the one thing that keeps me connected to you all. That thing always has and always will be music. And may it continue, evermore. evermore is out now: taylor.lnk.to/evermorealbum" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  6. ^ Jump up to: a b Crone, Madelina (December 11, 2020). "Taylor Swift 'evermore' Is Ready For Your Record Player, Radio Play Be Damned". American Songwriter. Retrieved June 17, 2021.
  7. ^ Swift, Taylor (December 11, 2020). Taylor Swift - ivy (Official Lyric Video) (Video). YouTube. Retrieved June 17, 2021.
  8. ^ Jump up to: a b c Ahlgrim, Callie; Larocca, Courtney (December 11, 2020). "Taylor Swift's 'Evermore' isn't as good as 'Folklore,' but it's still better than what everyone else is doing". Insider. Retrieved June 17, 2021.
  9. ^ Keogh, Joey (December 11, 2020). "What Ivy's Lyrics From Taylor Swift Really Mean". The List. Retrieved June 17, 2021.
  10. ^ Jump up to: a b Sodomsky, Sam (December 15, 2020). "Taylor Swift: evermore". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on December 15, 2020. Retrieved June 17, 2021.
  11. ^ Williams, Miller. "Compassion". Your Daily Poem. Retrieved June 17, 2021.
  12. ^ Swift, Taylor; Dessner, Aaron; Antonoff, Jack (December 13, 2020). "ivy". MusicNotes. Retrieved June 19, 2021.
  13. ^ Jump up to: a b Pareles, Jon (December 11, 2020). "'Evermore,' Taylor Swift's 'Folklore' Sequel, Is a Journey Deeper Inward". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 17, 2021.
  14. ^ Jump up to: a b Lipshutz, Jason (December 11, 2020). "Every Song Ranked on Taylor Swift's 'Evermore' Deluxe Edition: Critic's Picks". Billboard. Retrieved June 17, 2021.
  15. ^ Mylrea, Hannah (December 11, 2020). "Taylor Swift – 'Evermore': the NME review". NME. Retrieved June 17, 2021.
  16. ^ Ryan, Patrick (December 11, 2020). "Taylor Swift's 'Evermore' review: Pop star returns to the woods for a spellbinding 'Folklore' companion". USA Today. Retrieved June 17, 2021.
  17. ^ Wood, Mikael (December 11, 2020). "Review: Taylor Swift's surprise LP 'Evermore' is more — and less — 'Folklore'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 17, 2021.
  18. ^ "Ivy Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved June 17, 2021.
  19. ^ "Top 100 Popular Songs". Rolling Stone. December 17, 2020. Retrieved June 17, 2021.
  20. ^ "Ivy Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved June 15, 2021.
  21. ^ "Evermore by Taylor Swift – Credits". Tidal. December 11, 2020. Retrieved June 15, 2021.
  22. ^ "Australian-charts.com – Taylor Swift – Ivy". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved June 17, 2021.
  23. ^ "Taylor Swift Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved December 22, 2020.
  24. ^ "Taylor Swift Chart History (Global 200)". Billboard. Retrieved December 22, 2020.
  25. ^ "Portuguesecharts.com – Taylor Swift – Ivy". AFP Top 100 Singles. Retrieved June 16, 2021.
  26. ^ "Official Audio Streaming Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 16, 2021.
  27. ^ "Taylor Swift Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved December 22, 2020.
  28. ^ "Taylor Swift Chart History (Hot Rock & Alternative Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved December 22, 2020.
  29. ^ "Top 100 Songs". Rolling Stone. December 17, 2020. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
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