No Body, No Crime

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"No Body, No Crime"
Single by Taylor Swift featuring Haim
from the album Evermore
ReleasedJanuary 11, 2021 (2021-01-11)
Recorded2020
Genre
Length3:35
Label
Songwriter(s)Taylor Swift
Producer(s)
Taylor Swift singles chronology
"Willow"
(2020) 		"No Body, No Crime"
(2021) 		"Coney Island"
(2021)
Haim singles chronology
"Don't Wanna"
(2020) 		"No Body, No Crime"
(2021) 		"Gasoline"
(2021)
Lyric video
"No Body, No Crime" on YouTube

"No Body, No Crime" (stylized in all lowercase) is a song written and recorded by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, featuring guest vocals from American rock band Haim. It is the sixth track on her ninth studio album, Evermore (2020), released on December 11, 2020, through Republic Records. Swift and The National member Aaron Dessner co-produced the song together.

Channeling noir storytelling, "No Body, No Crime" is an upbeat country, country rock, pop rock, murder ballad that details the fictitious story of a woman named Este, who is killed by her own husband when she finds out about his infidelity. Unable to prove the husband guilty of Este's murder, the song's narrator, who is a dear friend of Este, avenges her friend's death by murdering the husband and erasing all evidences of the murder.

Upon release of Evermore, "No Body, No Crime" received rave reviews from music critics, who dubbed it a flashback to Swift's country roots, and praised the cinematic style and plot of its lyrics. It reached the top-20 region of record charts in Australia, Canada, Ireland, and the United Kingdom. In the United States, the track peaked at number 2 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, and number 34 on the Billboard Hot 100, marking Haim's first-ever Hot 100 entry. "No Body, No Crime" impacted US country radio as a single on January 11, 2021.

Background and release[]

Danielle and Este Haim (middle and right, respectively) of Haim provide backing vocals on "No Body, No Crime". Danielle Haim also has a minor vocal part in the second half of the song.

"No Body, No Crime" marks the first collaboration between Swift and Haim. The song was written by Swift on a rubber-bridge guitar. She forwarded her voice memo of the song to Aaron Dessner, her Evermore producer, who developed the song's instrumentation. Swift had specific ideas on how she wanted the song to feel, including Haim's vocals on the song. The Haim sisters recorded at engineer Ariel Rechtshaid's Los Angeles home studio, and sent it to Swift, who was at Dessner's Long Pond studio, filming Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions (2020). The harmonica and guitar riffs on the song were provided by Josh Kaufman, who also played the harmonica on "Betty" (2020), the fourteenth track on Folklore. JT Bates played the drums on "No Body, No Crime", who also contributed the drums on "Dorothea", eighth track on Evermore.[1]

Her classics are in rotation. I love that we have new music from her that is considered country enough for the format. Taylor never 'left' country. She is a star that had an opportunity to capture 100% of the world, and all genres, instead of just the piece that country is.

— Programming Director at WJVC Nassau, New York, Billboard[2]

On December 10, 2020, Swift revealed the track listing of Evermore, where "No Body, No Crime" placed sixth; the album was released on December 11, 2020. MCA Nashville released "No Body, No Crime" to United States country radio stations on January 11, 2021.[3][2] In an interview to Entertainment Weekly, Swift said working with Haim "was pretty hilarious because it came about after I wrote a pretty dark murder mystery song and had named the character Este, because she's the friend I have who would be stoked to be in a song like that" and added that she "had finished the song and was nailing down some lyric details and texted [Este Haim], 'You're not going to understand this text for a few days but... which chain restaurant do you like best?' and I named a few." Swift revealed that Este Haim chose Olive Garden, and that she, a few days later, sent Haim the song and asked if they would sing on it; the answer was an "immediate YES".[4]

Composition and lyrics[]

Opening with police sirens,[5] "No Body, No Crime" is a twangy[6] and cinematic,[7] country,[8] pop rock,[9] and country rock song,[10] with heavy harmonica in the key of G minor,[11] incorporating elements of Americana.[12] It tells a macabre story[6] of a woman named Este, who confronts her cheating husband. She goes missing and the song's narrator suspects she was murdered by him in favor of his mistress. Without the body of the victim, the husband cannot be tried for homicide. Este's friend takes justice into her own hands and kills the husband, dumps his body in a lake and frames the mistress.[7] Este is named after Este Haim.[13][14] The song drew comparisons to the Dixie Chicks' "Goodbye Earl" (2000) and Carrie Underwood's "Before He Cheats" (2006) among others.[15]

Critical reception[]

Brodie Lancaster of The Sydney Morning Herald opined that "No Body, No Crime" sees Swift and the Haim sisters "stomp through a saloon-style remake of Chicago's "He Had it Comin'" as they tell of a mad woman who covers up the murder of her cheating husband".[16] Bobby Olivier of Spin thought the song follows Carrie Underwood's model of taking "down a cheater with a catchy refrain and a sprinkle of … what's that? … murder?!".[17] Chris Willman of Variety found the song to be the album's "pure spirit of fun" moment, away from the ruminating themes of other tracks. He characterized "No Body, No Crime" as a dark "spirited double-murder ballad" inspired by The Chicks' 2000 single "Goodbye, Earl".[18]

Stereogum critic Tom Breihan defined the song as the "willfully silly murder narrative" that works as a take on "Goodbye Earl", and commended it as "the most country thing that Swift has done in years".[19] USA Today writer Patrick Ryan dubbed the song a "scorching" track that makes Swift's "mischievous return" to her country roots.[20] Describing the placement "No Body, No Crime" in Evermore, Jason Lipshutz of Billboard stated that the "delicious" song provides "hope and levity" amidst of the album's emotional "wreckage".[21] NME critic Hannah Mylrea noted the song's sonic direction, and described it as a "full-blown country revenge song that ends in the murder of a philandering husband", condensing a David Fincher film in a matter of few minutes.[22]

Impact[]

Gene Lee, the CEO of American casual dining restaurant chain Olive Garden credited Swift for gathering social interactions with the brand after she mentioned the name of the brand on one of her lyrics on the song, said that "Just think about what happened last week when Taylor Swift dropped the song with Olive Garden in it, and how we were able to capture that socially and create buzz around that. When Taylor Swift drops our name in a song, our brand becomes very, very relevant".[23][24]

Commercial performance[]

"No Body, No Crime" debuted at number 34 in the United States, marking Haim's first entry on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.[25] It also debuted at number two on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, marking Swift's second top 10 of 2020, following "Betty", and Haim's first appearance on the chart.[26] It was Swift's 23rd top-10 entry on the chart in her career.[27] In the UK, "No Body, No Crime" debuted at number 19 on the UK Singles Chart, shifting 22,875 units in its first week.[28] The track also debuted within the top 20 in Canada, Ireland and Australia peaking at numbers 11, 11 and 16, respectively.

Credits and personnel[]

Credits adapted from Pitchfork.[29]

  • Taylor Swift − lead vocals, songwriting, production
  • Haim – featured artist
  • Aaron Dessner − production, recording, mandolin, synthesizers, piano, field recording and bass, acoustic and electric guitars
  • Josh Kaufman − lap steel, electric guitar, organ and harmonica
  • J.T. Bates − drum kit, instrumental recording
  • Jonathan Low − vocal recording, mixing
  • Ariel Rechtshaid − vocal recording
  • Matt DiMona − vocal recording
  • Greg Calbi − mastering
  • Steve Fallone − mastering

Charts[]

Chart (2020–2021) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[30] 16
Australia Country Hot 50 (TMN)[31] 2
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[32] 11
Global 200 (Billboard)[33] 16
Ireland (IRMA)[34] 11
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[35] 29
Portugal (AFP)[36] 83
Singapore (RIAS)[37] 28
Slovakia (Rádio Top 100)[38] 70
UK Singles (OCC)[39] 19
US Billboard Hot 100[40] 34
US Country Airplay (Billboard)[41] 54
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[42] 2
US Rolling Stone Top 100[43] 12

Release history[]

Release dates and formats for "No Body, No Crime"
Region Date Format Label(s) Ref.
United States January 11, 2021 Country radio
[3][44]

References[]

  1. ^ Shaffer, Claire (December 18, 2020). "Aaron Dessner on How His Collaborative Chemistry With Taylor Swift Led to 'Evermore'". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on February 22, 2021. Retrieved December 19, 2020.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b Trust, Gary (January 28, 2021). "Taylor Swift's 'Coney Island' and 'No Body, No Crime' Debut on Airplay Charts, Joining 'Willow'". Billboard. Archived from the original on January 30, 2021. Retrieved January 30, 2021.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b "Future Releases for Country Radio Stations". All Access. Archived from the original on December 21, 2020. Retrieved December 21, 2020.
  4. ^ "Taylor Swift explains the story behind 'murder mystery song' 'No Body, No Crime'". EW.com. Retrieved August 4, 2021.
  5. ^ Rodgers, Katherine (December 16, 2020). "Review – Taylor Swift, Evermore". The Quietus. Archived from the original on December 22, 2020. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
  6. ^ Jump up to: a b Lipshutz, Jason (December 14, 2020). "Every Song Ranked on Taylor Swift's 'Evermore': Critic's Picks". Billboard. Archived from the original on December 13, 2020. Retrieved December 14, 2020.
  7. ^ Jump up to: a b Brodie, Lancaster (December 11, 2020). "Taylor Swift is back, stronger than ever before". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on December 11, 2020. Retrieved December 11, 2020.
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  10. ^ Petridis, Alexis (December 11, 2020). "Taylor Swift: Evermore – rich alt-rock and richer character studies". The Guardian. Archived from the original on December 11, 2020. Retrieved December 11, 2020.
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  23. ^ Dresdale, Andrea (December 18, 2020). "Free breadsticks for life? Taylor Swift gets a thank you on Olive Garden's quarterly earnings call". ABC News Radio. Archived from the original on April 12, 2021. Retrieved April 11, 2021.
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  35. ^ "Charts.nz – Taylor Swift feat. Haim – No Body, No Crime". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved December 19, 2020.
  36. ^ "Portuguesecharts.com – Taylor Swift feat. Haim – No Body, No Crime". AFP Top 100 Singles. Retrieved December 24, 2020.
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