evermore (feat. Bon Iver)

This meditative piano ballad finds Taylor Swift singing of her depression, which she perceives may last "evermore." She explained to Apple Music her sadness came from two different situations. First, Swift wrote the song and lyrics just before the 2020 presidential election. She was "almost preparing for the worst to happen and trying to see some sort of glimmer at the end of the tunnel." Second, she went through a bunch of bad experiences in the second half of 2016, including the public condemnation following her spat with Kanye West and Kim Kardashian over the rapper's "Famous" lyrics. Motion capture Put me in a bad light I replay my footsteps on each stepping stone Trying to find the one where I went wrong Kim Kardashian posted on her Snapchat account an edited recording of a phone call between Swift and West, which seemed to show her approving a "Famous" lyric that she had scorned in public. Swift was widely portrayed her as a manipulative liar. There were several other incidents that damaged her reputation, including a fall out with Calvin Harris following the end of their relationship. Swift struggled with her public downfall and the whole experience took a toll on her mental health. She said: "All those times were just sort of taking it day-by-day to get through, trying to find a glimmer of hope, all of that."

The song is not all doom and gloom. The redemptive ending finds Swift starting to feel better as she thinks fondly of someone close to her. She concludes that "this pain wouldn't be for evermore." Again, this ties in with Swift singing of her "Cruel Summer" in 2016 as that tough period coincided with the start of her relationship with the British actor Joe Alwyn.

The song is a duet with Bon Iver's Justin Vernon. While he sings on three Evermore tracks, this is the only one where he features. On the other two, "Marjorie" and "Ivy," he is credited as a backing vocalist. Vernon previously duetted with Swift on the Folklore track "Exile."