Renegade

Big Red Machine is a duo comprising The National's Aaron Dessner and Bon Iver's Justin Vernon. The two musicians worked with Taylor Swift for her 2020 Folklore and Evermore albums; while they were making the records, Dessner and Swift talked about writing songs together some day for Big Red Machine. The pair wrote "Renegade" after they'd finished Evermore, and it became clear it was a BRM tune. "I remember the weird electricity and goosebumps I felt listening to Taylor's voice memo of her singing this song for the first time," Dessner told Apple Music. "And how hard it hit me emotionally and still does."

A renegade is someone who renounces conventional behavior; this song finds Swift singing of one's insecurities preventing them from giving and receiving love. Is it really your anxiety that stops you from giving me everything? Or do you just not want to? It's likely that Swift is singing from the perspective of her partner, Joe Alwyn, during the early months of their relationship. They first met when Swift was going through a rocky time in her life following a public fall out with Kanye West and Kim Kardashian and a feud with her ex, Calvin Harris. She feared the huge media attention on her new romance could ruin everything, but Alwyn stuck by Swift as she struggled with her baggage. Dessner told Apple Music: "Taylor's words shine a light on something I think anyone can relate to - how anxiety and fear so often needlessly stand in the way of love."

"Renegade" is one of two Taylor Swift collaborations on How Long Do You Think It's Gonna Last? Along with "Birch," Swift recorded her vocals for both songs at her Los Angeles home studio, Kitty Committee, while quarantining with Aaron Dessner ahead of the 2021 Grammys. Vernon laid down his distant backing vocals at his studio.