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Long Story Short (Taylor Swift song)

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"Long Story Short"
Song by Taylor Swift
from the album Evermore
WrittenDecember 11, 2020 (2020-12-11)
Recorded2020
StudioLong Pond (Hudson Valley)
Genre
Length3:35
LabelRepublic
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Aaron Dessner
Lyric video
"Long Story Short" on YouTube

"Long Story Short" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift from her ninth studio album, Evermore (2020). She wrote the song with its producer, Aaron Dessner. "Long Story Short" is an upbeat song that consists of dynamic programmed and live drums, synths, strings, and guitars; music critics characterize the genre as synth-pop, electropop, folk-pop, and indie rock. The lyrics see Swift reminiscing about a dark part of her past and her contentment with a current state of mind.

Music critics found the upbeat arrangement and dynamic instrumentation of "Long Story Short" refreshing for Evermore's generally soft and relaxed pace. They praised Swift's songwriting and lyrics. The song charted in Australia, Canada, Portugal, and the United States, and it peaked at number 55 on the Billboard Global 200. Swift performed the track twice as part of mashups with her other songs on the Eras Tour in 2024.

Background and release

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Amidst the COVID-19 lockdowns, Taylor Swift wrote songs and produced her eighth studio album, Folklore, with Aaron Dessner and Jack Antonoff. Surprise-released on July 24, 2020. Folklore incorporated new styles for Swift such as indie folk and indie rock, and it garnered widespread critical acclaim.[1][2] In September 2020, Swift, Antonoff, and Dessner assembled at Long Pond Studio in upstate New York to film Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions, a documentary consisting of stripped-down renditions of tracks from Folklore and recounting the creative process behind the album.[3] After filming, the three celebrated Folklore by drinking and unexpectedly continued writing songs while staying at Long Pond.[4] The result was a studio album, Evermore, which Swift described as a "sister record" to Folklore.[5]

Evermore was surprise-released on December 11, 2020, five months after Folklore;[6] "Long Story Short" is number 12 on the track listing.[7] The song charted at number 55 on the Billboard Global 200.[8] In the United States, it reached number 68 on the Billboard Hot 100,[9] number 42 on the Rolling Stone Top 100,[10] and number 14 on the Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart by Billboard.[11] The song further peaked at number 39 on the Canadian Hot 100 and number 49 on Australia's ARIA Singles Chart. In 2024, Swift performed "Long Story Short" two times as part of mashups with her other songs on the Eras Tour; the first one was with "The Story of Us" (2011) at the Singapore stop on March 3, and the second was with "The Prophecy" (2024) at the Lyon stop on June 2.[12]

Composition and lyrics

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"Long Story Short"
A sample of the song's hook, displaying the fast-paced drums and energetic guitars characteristic of the composition in the chorus.
Problems playing this file? See media help.

Swift wrote "Long Story Short" with Dessner, who produced it and recorded the track with Jonathan Low at Long Pond Studios in the Hudson Valley. Low also recorded Swift's vocals and mixed the song. Dessner played keyboards, bass, percussion, acoustic and electric guitars, and programmed drums using a drum machine. James McAlister also programmed the drums and synthesizers, and Bryan Devendorf played live drums. Dessner's brother Bryce played additional electric guitars and was the orchestrator for the violin (played by Yuki Numata Resnick), trumpet (Kyle Resnick), and cello (Clarice Jensen).[13]

"Long Story Short" has a propelling tempo[14] driven by both programmed drum machines and live drums that create crisp beats.[15][16][17] Its instrumentation consists of dynamic guitars and strings.[15][18] Critics categorize the song's genre into synth-pop,[19][20][21] electropop,[22] folk-pop,[23] and indie rock.[15] The music critics Annie Zaleski and Alan Light thought that the drum beats created a "glitchy" rhythm.[2][14] Lyrically, "Long Story Short" sees Swift looking back at a dark past;[17][18][24] several critics identified references to the controversies that she faced in 2016 and 2017, leading up to the release of her album Reputation (2017).[16][25][26][27] The song starts with Swift reflecting on her low self-esteem that led to wrong romantic decisions[14] and her getting embroiled in "petty things" and "nemeses".[28] In the post-chorus, Swift states that her past relationships reshaped who she is, and in the bridge, she asserts her lack of interest in celebrity drama, focusing only on her relationship outside of work.[24][29] Towards the end, Swift expresses contentment with her current situation and healthy relationship.[14] The song ends with the lyric, "I survived."[27]

Critical reception

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In reviews of Evermore, critics generally complimented "Long Story Short" for its introspective lyrics that showcased Swift's emotional evolution. Slate's Carl Wilson described it as a "fairly slight song but an earned valedictory address" with complementary wordplay and the "pleasure" that "comes in hearing her look back at all that and shrugging".[17] In Rolling Stone, Rob Sheffield wrote: "I love how if she could go back in time, she'd tell her younger self all the things she actually did say a decade ago."[19] Nate Jones of Vulture described the track's sentiments as genuine, compared to the vindictive nature of Reputation.[22] Variety's Chris Willman said that there are the themes of backlash depicted in Reputation and Lover (2019),[30] and Maura Johnston of Entertainment Weekly showcased how Swift's songwriting "leveled up".[25] Steffanee Wang of Nylon complimented how the song showed Swift prioritizing "more important things" over tabloid controversies,[31] and Craig Jenkins of Vulture thought that the song was a "succinctly" retold "personal mythology" of Swift—"the beloved starlet on the mend from a bad hit to her fame and self-esteem".[32] The Quietus's Katherine Rodgers wrote that there are retreads of Swift's "familiar" lyrical themes—"the trials of celebrity, romantic misadventure, falls from grace, all illustrated in quick-fire metaphor".[23]

Other critics found the song's dynamic production refreshing for a generally slow-paced album. Jason Lipshutz of Billboard deemed "Long Story Short" the best track of Evermore, saying that it has the ability to create "deceptively simple" music that "is bursting with layers and moving pieces".[15] Holly Gleason of Hits branded the song "percolating" and the "closest thing to an actual single" on Evermore,[33] and Rodgers highlighted the "playful, infectious" chorus.[23] Two reviewers of Business Insider concluded that "Long Story Short" is "the closest Swift gets to revisiting her pop star persona" and described it as an amalgam of Swift's past albums: the musical textures of 1989 (2014) and Folklore, the "message" of Lover, and the "mistakes" of Reputation.[18] NME's Hannah Mylrea also found influences of 1989 together with Evermore's "folklorian" sound.[34] Mylrea[34] and Alexis Petridis of The Guardian wrote that the song could have turned out to be a full-on pop single had it incorporated more embellishments, but both upheld the original arrangement as tasteful.[35] Writing for DIY, Ben Tipple remarked that the track "brilliantly" insinuates at a "reinvigorated full-production Taylor".[36] In a less enthusiastic review, Consequence's Mary Siroky opined that the track "may not rise to the top" but compared it to smudges in a set of crystal wine glasses.[37]

Credits and personnel

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Credits are adapted from the liner notes of Evermore.[13]

Charts

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Certifications

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Certifications for "Long Story Short"
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[47] Gold 35,000‡
Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[48] Gold 20,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

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  1. ^ McGrath 2023, p. 79.
  2. ^ a b Light, Alan (December 11, 2020). "Evermore Isn't About Taylor Swift. It's About Storytelling". Esquire. Archived from the original on December 12, 2020. Retrieved January 4, 2024.
  3. ^ Winn, Layne; Larramendia, Eliana (November 24, 2020). "Taylor Swift announces folklore: the long pond studio sessions intimate concert film for Disney+". ABC News. Retrieved October 21, 2024.
  4. ^ Havens, Lyndsey (December 18, 2020). "Aaron Dessner on the 'Weird Avalanche' That Resulted in Taylor Swift's Evermore". Billboard. Archived from the original on December 22, 2020. Retrieved June 13, 2021.
  5. ^ Shaffer, Claire (December 11, 2020). "Taylor Swift Deepens Her Goth-Folk Vision on the Excellent Evermore". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on December 11, 2020. Retrieved June 14, 2021.
  6. ^ Rosa, Christopher (December 10, 2020). "Taylor Swift Is Releasing Her 9th Album, Evermore, Just Five Months After Folklore". Glamour. Archived from the original on March 31, 2024. Retrieved March 31, 2024.
  7. ^ Lewis, Isobel; O'Connor, Roisin (December 11, 2020). "Taylor Swift releases new album Evermore – everything we know so far". The Independent. Archived from the original on January 4, 2024. Retrieved January 4, 2024.
  8. ^ "Billboard Global 200". Billboard. December 26, 2020. Archived from the original on January 28, 2021. Retrieved June 20, 2021.
  9. ^ "Taylor Swift Billboard Hot 100 History". Billboard. Archived from the original on May 2, 2024. Retrieved June 19, 2021.
  10. ^ "Top 100 Popular Songs". Rolling Stone. December 17, 2020. Archived from the original on January 11, 2021. Retrieved June 17, 2021.
  11. ^ "Hot Rock & Alternative Songs Chart History". Billboard. Archived from the original on May 2, 2024. Retrieved June 15, 2021.
  12. ^ Smith, Katie Louise (June 3, 2024). "Here's Every Surprise Song Performed on Taylor Swift's Eras Tour". Capital FM. Archived from the original on June 3, 2024. Retrieved June 3, 2024.
  13. ^ a b Swift, Taylor (2020). Evermore (booklet). United States: Republic Records. B003271102.
  14. ^ a b c d Zaleski 2024, p. 203.
  15. ^ a b c d 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 June 19, 2021.
  16. ^ a b Annie, Zaleski (December 14, 2020). "Taylor Swift's powerful evermore returns to folklore's rich universe". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on December 14, 2020. Retrieved June 19, 2021.
  17. ^ a b c Wilson, Carl (December 11, 2020). "Taylor Swift's Evermore: A Track-by-Track Review". Slate. Archived from the original on May 5, 2021. Retrieved June 19, 2021.
  18. ^ a b c Ahlgrim, Callie; Larocca, Courteney (December 11, 2020). "Taylor Swift's Evermore isn't as good as Folklore, but it's still better than what everyone else is doing". Business Insider. Archived from the original on March 27, 2021. Retrieved June 19, 2021.
  19. ^ a b Sheffield, Rob (April 25, 2024). "'Long Story Short' (2020)". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on September 9, 2024. Retrieved October 21, 2024.
  20. ^ "The 100 Best Taylor Swift Songs: Staff Picks". Billboard. March 16, 2023. Archived from the original on April 11, 2023. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
  21. ^ Kaplan, Ilana (December 11, 2020). "Album Review: On Evermore, Taylor Swift embraces unhappy endings". i-D. Archived from the original on June 5, 2023. Retrieved January 4, 2024.
  22. ^ a b Jones, Nate (May 20, 2024). "Taylor Swift Songs Ranked, from Worst to Best". Vulture. Archived from the original on September 13, 2019. Retrieved October 21, 2024.
  23. ^ a b c Rodgers, Katherine (December 16, 2021). "Taylor Swift - Evermore". The Quietus. Archived from the original on December 22, 2020. Retrieved June 19, 2021.
  24. ^ a b Bailey, Alyssa (December 11, 2020). "Are Taylor Swift's 'Long Story Short' Lyrics About Joe Alwyn?". Elle. Archived from the original on February 17, 2022. Retrieved June 19, 2021.
  25. ^ a b Johnston, Maura (December 11, 2020). "Taylor Swift levels up on Evermore". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on December 12, 2020. Retrieved June 19, 2021.
  26. ^ Gardner, Abby (December 11, 2020). "All the References and Easter Eggs in Taylor Swift's Evermore Album". Glamour. Archived from the original on December 31, 2021. Retrieved June 19, 2021.
  27. ^ a b Hunter-Tilney, Ludovic (December 11, 2021). "Taylor Swift's new album Evermore proclaims: 'I survived!'". Financial Times. Archived from the original on December 31, 2021. Retrieved June 19, 2021.
  28. ^ Mlnarik, Carson (December 11, 2020). "Taylor Swift's Evermore Has A Song For Every Mood". MTV. Archived from the original on December 31, 2021. Retrieved June 19, 2021.
  29. ^ Andaloro, Angela (December 11, 2020). "What Taylor Swift's Long Story Short Is Really About". The List. Archived from the original on December 31, 2021. Retrieved June 19, 2021.
  30. ^ Willman, Chris (December 11, 2020). "Taylor Swift Has Her Second Great Album of 2020 With Evermore: Album Review". Variety. Archived from the original on December 11, 2020. Retrieved June 19, 2021.
  31. ^ Wang, Steffanee (December 11, 2020). "Explaining 'Long Story Short', Taylor Swift's Ode To Boyfriend Joe Alwyn". Nylon. Archived from the original on June 24, 2021. Retrieved June 17, 2021.
  32. ^ Jenkins, Craig (December 14, 2020). "Taylor Swift Is Done Self-Mythologizing". Vulture. Archived from the original on January 23, 2021. Retrieved June 19, 2021.
  33. ^ Gleason, Holly (December 11, 2021). "Taylor's Evermore: Chasing Beauty". Hits. Archived from the original on June 4, 2021. Retrieved June 19, 2021.
  34. ^ a b Mylrea, Hannah (December 11, 2020). "Taylor Swift – Evermore review: the freewheeling younger sibling to Folklore". NME. Archived from the original on December 11, 2020. Retrieved June 19, 2021.
  35. ^ 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 June 19, 2021.
  36. ^ Tipple, Ben (December 11, 2020). "Taylor Swift - evermore | Reviews". DIY. Archived from the original on December 31, 2021. Retrieved June 19, 2021.
  37. ^ Siroky, Mary (December 11, 2020). "Taylor Swift's evermore Continues the Personal Fable Begun on folklore: Review". Consequence. Archived from the original on December 31, 2021. Retrieved June 19, 2021.
  38. ^ "Taylor Swift – Long Story Short". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved June 19, 2021.
  39. ^ "Taylor Swift Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved June 19, 2021.
  40. ^ "Taylor Swift Chart History (Global 200)". Billboard. Retrieved June 19, 2021.
  41. ^ "Taylor Swift – Long Story Short". AFP Top 100 Singles. Retrieved June 19, 2021.
  42. ^ "Official Audio Streaming Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 19, 2021.
  43. ^ "Taylor Swift Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved June 19, 2021.
  44. ^ "Taylor Swift Chart History (Hot Rock & Alternative Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved June 19, 2021.
  45. ^ "Top 100 Songs". Rolling Stone. December 17, 2020. Archived from the original on January 11, 2021. Retrieved June 19, 2020.
  46. ^ "Hot Rock & Alternative Songs – Year-End 2021". Billboard. January 2, 2013. Archived from the original on December 2, 2021. Retrieved December 4, 2021.
  47. ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2024 Singles" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved June 21, 2024.
  48. ^ "Brazilian single certifications – Taylor Swift – Long Story Short" (in Portuguese). Pro-Música Brasil. Retrieved July 25, 2024.

Cited literature

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