Forever Winter (Taylor's Version) [From The Vault] | Taylor Swift Switzerland

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RED (Taylor's Version) [2021]

Search for: “Forever Winter (Taylor’s Version) [From The Vault]” is a song recorded by Taylor for her album RED (Taylor’s Version) [2021], which is the re-recording of her fourth album, RED (2012). She sings of her constant worry over the actions of someone close to her, speaking of the disrupted mental health the person endures everyday.

Table of Contents

Background and Release

Following the dispute regarding her masters, Taylor announced RED (Taylor’s Version), a re-recording of her 2012 album RED, on June 18, 2021. Alongside the deluxe edition of the album, she revealed she would release nine songs, all dubbed “From The Vault” that did not make the 2012 album, one of them being “Forever Winter (Taylor’s Version) [From The Vault]”. The song was co-written by Mark Foster, frontman of the band Foster The People. When Taylor announced the tracklist in August 2021, he wrote on Instagram:

«I can’t wait for you all to hear it. I'm so proud to be a part of this record. Not only because Taylor is one of our generations most prolific and talented artists, but also because this album is trailblazing a new way for artists to own their masters.»

Mark Foster

After being photographed with Taylor in 2012, Mark Foster told Fuse TV: “We wrote a song that day. It’s a really cool song. We kind of just went into it casually and something really cool came out of it. We’ll see what happens with it. She’s been writing a lot for her next record.” On February 26, 2023, the full demo from 2012 got leaked on a Discord server.

Lyrical Theme

It is unclear for whom Taylor wrote the song. Fans speculate that she could’ve penned it for one of her best friends from her teenage years who died at 21 from a drug overdose about two weeks after her third album, Speak Now, was released in October 2010. Taylor spoke about him when she accepted the “Songwriter of the Year” award at the BMI Country Awards the same week she attended his funeral in November 2010. She told Amazon Music in 2021:

«The song 'Forever Winter' is about being in a moment in your life where you love someone, or someone is such a good friend of yours, or you feel really close to someone, and you realize all at once that they've been struggling for a very long time. And you feel so guilty that you didn't see it sooner, and you wish you would've checked in on them more. That person means so much to you, but you didn't necessarily pick up on the signs that maybe they weren't okay. So, that's 'Forever Winter'.»

Taylor Swift

At the BMI Country Awards 2010 in Nashville, she said, “It’s been a really emotional week. Yesterday, I sang at the funeral of one of my best friends. And he was 21 and I used to play my songs for him first. So, I would like to thank Jeff Lang.”

Lyrics

Taylor's Version (2021) Demo Version (2012) Taylor's Version (2021)

[Verse 1]He says he doesn’t believe anything much he hears these daysHe says, “Why fall in love, just so you can watch it go away?”He spends most of his nights wishing it was how it used to beHe spends most of his flights getting pulled down by gravity

[Pre-Chorus 1]I call, just checking up on himHe’s up, 3am pacingHe says, “It’s not just a phase I’m in”My voice comes out begging

[Chorus]All this time I didn’t knowYou were breaking downI’d fall to pieces on the floorIf you weren’t aroundToo young to know it gets betterI’ll be summer sun for you foreverForever winter if you go…

[Verse 2]He seems fine most of the timeForcing smiles and never mindsHis laugh is a symphonyWhen the lights go out it’s hard to breatheI pull at every thread trying to solve the puzzles in his headLive my life scared to death he’ll decide to leave instead

[Pre-Chorus 2]I call, just checking up on himHe’s up, 5am wastedLong gone, not even listeningMy voice comes out screaming

[Chorus]All this time I didn’t knowYou were breaking downI’d fall to pieces on the floorIf you weren’t aroundToo young to know it gets betterI’ll be summer sun for you foreverForever winter if you go…

[Bridge]If I was standing there in your apartmentI’d take that bomb in your head and disarm itI’d say I love you even at your darkest andPlease don’t go

[Chorus Variation]I didn’t knowYou were breaking downI’d fall to pieces on the floorIf you weren’t aroundToo young to know it gets betterI’ll be summer sun for you foreverForever winter if you go…

[Refrain]I’ll be your summer sun foreverAt 3am pacingAll this time I didn’t knowAt 5am wastedI’d be in pieces on the floorForever winter if you go…

[Outro]He says he doesn’t believe anything much he hears these daysI say, “Believe in one thing, I won’t go away”

Demo Version (2012)

[Verse 1]He says he doesn’t believe anything much he hears these daysHe says, “Why fall in love, just so you can watch it go away?”He spends most of his nights wishing it was how it used to beHe spends most of his flights getting pulled down by gravity

[Pre-Chorus 1]I call, just checking up on himHe’s up, 3am pacingHe says, “It’s not just a phase I’m in”My voice comes out begging

[Chorus]All this time I didn’t knowYou were breaking downI’d fall to pieces on the floorIf you weren’t aroundToo young to know it gets betterI’ll be summer sun for you foreverForever winter if you go…

[Verse 2]He seems fine most of the timeForcing smiles and never mindsHis laugh is a symphonyWhen the lights go out it’s hard to breatheI pull at every thread trying to solve the puzzles in his headLive my life scared to death he’ll decide to leave instead

[Pre-Chorus 2]I call, just checking up on himHe’s up, 5am wastedLong gone, not even listeningMy voice comes out screaming

[Chorus]All this time I didn’t knowYou were breaking downI’d fall to pieces on the floorIf you weren’t aroundToo young to know it gets betterI’ll be summer sun for you foreverForever winter if you go…

[Bridge]If I was standing there in your apartmentI’d take that bomb in your head and disarm itI’d say I love you even at your darkest andPlease don’t go

[Chorus Variation]I didn’t knowYou were breaking downI’d fall to pieces on the floorIf you weren’t aroundToo young to know it gets betterI’ll be summer sun for you foreverForever winter if you go…

[Refrain]I’ll be your summer sun foreverAt 3am pacingAll this time I didn’t knowAt 5am wastedI’d be in pieces on the floorForever winter if you go…

[Outro]He says he doesn’t believe anything much he hears these daysHe says, “Why fall in love?”And I say, “Cause I won’t go away”

General Information

Artist	Taylor Swift
Album	RED (Taylor’s Version)
Released	November 12, 2021
Recorded	2021
Written	May 17, 2012
Studios	Kitty Committee (Belfast)Electric Lady (New York City)Rough Customer (Brooklyn)Conway (Los Angeles)
Genre	Country Pop
Length	4:23
Label	Republic Records
Songwriters	Taylor SwiftMark Foster
Producers	Jack AntonoffTaylor Swift
RED CHRONOLOGY
I Bet You Think About Me Forever Winter Run

Song Certification Song Artwork

The Day Taylor Wrote the Song Taylor talking about Jeff Lyric Video Official Audio Original Demo (2012) Related Content

Ruin the Friendship

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