# Forever Winter

"Forever Winter" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift from her second re-recorded album, Red (Taylor's Version) (2021). She wrote the track with Mark Foster and produced it with Jack Antonoff. It was intended for but excluded from Swift's fourth studio album, Red (2012).
"Forever Winter" is a power pop track that incorporates horns, flutes, and guitars in its refrain. The lyrics find Swift worrying about her friend's mental health challenges and suicidal tendencies. Music critics praised the song for its complex production and Swift's diverse vocals. "Forever Winter" peaked at number 87 on the Billboard Global 200 and reached the national charts of Canada and the United States.

## Background and release

After ending her 13-year contract with Big Machine Records and signing a new deal with Republic Records in 2018, Taylor Swift began re-recording her first six studio albums in November 2020. The decision followed a public 2019 dispute between Swift and the talent manager Scooter Braun, who had acquired Big Machine, including the masters of her albums which the label had released. By re-recording the albums, Swift had full ownership of the new masters, which enabled her to control the licensing of her songs for commercial use and therefore substituted the Big Machine–owned masters.
In April 2021, Swift released her first re-recorded album, Fearless (Taylor's Version), a re-recording of her second studio album Fearless (2008); the album featured several unreleased "From the Vault" tracks that she had written but left out of the original version's track listing. On November 12, 2021, she released Red (Taylor's Version), the re-recorded version of her fourth studio album Red (2012). It features nine "From the Vault" tracks among its 30 songs; "Forever Winter" is one of the vault tracks and number 27 on the track listing. On the week ending November 27, 2021, it reached number 64 on the Canadian Hot 100 chart, number 79 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, and number 87 on the Billboard Global 200 chart.

## Production and composition

Swift wrote "Forever Winter" with Mark Foster and produced it with Jack Antonoff, who programmed the track and recorded it with Laura Sisk at Conway Recording Studios in Los Angeles, Electric Lady Studios in New York City, and Rough Customer Studio in Brooklyn. Foster additionally provided background vocals, and Antonoff played drums, guitars, keyboards, percussion, bass, and Mellotron. Jon Sher, John Rooney, Lauren Marquez worked as assistant recording engineers, and Christopher Rowe recorded Swift's vocals at Kitty Committee Studio in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
The track was mixed by Serban Ghenea at MixStar Studios in Virginia Beach, Virginia; mastered by Randy Merrill at Sterling Sound Studios in Edgewater, New Jersey; and engineered for mix by Bryce Bordone. It was engineered by Antonoff, Sisk, Rooney, Evan Smith, Mikey Freedom Hart, David Hart, Sean Hutchinson, Michael Riddleberger, and Cole Kamen-Green. Musicians who played instruments include Mikey Freedom Hart (electric guitar, bass, Juno, M1, pedal steel guitar); Smith (saxophone, flute); Kamen-Green (trumpet, mellophone); Hutchinson (drums, percussion); and Riddleberger (percussion).
"Forever Winter" is four minutes and twenty-three seconds long. It is a power pop song opening with an energetic brass that evokes the music of the Salvation Army church, according to The Independent's Helen Brown. The song then transitions into the refrain that features an upbeat arrangement and Swift's dynamic vocals, and incorporates horns, flutes, and guitars.
The lyrics find Swift trying to help a friend through his mental health challenges and suicidal tendencies. She worries that his thoughts may be leaning towards suicide ("I pull at every thread trying to solve the puzzles in his head / Live my life scared to death he'll decide to leave instead"), although his thoughts during their phone calls sound less suicidal than they truly are ("He says, 'Why fall in love, just so you can watch it go away?'"). She tells him how much he matters to her ("I'd fall to pieces on the floor / If you weren't around") and that she will always support him ("I'll be summer sun for you forever / Forever winter if you go"). Rob Sheffield from Rolling Stone found "Forever Winter" lyrically similar to Swift's single "Renegade" (2021).

## Critical reception

Music critics praised "Forever Winter" for its detailed production and Swift's diverse vocals. Variety's Chris Willman lauded the track for its cheerful rhythm, mature concept, and "bittersweet" trumpet notes and saxophone embellishments, and Vulture's Nate Jones believed that Swift's feelings resonate authentically in "Forever Winter". Josh Kurp of Uproxx thought that her "voice cracks" during the refrain contributed depth to the song. Billboard's Jason Lipshutz similarly commended the track for its complex production and her subtle and diverse vocal performance; he considered it the eighth best vault track on Red (Taylor's Version). "Forever Winter" appeared in 2023 rankings of Swift's vault tracks by Kurp (15 out of 26) and Willman (19 out of 25), and 2024 rankings of her discography by Jones (120 out of 245) and Sheffield (168 out of 274).

## Personnel

Credits are adapted from the liner notes of Red (Taylor's Version).
* Taylor Swift – lead vocals, songwriter, producer
* Mark Foster – background vocals, songwriter
* Jack Antonoff – producer, engineer, recording engineer, programmer, drums, percussion, bass, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, 12-string acoustic guitar, Mellotron, keyboards
* Christopher Rowe – vocal recording engineer
* Laura Sisk – engineer, recording engineer
* Jon Sher – assistant recording engineer
* John Rooney – engineer, assistant recording engineer
* Lauren Marquez – assistant recording engineer
* Evan Smith – engineer, saxophone, flute
* Mikey Freedom Hart – engineer, electric guitar, bass, Juno, M1, pedal steel guitar
* David Hart – engineer
* Sean Hutchinson – engineer, drums, percussion
* Michael Riddleberger – engineer, percussion
* Cole Kamen-Green – engineer, trumpet, mellophone
* Serban Ghenea – mixer
* Bryce Bordone – engineer for mix
* Randy Merrill – mastering engineer

## Charts

Chart performance for "Forever Winter" :
| Chart (2023) | Peak position |
| Canada (Canadian Hot 100) | 64 |
| Global 200 (Billboard) | 87 |
| US Billboard Hot 100 | 79 |

## Footnote

* ↑ Officially titled "Forever Winter (Taylor's Version) (From the Vault)"