page_title: White Horse (Taylor Swift song)
section_title: Background
hierarchical_section_title: White Horse (Taylor Swift song) / Background
caption_attribution_description: English: Taylor Swift performing at the Cavendish Beach Music Festival in Prince Edward Island, Canada. Français&#160;: Taylor Swift chantant au Cavendish Beach Music Festival, Île-du-Prince-Édouard, Canada.
context_page_description: "White Horse" is a song by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. The song was written by Swift and Liz Rose and produced by Nathan Chapman and Swift. The song was released on December 7, 2008 by Big Machine Records, as the second single from Swift's second studio album Fearless. Swift and Rose composed the song about one of Swift's ex-boyfriends, when Swift discovered he was not what she had perceived of him. It focused on the moment where Swift accepted that the relationship was over. "White Horse" is, musically, a country song and uses sparse production to emphasize vocals. Lyrically, the track speaks of disillusionment and pain in a relationship, drawing references to fairytales.
  Critically, "White Horse" garnered generally positive reception. At the 2010 Grammy Awards, "White Horse" won the Grammy Awards for Best Country Song and Best Female Country Vocal Performance. The song also performed well commercially, although it did not duplicate the success of its predecessor, "Love Story". In the United States, it peaked at number thirteen on the Billboard Hot 100 and number two on the Hot Country Songs chart.
context_section_description: Swift commenced composing "White Horse" almost a year before the release of Fearless, weeks after composing Fearless's lead single "Love Story", songs which are quite disparate lyrically. Swift first solely wrote the first verse. She then made a phone call to Liz Rose, co-writer of most tracks on Swift's eponymous debut studio album, Taylor Swift (2006), asking for her aid in finishing the song; the two completed writing the song in approximately forty-five minutes. The song was inspired by a boyfriend of Swift's who she perceived to be a Prince Charming and, in the downfall of the relationship, then realized he was not. She said he was the person who triggered the song, but, once in the midst of writing it, drifted in direction. It focused on the initial moment where she recognized the relationship was over. She said everything after that particular moment centered on recuperation and, because of that, considered it the most solemn aspect of a breakup: "To me, 'White Horse' is about what, in my opinion, is the most heart-breaking part of a break-up – that moment when you realize that all the dreams you had, all those visions you had of being with this person, all that disappears." About the difference in themes between "White Horse" and "Love Story", Swift explained that in divergent scenarios, she regarded fairytales in different manners. She attributed the fact that because she did not expect to go through the event, then she became more inclined to come in terms with reality.
  "When we're little girls, our parents read us storybooks. And we think that Prince Charming's gonna come along, is gonna have a white cape on, is going to put us on a pedestal. And the bad guy wears black and we always know who that guy is. But what we don't realize is that, in reality, the bad guy is wearing jeans. And he's cute. And he's charming, makes you laugh, and you believe him. You think he's the good guy. Then, you realize he's not."
  The song was not originally intended to be included on Fearless, due to Swift believing solemness was already represented accurately on the album; therefore, Swift was planning on including the track on her third studio album, what would become Speak Now in 2010. However, when Swift's Los Angeles managing agency set up an appointment with the executive producers of her favorite television series, Grey's Anatomy, Betsy Beers and Shonda Rhimes, they discussed including Swift's music on the series. Swift chose to play them "White Horse" live with an acoustic guitar. Beers and Rhimes were very impressed and told Swift they would respond her via telephone as soon as they could. Swift decided to not include the track on Fearless, until the producers responded, which they did not for some time. When Grey's Anatomy's representatives called, Swift and Nathan Chapman recorded the song immediately, sent a CD to them, and they decided to use it on the television series. "White Horse" debuted on the fifth season premiere of Grey's Anatomy, "Dream a Little Dream of Me", on September 25, 2008.
caption: Swift performing "White Horse" at the 2010 Cavendish Beach Music Festival in Canada.
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