Exile (Taylor Swift song)

"**Exile**" (stylized in all lowercase) is a song recorded by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, featuring American indie-folk band Bon Iver. It is the fourth track on Swift's eighth studio album, *Folklore* (2020), released on July 24, 2020, through Republic Records. The song was written by Swift, William Bowery and Justin Vernon, and produced by Aaron Dessner. It was serviced to alternative radio stations as a single on August 3, 2020.

Depicting an unspoken dialogue between two estranged lovers, "Exile" is a cinematic indie-folk ballad with gospel and orchestral elements, that combines Swift's honeyed vocals and Vernon's deep baritone into a melancholic duet propelled by a plodding piano, swirling strings and soaring harmonies.

Upon release, "Exile" garnered widespread critical acclaim, with praise towards the duo's vocal chemistry, the agonizing lyricism, rich instrumentals and bleak atmosphere. Music critics picked it as a standout on *Folklore*, and named it one of Swift's best collaborations to-date, comparing it to her 2012 single "Safe & Sound". "Exile" debuted at number six on the *Billboard* Hot 100, giving Swift her twenty-eighth top-10 hit and eighteenth top-10 debut in the United States. It reached top-tier positions globally, charting inside the top five in Australia, Ireland and New Zealand; top ten in Canada, Malaysia, Singapore and the United Kingdom; top 20 in Israel and Scotland; and top 40 in Belgium, Portugal and Sweden. "Exile" marked either Bon Iver's highest-peaking song or their first top-10 hit in the countries it charted in.

## Background and release

All tracks of *Folklore* were conceived by Swift as imageries and visuals inside her head, a result of her imagination "running wild" while isolating herself during the COVID-19 pandemic; "Exile" rose out of one such imagery—a exiled man, who is "walking the bluffs of a land that isn't his own, wondering how it all went so terribly, terribly wrong". Swift penned the song with William Bowery, who appears to have no online presence, and thus, is presumed to be a pseudonym. The duo developed a rough demo of the song as a duet, where Swift was singing both the male and female parts, and sent it to Aaron Dessner—one of two producers Swift picked for *Folklore*. Dessner developed a piano template of the song with Swift's rerecorded vocals. Swift and Dessner went through several candidates for the male partner on the duet, and Swift favored the voice of Bon Iver's Justin Vernon, who is also, along with Dessner, a part of the American indie-rock band Big Red Machine. Dessner forwarded the song to Vernon, who enjoyed the song, contributed his own lyrics and recorded his part.

On July 23, 2020, Swift revealed the track listing of *Folklore*, where "Exile" placed fourth; the album was released on July 24, 2020. "Exile" impacted US Adult Alternative radio as a single on August 3, 2020. The song was also included in *Folklore: The Escapism Chapter* and *Folklore: The Sleepless Nights Chapter* streaming compilations by Swift, released on August 20 and August 23, 2020, respectively.

## Composition and lyrics

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"Exile" is an indie-folk ballad, with gospel and orchestral pop influences, that discusses two estranged lovers moving on from a broken relationship. Justin Vernon delivers a "growling" vocal performance while "bemoaning a betrayed love", as Swift portrays the lover over "honeyed yet crisp" vocals. The duo's vocal range in the song spans between CTemplate:Flat3 to ETemplate:Flat5. The song is written in the key of [[G-flat major|GTemplate:Music major]] and has a slow tempo of 76 beats per minute. The soaring instrumentals contain stirring strings and a plodding piano.

The song is a melancholic duet that fuses Swift's soft vocals with Vernon's low-register baritone, serving as an unarticulated conversation between two former lovers, setting forth their lack of communication. This thematic aspect reflects in the melody and lyrics of "Exile" as well: Melodically, the song is characterized by two voices in counterpoint—alternating while remaining as separate melodies. Similarly, the lyricism is structured after a call-and-response format, seeing Swift and Vernon singing over each other rather than fully listening and responding to each other, giving the song an argumentative tone with no fruitful end. The looped piano starts-off "Exile", which then grows into a climax of chorused vocals, "glorious" harmonies and synths, mimicking the rising heat in the estranged lovers' conversation. "Exile" drew comparisons to Swift's older songs: "The Last Time" (2013) from her fourth studio album, *Red*, and "Safe & Sound" (2011) from *The Hunger Games: Songs from District 12 and Beyond.* Like the majority of *Folklore*, "Exile" also infuses a cinematic quality to its lyrics evoking visuals that allude to films, such as in the lines "I think I've seen this film before / and I didn't like the ending".

## Critical reception

 File:Justin Vernon at Jazz Fest 2012.jpg  *E! Online*Template:'s Billy Nilles described "Exile" as a "devastating dream" that "hits like a punch to the gut". Praising the song's passion and conversational lyricism, *Clash* writer Valerie Magan called the song a "scintillating" duet and "a wintry, tortured monster of a song" that best showcases the "sonic beauty" of *Folklore*. Christopher Roberts of *Under the Radar* included it in his list of the nine best songs of *Folklore*Template:'s release week; he noted that Swift and Vernon's voices "mesh together well" and the latter sounds like Peter Gabriel on the track. Writing for *Consequence of Sound*, Matt Melis named "Exile" the Song of the Week upon the album's release, and called the duo's pairing a "minor miracle in 2020". Reviewing for the same publication, Katie Moulton stated that "Exile" portrays a "dissolving" romance with two voices in counterpoint, and remarked the lyrics as "clever but restrained" with maturity, observing the song's emotions to be "not only high-pitched" but possessing "complex, shifting depths". Jon Caramanica of *The New York Times* dubbed "Exile" a "lovely, anguished duet" that acts a "stark and unsettling back and forth of recriminations", with lyrics channeling distance and skepticism. He complimented the song's climax especially, where Swift and Vernon sing over each other in a style of "hard-whiskey country, desperate R&B and black-box-theater dialogue", making the listeners feel "the full emotional corrosion". Caramanica described the piano in the song as stern and fatalistic, gonging like grandfather clocks.

Michael Sumsion of *PopMatters* proclaimed "Exile" an "obvious standout" on *Folklore*, defining it as a mournful examination of dissolution that juxtaposes Vernon's low bass register with Swift's "mid-range, conversational cadences and sharp-eyed observation to thrilling effect". He noted that the song begins as a "plaintive hush", growing into "a gleaming swarm of orchestral-gospel-flavored testifying that suggests the physical space of a cathedral", all whilst radiating a rich swell. Sumsion commented that "Exile" could easily fit on *I, I*, Bon Iver's fourth studio album. *The Los Angeles Times* writer Jody Rosen deemed the song a "stormy duet" and "a tortured call-and-response between estranged lovers", adding that the song hits hard because of its essence of reality. Justin Curto of *Vulture* opined that Swift has been productive in the pandemic, creating her most contemplative album yet, with "Exile" as a prime result.

Terming it "a rich, textured track" of two "unlikely" voices together in "glorious" harmony, Giselle Au-Nhien Nguyen of *The Sydney Morning Herald* found the song's mythology mesmerising, building "a whole world in under five minutes", and wrote that the effect erects a climax that dies down again, resulting in "a spectrum of sound and emotion" that resonates across *Folklore*. *Uproxx* writer Philip Cosores regarded Vernon sounding "like himself" a flex, as he avoids his characteristic falsetto present in Bon Iver's music. Bobby Olivier of *Spin* picked the track as "the grandest highlight" of *Folklore*, complimenting the production as a "sweeping, cinematic panorama". He further named it one of Swift's "most arresting" collaborations to-date and as an "worthy successor" to her 2011 collaboration, "Safe & Sound". NPR's Kim Ruehl thought that the song creates a "windswept sonic landscape", conveying "overlapping" sadness and sagacity, atypical of Swift's most radio hits. *Elle* named the song as the second-best of 2020, while *Men's Health* listed it as one of best 25 songs of 2020. *NME* writer Hannah Mylrea placed the song at number 20 on her list ranking all 161 songs by Swift, praising it as one of Swift's most impressive collaborations.

## Commercial performance

The song reached high positions in many countries worldwide. In the United States, "Exile" debuted at number six on the *Billboard* Hot 100, giving Swift her twenty-eighth top-ten hit and Bon Iver's first. The song is one of Swift's record-extending eighteen top-ten debuts on the chart. Marking both Swift's and Bon Iver's first appearance on *Billboard* Adult Alternative Songs airplay chart, "Exile" debuted at number 37 on the chart dated August 15, 2020. It debuted at number two on *Billboard* Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart and placed number five in its second week—the smallest drop of any of Swift's songs on the chart; *Billboard* opined that "the budding airplay could bode well for "Exile" in terms of chart longevity". The song was one of three *Billboard* Hot 100 top-10 hits from *Folklore* and its third-highest peaking track on the chart, behind "Cardigan" (number one) and "The 1" (number 4). "Exile" also debuted at number 5 on the *Billboard* Digital Song Sales chart. It reached number 10 on *Billboard* Adult Alternative Songs, giving Swift her first top-10 entry on the chart.

The song reached number 3 in Australia's ARIA Singles, Irish Singles, Malaysia's RIM Singles, and Singapore Top 30 Digital Streaming charts; number 5 in New Zealand Top 40 Singles chart; number 6 on Canadian Hot 100; number 7 on UK Singles; 17 on Israel's Media Forest and Scottish Singles; 32 on Denmark's Hitlisten; 37 on Belgium's Ultratop 50; 38 on Sweden's Sverigetopplistan charts; and number 40 on Portugal's AFP Top 200 Singles chart. In Australia and Malaysia, "Exile" was one of five tracks from *Folklore* to land in the top-10. In Ireland, it was one of three songs from *Folklore* to chart in the top ten, increasing Swift's total of Irish top-ten hits to 15. In the UK, "Exile" opened in the top ten alongside "Cardigan" and "The 1", making Swift the sixth artist in the UK history to chart three songs in the top ten simultaneously and the first artist ever to debut three in the region; this extended Swift's UK top-10 hits total to 16.

Seven weeks after the release of *Folklore*, the *Billboard* Global 200 chart was inaugurated, on which "Exile" appeared at number 133 on the week of September 19, 2020.

## Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from Tidal.

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* Taylor Swift – vocals, songwriter
* Justin Vernon – featured vocals, songwriter, vocal engineer
* William Bowery – songwriter
* Aaron Dessner – producer, recording engineer, drum programmer, electric guitar, piano, percussion, synthesizer
* Rob Moose – violin, viola
* Laura Sisk – vocal engineer
* Jonathan Low – recording engineer, mixer
* Randy Merrill – mastering engineer

Template:Div col end

## Charts

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 US *Rolling Stone* Top 100 | 3

## Certifications

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## See also

* List of *Billboard* Hot 100 top-ten singles in 2020
* List of UK top-ten singles in 2020
* List of top 10 singles in 2020 (Australia)
* List of top 10 singles in 2020 (Ireland)

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3. ↑ Kaufman, Gil (July 23, 2020). Taylor Swift Was Bummed About Her Summer Plans Not Panning Out, So She's Releasing A New Album... Tonight. *Billboard*. Retrieved on July 29, 2020.
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Gerber, Brady (July 27, 2020). The Story Behind Every Song on Taylor Swift's folklore (en-us).
5. ↑ Blistein, Jon (July 24, 2020). How Aaron Dessner and Taylor Swift Stripped Down Her Sound on 'Folklore' (en-US).
6. ↑ Sodomsky, Sam (July 24, 2020). The National's Aaron Dessner Talks Taylor Swift's New Album folklore (en-us).
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13. ↑ Roberts, Christopher (July 24, 2020). 9 Best Songs of the Week: Madeline Kenney, METZ, Bartees Strange, Taylor Swift, and More. Retrieved on July 25, 2020.
14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 Rosen, Jody (July 24, 2020). Review: Taylor Swift's radically intimate 'Folklore' is the perfect quar album.
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28. ↑ Moulton, Katie (July 25, 2020). Taylor Swift's folklore Dismantles Her Own Self-Mythologizing: Review.
29. ↑ Caramanica, Jon (July 26, 2020). Taylor Swift, a Pop Star Done With Pop.
30. ↑ Cosores, Philip (July 27, 2020). Taylor Swift's 'Folklore' Burns Bright In Dark Times (en-US).
31. ↑ Olivier, Bobby (July 24, 2020). folklore Is Taylor Swift's Smoldering Pop Rebellion – Finally.
32. ↑ Ruehl, Kim (August 1, 2020). Heavy Rotation: 10 Songs Public Radio Can't Stop Playing (en).
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36. ↑ Taylor Swift Debuts at No. 1 on Hot 100 With 'Cardigan,' Is 1st Artist to Open Atop Hot 100 & Billboard 200 in Same Week (2020-08-03).
37. ↑ Taylor Swift & Bon Iver Each Make First Adult Alternative Songs Chart Appearance With 'Exile' (2020-08-13).
38. ↑ Trust, Gary (August 3, 2020). Taylor Swift Charts 16 Songs From 'Folklore' on Billboard Hot 100.
39. ↑ Taylor Swift – Billboard Digital Song Sales Chart History.
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