The Archer (song)
"The Archer" is a song recorded by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. As the fifth track on her seventh studio album "Lover" (2019), the song was written and produced by Swift and Jack Antonoff. On July 23, 2019, it was released as the only promotional single from the album. "The Archer" is an alternative, synth-pop, dream pop, and electropop ballad with an ambient synthwave sound and 1980s sensibility, incorporating heavy skittering synthesizers, soft house beats, minimalistic elements and a slow groove. Praised for its artful lyrics expressing vulnerability, the song introspects on Swift's insecurities, anxiety  and existential crisis. "The Archer" received critical acclaim upon release, with music critics complimenting the poetic lyrics and dreamy production and comparing it to Swift's 2012 song "All Too Well", the fifth track on her fourth studio album "Red". On the "Billboard" Hot 100, it debuted at number 69 and eventually peaked at number 38. A lyric video was also released on YouTube, accompanying the song's release. Background. The song was first teased as one of the easter eggs in the music video of "You Need to Calm Down", the second single from "Lover". In the video, Hayley  Kiyoko appears to be wielding a bow and arrow, hitting a bullseye in the center, which has the number 5 stamped on it; fans interpreted it as something to do with the fifth track on "Lover". On July 22, 2019, the fifth track on the album was revealed to be a song entitled "The Archer", through an accidental leak in the pre-order tracklist of the album on Apple Music. The following day, "The Archer" was released as the only promotional single from "Lover". Regarding placement of "The Archer" at number five on the "Lover" tracklist, Swift explained that she  puts the most "honest, emotional, vulnerable, and personal" tracks at the position. Swift also stated that the song would not be a single and it was meant to showcase a side of the album unseen by fans with the first two singles ("Me!" and "You Need to Calm Down"). Swift went on to say that the song would not receive an accompanying music video; however, a lyric video accompanied the song's release. "The Archer" was written and produced by Swift and Jack Antonoff within two hours, when they were in California. The two have also previously collaborated on "Sweeter  than Fiction" (2013), "1989" (2014), "I Don't Wanna Live Forever" (2016) and "Reputation" (2017). The song's title "The Archer" is also a reference to the symbol of Swift's zodiac sun-sign, Sagittarius. Composition and lyrics. "The Archer" is an airy, minimal, midtempo synth-pop, dream pop, alternative, electropop and ambient synthwave ballad that features heavy and sparkling synthesizers, minimalistic sounds and a slow groove, driven by house-inflected kick drum thumps that build up to a feverish climax. The song, described as "darker and more introspective" than preceding singles, showcases a "more vulnerable and confessional" side of  the singer, as it features her as "both hunter and hunted". With the songwriting exuding existentialism, Swift also interpolates lyrics from the nursery rhyme "Humpty Dumpty" to "describe her emotional anguish", then "brings it all back to how her life has been marked by haters and betrayal". "Time"'s Raisa Bruner stated that "The Archer" showcases Swift's introspective side, over a "skittering" synth line, and that it has the 80s sensibility, typical of Antonoff's works. Critical reception. "The Archer" received widespread critical acclaim upon release. "Rolling Stone"s Claire Shaffer called the song "a somber, synth-heavy ballad centered  around the metaphor of the archer". Rania Aniftos of "Billboard" opined that it is "sparkling, airy", and that Swift "tears down the wall she puts up, asking the person she loves to accept all of her as she chants". Writing for "Forbes", Caitlin Kelley stated that the lyrics of "The Archer" scan "as a more nuanced acknowledgment of the well-documented highs and lows of her high-profile relationships", adding that "the song's biggest strength is the artfulness of [its] lines". "NME"s Sofiana Ramli wrote that "the song exposes the singer's insecurities", describing it as "delicate and dreamy  in the same minimalistic vein" as "All Too Well" (2012). "Spin"'s Jordan Sargent named "The Archer" as the "most stunning" song on "Lover". Chris Willman of "Variety" opined that its "lyrics reflect a suspicious state of mind in a seemingly happy relationship where old fears arise easily", and also drew comparisons to "All Too Well". "Medium"s TJ Lovell labelled the song as Swift's "most delicate song" and stated that Swift "slows things down and indulges in her most romantic tendencies", over a production of "competing synths that simultaneously twinkling and rumble open the song before giving way to  an incessant, house-lite beat, creating a feeling of urgency as the track propels itself forward". "Vox"s Constance Grady wrote that the song "is spare and minimalist, and it's a little bit self-hating in the way Swift can occasionally get when she's at her most vulnerable as a songwriter", adding that it is "exponentially more emotional and powerful" than preceding singles. Writing for "V Magazine", Alex Kazemi called the song "a beautiful classic Taylor Swift ballad, that is both violent and exquisite". He stated that the lyrics are "full of heart-stabbers" that "attest to the songwriting  skills and poetics" of Swift, and complimented the "goth-epigrams and glossier production" which "paint a vivid landscape". In 2019, Rob Sheffield of "Rolling Stone" ranked "The Archer" as Swift's eleventh best song. "Stereogum" named "The Archer" as one of the top 10 best songs of 2019. "Slant" named it the sixth-best song of 2019. Commercial performance. In the United States, "The Archer" debuted on the "Billboard" Hot 100 at number 69, becoming Swift's 80th song to enter the chart, later repeaking at number 38 after the release of "Lover"—becoming one of the seven top-forty hits  from the album. The song also debuted and peaked at number six in the "Billboard" Digital Song Sales chart. The song debuted at number 100 on the UK Singles Chart, later peaking at number 43. Additionally, the song entered and peaked at number 17 in Scotland and number 31 in Ireland. Other places where it charted include number 28 in New Zealand and number 41 on the Canadian Hot 100. In Australia, the song debuted at number 55 and moved to number 19 the following week. Lyric video and live performances. On July 23, 2019, a lyric video for the  song was released on YouTube. The lyrics in the video use a handwritten font, while the background of the video is made up of colorful clouds moving. At the end, there are a few seconds of snow falling down. The lyric video has surpassed 20 million views on YouTube. Swift's first live performance of the song was an acoustic rendition on the "Lover's Lounge", a Q&A session live streamed on YouTube on August 22, 2019. The next day, she again performed the song acoustically at a SiriusXM Town Hall. The song was included in Swift's setlist for  BBC Radio 1's Live Lounge on September 2. On September 9, Swift performed the song at the City of Lover one-off concert in Paris, France. The audio was later released on digital music platforms on May 17, 2020, along with the premiere of the concert film on ABC. Credits, personnel and locations. Credits adapted from Tidal. According to the "Lover" CD booklet, the song was recorded at Electric Lady Studios (New York City, NY, USA), mixed at Mixstar Studios (Virginia Beach, Virginia, USA) and mastered at Sterling Sound (New York City, New York).