Swift Notes: Red (A Guide to Taylor Swift's Songs)

"Everything Has Changed"

14. "EVERYTHING HAS CHANGED"

BEHIND THE MUSIC

Taylor’s first exposure to Ed Sheeran came when she saw his “Lego House” video while touring Australia. She recalled, “I fell in love with his music and I couldn’t believe we hadn’t had his album come out in the U.S. yet. So I reached out to his management to see if he wanted to write, but at the same time he was reaching out to my management as well. So it was very strange.” Once they worked it out, Ed flew to L.A., where they settled onto a trampoline in Swift’s backyard to write, passing a guitar between them. He started singing harmony with Taylor, which sparked the idea of a duet. And, Taylor added, “For portions of the song, [we were bouncing around] ’cause it’s a trampoline and it’s fun, and the combined maturity level of both of us is eight years old.”

BETWEEN THE LINES

This romantic duet teases out all the enticing possibility of a new beginning. Taylor explained, “It’s about meeting someone and all of a sudden your entire perspective on the world changes — you’re thinking for two, instead of one.”

AUDIENCE OF ONE

Given the coded hint in the album booklet and Conor Kennedy’s green eyes, it’s likely this one’s for him.

FUN FACTS

Ed Sheeran is a British singersongwriter whose debut album, +, went four times platinum in the U.K. Production credits on this song go to Butch Walker, a singersongwriter and producer who has worked behind the board with Katy Perry, Dashboard Confessional, Pink, Weezer, and many more. Walker is slightly less well known for his impromptu cover of “You Belong with Me” that caused Taylor to comment, “I’m losing my MIND listening to it! Blown away.”

DIARY DECODER

“Hyiannis Port” (or, spelled correctly, Hyannis Port) is where the Kennedys have their compound, and where Conor Kennedy and Taylor were photographed on a series of dates over the summer of 2012.

CHARTING SUCCESS

The sixth single from Red, "Everything Has Changed" peaked at #41 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #17 on the Billboard Pop Songs chart.

(excerpted from our book on Swifty: Taylor Swift: The Platinum Edition, available wherever fine books are sold)

Thanks to @taysminionyo for the featured pic!