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Foreword
There's an old poem by Neruda that I've always been captivated by, and one of the lines in it has stuck with me ever since the first time I read it. It says "love is so short, forgetting is so long." It's a line I've related to in my saddest moments, when I needed to know someone else had felt that exact same way. And when we're trying to move on the moments we always go back to aren't the mundane ones. They are the moments you saw sparks that weren't really there, felt stars aligning without having any proof, saw your future before it happened, and then saw it slip away without any warning. These are moments of newfound hope, extreme joy, intense passion, wishful thinking, and in some cases, the unthinkable letdown. And in my mind, every one of these memories looks the same to me. I see all of these moments in bright, burningred.
My experiences in love have taught me difficult lessons, especially my experiences with crazy love. The red relationships. The ones that went from zero to a hundred miles per hour and then hit a wall and exploded. And it was awful. And ridiculous. And desperate. And thrilling.And when the dust settled, it was something I’d never take back. Because there is something to be said for being young and needing someone so badly, you jump in head first without looking.And there's something to be learned from waiting all day for a train that's never coming. And there's something to be proud of about moving on and realizing that real love shines golden like starlight, and doesn't fade or spontaneously combust. Maybe I’ll write a whole album about that kind of love if I ever find it. but this album is about the other kinds of love that I’ve recently fallen in and out of.Love that was treacherous, sad, beautiful, and tragic. But most of all, this record is about love that was red.
Album Credits
Featuring Ed Sheeran & Gary Lightbody
Producers Butch Walker, Dann Huff, Dan Wilson, Jacknife Lee, Jeff Bhasker, Max Martin, Nathan Chapman, Shellback & Taylor Swift
Writers Dan Wilson, Ed Sheeran, Gary Lightbody, Jacknife Lee, Liz Rose, Max Martin, Shellback & Taylor Swift
Accordion Charlie Judge
Acoustic Guitar Dann Huff, Nathan Chapman, Shellback & Taylor Swift
Additional Engineering Brian David Willis & Matt Rausch
Assistant Engineer Tim Roberts
Assistant Mixing Engineer Drew Bollman
Assistant Recording Engineer Eric Eylands & Seth Morton
Assisted By Drew Bollman
B-3 Organ Charlie Judge
Background Vocals Butch Walker, Caitlin Evanson, Dan Wilson, Gary Lightbody, Jake Sinclair, Jeff Bhasker, Liz Huett, Nathan Chapman & Taylor Swift
