Begin Again (Taylor Swift song)

Background and release

Taylor Swift designated her fourth studio album, Red, as a breakup album that was inspired by a particularly intense relationship she had experienced. She wrote "Begin Again" in 2011, and the track was produced for Red by Swift, Nathan Chapman, and Dann Huff. "Begin Again" was recorded by Steve Marcantonio and mixed by Justin Niebank, with assistance from Drew Bollman, at Blackbird Studio, Nashville. Hank Williams mastered the track at Nashville's MasterMix studio.

Swift previewed "Begin Again" on Good Morning America on September 24, 2012, and Big Machine Records released it for download onto iTunes the next day. "Begin Again" was one of the four promotional singles that preceded the release of Red, and it was later released to country radio in the United States on October 1, 2012, as the album's second single by Big Machine. In further promotion, an individually numbered CD single was released on October 23, 2012, to Amazon.com and Swift's official store.

Composition and lyrics

"Begin Again" is a country, folk-pop, and soft rock ballad accentuated by mandolin and banjo, steel guitar, arpeggiated acoustic guitar, and gentle percussion in its production. Marc Hogan from Spin found the instruments reminiscent to the music of the 1970s soft-rock singer-songwriters Joni Mitchell and James Taylor, the latter of whom is referenced to in the lyrics, "You said you never met one girl who had as many James Taylor records as you/ But I do." For the music critic Annie Zaleski, "Begin Again" is stylistically reminiscent of the songs by James Taylor and Kris Kristofferson, whom Swift cited as her influences. Lindsay Zoladz from The New York Times found the song to feature a "coffee shop folksiness". The musicologist James E. Perone believed the song's production confirms the significance of Swift's country roots on the genre-spanning, pop-oriented Red.

The lyrics of "Begin Again" are about a protagonist falling in love again after a failed relationship. Swift told Good Morning America about the song's content, "It's actually a song about kind of when you've gotten through a really bad relationship and you finally dust yourself off and go on that first date after a horrible breakup and the vulnerability that goes along with all of that." The narrator compares her ex-lover to a new love interest, "I think it's strange that you think I'm funny, because he never did." Billy Dukes from Taste of Country remarked that the narrator of "Begin Again" is willing to reveal her vulnerability to the new lover, which makes the song touching. The placement of "Begin Again" as the final track on the standard edition of Red received analysis—Perone observed that the track served as the thematic conclusion to the album. Noting the tracks of Red were centered on the emotional intensity of the narrator after exploring a newfound relationship—followed through stages of heartbreak and "red" tumultuous feelings from a toxic breakup—he settled that the track focused on a relationship that is deeper and potentially more lasting.

Critical reception

Upon its release, "Begin Again" received acclaim from critics, who complimented it as a showcase of Swift's mature songwriting. Perone found the lyrics "wide-ranging and free-ranging" and deemed the track an appropriate album closer for Red. Writing for Taste of Country, Billy Dukes gave the song a four star rating out of five, describing it as "a cleansing breath that hopefully foreshadows the true tone of her album". Grady Smith of Entertainment Weekly wrote the song is "a well-crafted love story" and noted Swift's talent "at taking a single moment in time and letting it unfold like a pop-up storybook." Matt Bjorke gave four out of five stars as well for Roughstock, complimenting that "The song is a vast improvement for Taylor. A ballad that's neither in-your-face or sounding like its from a twelve year old".

The storytelling of the song received praise; The Boot noted that it was "sweet" and a "beautiful ballad". MuchMusic lauded Swift, stating "while she is more than capable of releasing the carefree, jump-around-your-room-with-a-hairbrush break up songs like "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together," she also has the pen of a poet and knows how to craft emotionally gut-wrenching songs that speak to her millions of fans." Billboard magazine ranked "Begin Again" at number six on their list of the best songs of 2012, praising Swift's artistic maturity. Rob Sheffield from Rolling Stone called the track "a deceptively simple ballad that sneaks up and steamrolls all over you". The song was nominated for Best Country Song at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards in 2014.

Commercial performance

In the United States, "Begin Again" debuted at number one on the Hot Digital Songs chart with first-week sales of 299,000 digital copies; it was Swift's fifth chart topper. On the Billboard Hot 100 chart dated October 4, 2012, it debuted and peaked at number seven, becoming Swift's 12th top-10 entry and her ninth top-10 debut. On the Hot Country Songs chart dated October 13, 2012, "Begin Again" opened at number 37 with three million airplay impressions. For the next week's issue, Billboard incorporated digital sales and streaming data to the Hot Country Songs chart, in addition to only airplay data as previously done. As a result, "Begin Again" jumped to number 10 on Hot Country Songs (which would be its peak position), and appeared at number 29 on the newly revamped Country Airplay chart, which replaced the aforementioned chart as the country-airplay-only ranking. It ultimately peaked at number three and spent 22 weeks on the Country Airplay chart. On March 29, 2013, the song was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.

In Canada, "Begin Again" reached number four on the Canadian Hot 100 and number seven on the Canada Country airplay chart and received a gold certification from Music Canada. Elsewhere, the song debuted on the charts in several territories, peaking within the top 40 of New Zealand (11), Australia (20), Ireland (25), Scotland (27), the United Kingdom (30), and Spain (35), and Italy (72). The single was certified platinum in Australia, and gold in Brazil and New Zealand.

Music video

The music video for "Begin Again" premiered on MTV on October 23, 2012. Swift chose to film the video in Paris as a "love letter" in tribute to the city, " 'Cause it's just the city and this storyline of somebody moving on and finding yourself again." The video starts with Swift standing on a bridge while pensively gazing across the water and remembering a lost love. She then takes a walk along the Seine, wearing a red dress with white flower appliques and blue peep toes and sits beside the river Seine. The video draws comparison to that of singer Adele's music video "Someone Like You" and Swift's own "Back to December".

Directed by Philip Andelman and produced by Arthur Cantin, the story in the video deviates from the song's lyrical narrative in several respects. While the lyrics recount the narrator's (Swift) trepidation of a first date after a bad breakup, the video instead relates a chance meeting in a cafe in Paris. In the video, Swift is seated at a booth, doodling in a small notebook when a Frenchman at another table takes interest and introduces himself. Missing from the video are the Swift's initial moments in the cafe, where her date has arrived early to wait for her, greets her, then helps her into her chair, displaying kindness and respect that was apparently absent from her former relationship. Late in the song, the restaurant encounter draws to a conclusion while the couple walks to Swift's car.

Entertainment Weekly thought the video was "another classic bittersweet Swift joint," writing: "Though her boyfriend doesn't laugh at her jokes and bores her with stories about his family's Christmas movie-watching traditions, she finds the ultimate salve: Wandering through the streets of Paris, chuckling with handsome dudes in a café (and probably snacking on snails or something). It's a lovely clip, but a little bit sleepy. Also, there's something about it that recalls 'Back to December' — is it the color palette, or just the general moodiness?". The video was nominated for Video of the Year at the 2013 American Country Awards and Female Video of the Year at the 2013 CMT Music Awards.

Live performances

Swift first performed "Begin Again" at the 2012 Country Music Association Awards in Nashville. The performance featured Swift, in a red dress, singing on a Parisian café-inspired stage with an accordion player. Writing for Entertainment Weekly, Grady Smith believed Swift did not showcase a powerful voice like other country artists, but found Swift's tone "gently evocative and rather soothing" in the right place. She also performed the song on The Ellen DeGeneres Show and during a "Live from New York City" performance.

The song was later added on the main setlist to Swift's Red Tour (2013–2014). At the August 31, 2018, concert in Minneapolis, Minnesota, as part of her Reputation Stadium Tour, she sang "Begin Again" as a "surprise song". Swift again performed an acoustic guitar rendition at the April 23, 2023, concert in Houston, Texas and a piano rendition mashup with her song "Paris" at the May 12, 2024, concert in Paris, France as part of the Eras Tour.

Credits and personnel

Adapted from the liner notes of Red

• Taylor Swift – lead vocals, writer, producer
• Dann Huff – producer, electric guitar, digital editing, acoustic guitar
• Nathan Chapman – producer, acoustic guitar, high string acoustic guitar
• Steve Marcantonio – recording
• Seth Morton – assistant recording
• Justin Niebank – mixing
• Drew Bollman – assistant mixing
• Mike "Frog" Griffith – production coordinator
• Jason Campbell – production coordinator
• Tom Bukovac – electric guitar
• Paul Franklin – steel guitar
• Ilya Toshinsky – mandolin
• Jimmie Lee Sloas – bass
• Jonathan Yudkin – violin, string
• Charlie Judge – Hammond B3, synthesizers, strings, accordion, piano
• Aaron Sterling – drums
• Caitlin Evanson – background vocals

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

"Begin Again (Taylor's Version)"

• Christopher Rowe

After signing a new contract with Republic Records, Swift began re-recording her first six studio albums in November 2020. The decision came after the public 2019 dispute between Swift and talent manager Scooter Braun, who acquired Big Machine Records, including the masters of Swift's albums the label had released. By re-recording them, Swift had full ownership of the new masters, including the copyright licensing of her songs, devaluing the Big Machine-owned masters. The re-recording of "Begin Again", subtitled "(Taylor's Version)", was released as part of Red's re-recording, Red (Taylor's Version), on November 12, 2021.

"Begin Again (Taylor's Version)" was produced by Swift and Christopher Rowe, and it was recorded by David Payne at Blackbird Studios, Nashville. Rowe recorded Swift's vocals at Kitty Committee Studio in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and Serban Ghenea mixed both tracks at MixStar Studios, Virginia Beach, Virginia. Slant Magazine Jonathan Keefe complimented the re-recorded track for showcasing a stronger country production and an improved in Swift's musical instincts, "heightening its plainspoken candor and hopefulness".

Personnel

Adapted from the liner notes of Red (Taylor's Version)

• Taylor Swift – lead vocals, songwriter, producer
• Christopher Rowe – producer, vocals engineer
• David Payne – recording engineer
• Dan Burns – additional engineer
• Austin Brown – assistant engineer, assistant editor
• Bryce Bordone – engineer
• Derek Garten – engineer
• Serban Ghenea – mixer
• Charles Judge – accordion
• Mike Meadows – acoustic guitar, Hammond organ, mandolin
• Amos Heller – bass guitar
• Matt Billingslea – drums
• Paul Sidoti – electric guitar
• David Cook – piano
• Max Bernstein – steel guitar, synths
• Jonathan Yudkin – violin
• Caitlin Evanson – background vocals

Charts

References

Sources

References

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