Two days after it was announced Taylor Swift would be again teaming up with her folklore and evermore collaborators, Bon Iver‘s Justin Vernon and The National‘s Aaron Dessner, the trio dropped “Renegade” at the stroke of midnight Friday.
The song was recorded for Vernon’s and Dessner’s indie rock band Big Red Machine and will be featured in its upcoming album How Long Do You Think It’s Gonna Last?, due out August 27. Taylor recorded another song for BRM’s upcoming album, “Birch.”
“Renegade” is about wanting someone to drop their defenses and become a better person so a romance can bloom.
“You’ve come a long way/ Open the blinds, let me see your face/ You wouldn’t be the first renegade/ To need somebody/ Is it insensitive for me to say/ Get your s*** together/ So I can love you,” Taylor gently sings in the chorus.
Taylor gushed about her latest collab, writing on Instagram following the song’s release, “I can’t believe I get to work with Aaron Dessner. When Aaron came into my life, I was ushered into his world of free-flowing creativity where you don’t overthink, you just make music.”
“His generosity of spirit and humility bleeds into every part of his life, and that’s why so many artists have jumped at the chance to be a part of his collaborative project, Big Red Machine,” she continued.
Dessner also raved about the collab on social media, writing, “Taylor’s words hit me so hard when I heard her first voice memo and still do, every time.”
“I’m so grateful to Taylor for continuing to share her incredible talent with me and that we are still finding excuses to make music together,” he added.
Dessner was one of several people who shared the Album of the Year Grammy for folklore with Taylor.
(Video contains uncensored profanity.)
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