Peace (Taylor Swift song)

American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift began work on her eighth studio album, Folklore, during the COVID-19 lockdowns in early 2020.[1] She recruited first-time collaborator, Aaron Dessner, as a producer on the album. Swift co-wrote nine songs with Dessner, who produced all of them, including "Peace".[2] It was the third track they made, following "Cardigan" and "Seven".[3] Due to the lockdown, Swift and Dessner were seperate from each other and therefore created Folklore by exchanging digital files;[4] the songs they worked on were originally Dessner's instrumental tracks that he would send to Swift to pen the melody and lyrics over.[5]

For "Peace", its instrumental consisted of harmonized basslines, a drone, and a pulse—the last one was provided by American singer-songwriter Justin Vernon.[6][7] When Swift heard the instrumental, she found an "immediate sense of serenity" and a feeling of being at peace, but thought that it would be "too on-the-nose" to sing about finding peace. Instead, Swift wrote about complex "conflicted" feelings that would contrast to the track's calming sound.[1] She recorded it in one take at Kitty Committee Studio in Los Angeles.[2][7] The song and its instruments were recorded at Long Pond Studios in Hudson Valley and April Base Studios in Wisconsin. It was mixed at Long Pond and was mastered at Sterling Sound in New York City.[2]

Characterized by a sparse,[8] lo-fi instrumentation,[9] "Peace" is a minimal R&B-influenced song with a slow funk bassline,[10] consisting of three lushly harmonized electric guitars juxtaposed over a ticking pulse,[11][3] further textured by subtle synthesizers and a drizzle of soft piano notes.[12] Swift employs her soulful jazzy vocals in the "Peace",[3][8] via a complex vocal melody,[10] ranging between F₃ to A₄.[13] The song is written in the key of F major and has a moderately fast tempo of 150 beats per minute.[14]

The song structure of "Peace" is an ode reminiscent of a prayer.[10] Its lyrics discuss the effects of Swift's hectic superstardom on her private life, and is directly addressed to her lover, warning them of the challenges that come with them being a part of her hyper-publicized life.[15][16] The song's title is deceptive, since "Peace" is about failing to achieve peace, seeing Swift confess that "tranquility is the only thing she can't promise" her lover.[17] After witnessing the dissection and blemish of her personal life by the press for over a decade, especially tabloid media, Swift has been tight-lipped and private about her boyfriend since 2016, English actor Joe Alwyn, who co-wrote and co-produced select tracks on Folklore. "Peace" channels the balance Swift struck between her private and public lives, more rooted in her personal life unlike the fictional majority of Folklore.[18]

Notable details in the song's lyrics include Swift's mention of Alwyn's younger brother in the lyric "Family that I chose now that I see your brother as my brother", the second time she mentions him in her discography, after the track "Paper Rings" from her 2019 album Lover.[19] An Insider critic opined that the lyric "But there's robbers to the east / clowns to the West" is a mention of her famous feuds, underscoring "the spectacle of Swift's everyday and her inability to escape the trappings of public life"; "robbers" referring to Scott Borchetta, who sold the masters of Swift's first six albums to Scooter Braun, while the "clowns to the West" refers to Kanye West and his ex-wife Kim Kardashian.[20]

Folklore was released on July 24, 2020, via Republic Records. In the standard track-list, "Peace" sits at number 15 as the penultimate track.[21] The song debuted in the United States's Billboard Hot 100 and Rolling Stone Top 100, with peaks of number 58[22] and number 25 respectively.[23] On Billboard's Hot Rock & Alternative Songs, it reached number 12 and stayed on the chart for 10 weeks.[24] The song also appeared on the chart's 2020 year-end chart, where it landed at number 53.[25] Elsewhere, the track reached on the national charts of Australia (33)[26] and Canada (46),[27] and the Audio Streaming Chart of the United Kingdom (53).[28] On November 25, Swift recorded a stripped-down rendition of "Peace" for the Disney+ concert documentary Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions and its live album.[29]

Sarah Carson of i remarked "Peace" as "the most romantic song" Swift has ever written, containing the "storybook poetry hallmarks" of her early country career, and underlined the lyric "All these people think love's for show / But I would die for you in secret."[11] Variety critic Chris Wilman called "Peace" the "champion romance song", and along with fellow track "Invisible String", found it a suitable addition that contrasts the overaching sadness of Folklore. He thought "Peace" is a "realistic" love ballad that "renders all the compensatory vows of fidelity and courage all the more credible and deeply lovely".[17] The Guardian's Laura Snapes complimented the "deep dedication" Swift expresses in "Peace".[30]

Writing for Vulture, Nate Jones felt that "Peace" is "more clearly autobiographical than much of the album", having Swift apologize to her lover for "the stress that comes with dating one of the world's most famous women". He added that the song's purpose can come off as "an insufferable flex", but "her unassuming authenticity keeps it far away from humblebrag territory".[9] Callie Ahlgrim of Insider said the song has Swift promise to give her partner "passion and warmth and undying loyalty" but yet "wrestles with her inability to promise peace".[20] Also writing for Insider, Courteney Larocca admired the song's "gut-wrenchingly vulnerable" lyrics, "stunning" musical composition, and Swift's "crisp" vocal performance. She also drew lyrical parallels between "Peace" and Swift's older songs "Call It What You Want" (2017) and "The Archer" (2019).[31]

WRVU stated that "Peace" is one of the "most exquisite" songs Swift has ever written, representing a love song in "the absolute purest and most devoted sense", with some of the "lushest" lyrics she has ever written. The review praised the "improvisational" song structure of "Peace", deviating from standard pop structures of "a regular verse-chorus-bridge", and pinpointed that the song's central theme is a derivative of Swift's sixth studio album, Reputation.[32] In a mixed commentary, Kathryn Flynn of Consequence felt the song's slow pace and muted R&B sound does not fit the overall texture of Folklore.[33]

Credits adapted from the album's liner notes[34] and Pitchfork[2]