The Emotional New Taylor Swift Single Is Here, And It’s Got Fans In Tears

‘Emotional’ is probably not the word one would use to describe what Taylor Swift has been going for in the roll-out of her new record Lover.

Indeed, so far, rather than take the honest and vulnerable route that has defined her career so far — for better and for worse — the angle has been to candy coat the listener into submission.

Debut single ‘Me!’ had all the raucous energy of a particularly colourful Sesame Street singalong — complete with a horrifying “spelling is fun!” breakdown — and a music video so saccharine as to give viewers cavities.

‘You Need To Calm Down’, the follow-up, was somewhat more serious, tackling LGBTIQ representation, but the lens was still the same. It was Taylor celebrating Taylor, co-opting a social issue to fashion a kitsch self-portrait full of her most famous queer friends.

But now, with her new single ‘The Archer’, Swift has taken something of a left turn. No mere Katy Perry rip-off, the song is an emotional ballad, a slow build to a crescendo that never comes, and the clearest throwback to the pop sound that she pioneered on 1989.

According to an Instagram live video Swift dropped just before the song, she doesn’t even consider it the next single — it will have no music video.

That understated roll-out only adds to the power of the song. Quiet, gentle, and vulnerable, ‘The Archer’ might be the stand-out of the Lover promo cycle so far. Basically, it’s excellent. And it’s hitting fans right in their emotions.

literally me right now #TheArcher pic.twitter.com/cKWgu8u7tc

— lucas ? (@millionpIaces) July 23, 2019

BIG MOOD #TheArcher pic.twitter.com/nh6zXvoKww

— a (@swiftxlover) July 23, 2019

i was just…not expecting to be sobbing uncontrollably to the lyrics of the archer in my bedroom alone with all the lights off at 6pm on a ~typical tuesday night~ pic.twitter.com/9zeS2JLwUn

— carleigh! (@seethingswedo) July 23, 2019

all of us after listening to The Archer pic.twitter.com/hYlrezIdgD

— ♡ isabella ♡ (@longlivemp4) July 23, 2019

Moreover, ‘The Archer’ fulfils something of a trend with Swift’s albums. It’s the fifth track on Lover, and as fans have noted, the fifth track on Swift’s records tend to be the most vulnerable — think ‘Delicate’, ‘All You Had to Do Was Stay’, and ‘All Too Well’, for instance.

For that reason, it’d be wrong to assume that the rest of Lover will sound this gentle and heartfelt.

So, if you’re digging this sound, it’s probably best to soak up this blast of fresh air while you can.