Taylor Swift’s ‘Willow’ and ‘Cardigan’ were originally meant for The National
21.04.2023 - 13:01
/ nme.com
Taylor Swift’s songs were originally intended to be released by The National.The news was revealed by The National’s own Aaron Dessner and Matt Berninger in a new interview yesterday (April 20). According to the members, the Taylor Swift songs ‘Willow’ and ‘Cardigan’ were handed over to the pop star after they struggled to make them come together.The first track, ‘Willow’, was released on Swift’s ninth studio album, ‘Evermore’, whereas the second, ‘Cardigan’ was released on 2020 LP, ‘Folklore’.“I’d taken a swing at [‘Cardigan’] and ‘Willow’ and a couple of others, and I wasn’t having a lot of luck, so Aaron sent them to Taylor,” Berninger recalled to The Telegraph.He also explained that the opposite has happened in the past, where the band have released tracks that were initially intended for Swift.
“I always have a lot of music to work on, and I am looking for something to connect emotionally,” he added. “The reverse has happened, too, where Aaron wrote something for Taylor, and I dove right in.
It works both ways.”The National are set to partner up with the ‘Anti-Hero’ singer for their upcoming album ‘First Two Pages of Frankenstein’, which is set for release on April 28.Earlier this year, the band revealed that Swift will be featuring on the track ‘The Alcott’. This, however, won’t be the first time that the two have joined forces.
Back in 2020, The National joined her on the track ‘Coney Island’.“We’re all big fans of Taylor, and she’s been really generous with us, inviting us to be part of ‘Coney Island,’” Aaron’s brother Bryce Dessner said in an Apple Music interview at the time. “‘The Alcott’ is a song that she co-wrote with Matt [Berninger], where she co-wrote the lyrics.