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Attention Swifties: Taylor Swift drops new song, The Lakes (original version)

To celebrate the first anniversary of folklore, Taylor Swift has released the original version of The Lakes.

The multi-Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter took to Twitter on Saturday to do what she does best: surprise drop music for the Swifties to fall in love with.

“It’s been 1 year since we escaped the real world together and imagined ourselves someplace simpler. With tall trees & salt air. Where you can wear lace nightgowns that make you look like a Victorian ghost & no one will side eye you cause no one is around,” Swift wrote in her tweet.

Taylor Swift Grammys
Photo: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for The Recording Academy

“To say thank you for all you have done to make this album what it was, I wanted to give you the original version of The Lakes. Happy 1 year anniversary to Rebekah, Betty, Inez, James, Augustine and the stories we all created around them. Happy Anniversary, folklore,” she concluded with a leafy branch emoji.

The major difference between the two versions of The Lakes comes from the instrumentation in the back.

The original version uses an orchestra to colour Swift’s lyrics, turning the song into an epically quiet tune that could fit any historical drama.

The album version uses a more folk-oriented arrangement that creates a British/Americana inspired sound.

Jack Antonoff, the song’s producer and Swift’s frequent collaborator, previously hinted at the original version’s existence.

When speaking with Billboard, Antonoff had this to say:

“[When first working on The Lakes] …there was this big orchestral version, and Taylor was like, ‘Eh, make it small.’ I had gotten lost in the string arrangements and all this stuff, and I took everything out … I remember being in the studio alone like, ‘Holy sh*t, this is so perfect.’”

folklore was a surprise album that Swift made in isolation and released in 2020. Unlike previous albums where the singer speaks of experiences in her personal life, the stories in folklore were taken from Swift’s imagination.

The album was a commercial and critical success, eventually winning ‘Album of the Year’ at the 2021 Grammy Awards.

The Lakes (original version) is available to stream on all major music platforms.