It was almost midnight on a random Thursday in December 2020 when Taylor Swift decided to wreck everyone’s sleep schedules again. She just dropped a tweet. New album. evermore. Out in 16 hours. Basically, the world was still reeling from folklore, and suddenly we were being dragged back into the woods for a "sister" record. At the center of this surprise was willow by Taylor Swift, a track that felt less like a pop song and more like a whispered secret you’d hear in a damp, mossy cave.
Most people hear the acoustic pluck of that opening riff and think, "Oh, another pretty love song." Honestly? They’re missing the point. There is a specific kind of dark, "witchy" energy baked into the DNA of this track that goes way beyond a simple romantic ballad.
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The "Love Spell" Nobody Noticed
Taylor herself described the song in a YouTube Q&A as sounding like "casting a spell to make someone fall in love with you." It’s a weirdly specific visual. If you listen to the production—handled by Aaron Dessner of The National—it doesn't have the typical "I’m in love" brightness. It’s hazy. Breathless.
The song was actually written in about ten minutes. Dessner had sent her an instrumental track he’d titled "Westerly," named after the location of her Rhode Island home. Swift sent it back an hour later with the lyrics to "willow" fully formed. That kind of speed usually happens when a songwriter hits a vein of something deep and instinctive.
The "willow" metaphor itself is fascinating because a willow tree is famously flexible. "Life was a willow and it bent right to your wind." It’s about total surrender. There’s a fine line between "devotion" and "losing your sense of self," and Taylor walks it perfectly here. You’ve got these lyrics like "wreck my plans, that’s my man" which sound sweet on the surface, but also imply a chaotic sort of submission to fate.
Breaking Down the Production
- The Instrumentation: It’s built on a glockenspiel, drum machines, and a very intricate, finger-picked guitar style.
- The Genre: Most critics call it chamber folk or indie folk, but there’s a "tropical house" accent in the rhythm that feels like a ghost of her reputation era.
- The Vocals: They’re mixed to feel extremely close. Like she's standing right next to you.
That "90s Trend" Line and the Mid-Song Pause
If you’ve spent any time on Swiftie Twitter, you know the line "I come back stronger than a '90s trend" is a massive point of contention. Some fans think it’s a mic-drop moment. Others find it jarring. It’s the one moment where the "timeless, mythical" world of the song breaks, and we’re suddenly reminded that Taylor is a woman who lived through the 2010s media cycle.
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The music actually stops for about two seconds after she says it. It’s a deliberate "mic drop" pause.
Why include it? Because "willow" isn't just about a guy. It’s about her career. It’s about the fact that "they" (the critics, the industry) count her out time and time again, and she just keeps reappearing in a new form. One year she’s a country darling, the next she’s a synth-pop queen, and now she’s a folk-witch in a cardigan.
Hidden Details in the Music Video
Taylor directed the video herself, and it’s a direct sequel to the "cardigan" video. If you watch them back-to-back, "willow" starts exactly where the other left off. She’s back in the cabin, she sees the golden string, and she follows it into the piano.
The Mirrorball and the Glass Box
One scene shows her performing inside a glass box at a carnival. Fans of her folklore track "mirrorball" caught this immediately. It’s a literal representation of how she feels about fame—being a "prize" or a "trophy" behind glass that people can look at but not touch. She looks miserable in that box until she sees her lover (played by Taeok Lee, a former dancer from her Red Tour) through the glass.
The "Mad Woman" Coven
The scene with the capes and the fire? That’s a nod to "mad woman." It’s where the "witchy" vibes become literal. This wasn't just a stylistic choice; it set the tone for the entire evermore era. It’s darker. It’s about the things women do in the shadows to survive.
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Charts, Numbers, and the "Witch" Remixes
When "willow" debuted at number one on the Billboard Hot 100, it made Taylor the first artist in history to debut at #1 on both the Hot 100 and the Billboard 200 (for the album) simultaneously... twice. She’d already done it with folklore and "cardigan."
To keep the song at the top, she released a series of remixes that she leaned into with the "witch" theme:
- The Dancing Witch version (an upbeat Elvira remix).
- The Lonely Witch version (acoustic and stripped back).
- The Moonlit Witch version (pulsing and atmospheric).
It was a savvy business move, sure. But it also fed into the lore. By the time the Eras Tour rolled around, the "willow" performance became one of the most iconic segments, featuring literal glowing orbs and heavy cloaks.
What You Should Do Now
If you want to really "get" what Taylor was doing with this track, don't just stream it on Spotify.
- Watch the "cardigan" and "willow" videos back-to-back. The narrative flow from the "stormy sea" of the first video to the "golden string" of the second completely changes how the song feels.
- Listen to the "Dancing Witch" remix. It highlights the "tropical" beat that is buried in the original folk production.
- Look for the "invisible string" reference. The golden thread she follows is a direct callback to the folklore track about destiny.
This song is the bridge between her old self-narratives and her new, more experimental storytelling. It’s not just a folk song; it’s a statement of survival.
Check out the evermore digital booklet if you can find a copy—the photography by Beth Garrabrant for the "willow" shoot captures the "winter" mood that Taylor specifically wanted for this album.