Out of the Woods

‘Out of the Woods’ has been speculated by fans that it could be about her brief fling with Harry Styles from One Direction. Swift discussed the uneasy relationship this song was based on when she introduced a stripped-down version of it during a performance at the Grammy Museum, she said: “The number one feeling I felt in the whole relationship was anxiety, because it felt very fragile, it felt very tentative. And it always felt like, ‘OK, what’s the next road block? What’s the next thing that’s going to deter this? How long do we have before this turns into just an awful mess and we break up? Is it a month? Is it three days?’ I think a lot of relationships can be very solid and that’s kind of what you hope for, for it to be solid and healthy but that’s not always what you get. And it doesn’t mean that it’s not special and extraordinary just to have a relationship that’s fragile and somehow meaningful in that fragility.”
When Harry Styles was asked by Rolling Stone if the song was about he replied: “Certain things don’t work out. There are a lot of things that can be right, and it’s still wrong. In writing songs about stuff like that, I like tipping a hat to the time together. You’re celebrating the fact it was powerful and made you feel something, rather than ‘this didn’t work out, and that’s bad.’ And if you run into that person, maybe it’s awkward, maybe you have to get drunk… but you shared something. Meeting someone new, sharing those experiences, it’s the best shit ever. So thank you.”
In another interview with Taylor said that this song is about the fragility and kind of breakable nature of some relationships, she said: “One of the goals I set out to accomplish when I wanted to make this album is I wanted to make sure that these songs sounded exactly the way that the emotions felt when I felt them. This song is about the fragility and kind of breakable nature of some relationships. This was a relationship where it was kind of living day-to-day, wondering where it was going, if it was gonna go anywhere, if it was gonna end the next day. It was a relationship where you never feel like you’re standing on solid ground. And that kind of a feeling brings on excitement, but also extreme anxiety, and kind of a frantic feeling of wondering. Endless questions, and this song sounds exactly like that frantic feeling of anxiety and questioning, but it stresses that, even if a relationship is breakable and fragile and full of anxiety, it doesn’t mean that it isn’t worthwhile, exciting, beautiful and all the things that we look for.”

Release Date: February 5, 2016

Songwriter/s: Taylor Swift – Jack Antonoff

Label: Big Machine – Republic

Chart Rankings: In the US, the song peaked at number 18 on the Billboard Hot 100 and at number 11 on the Adult Top 40. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certified it Platinum for sales over 1 million copies. In the UK, the song didn’t achieve success and wasn’t ranked within the first 100. Around the world the song reached number 19 in Australia, number 8 in Canada, number 6 in New Zealand and peaked at number 48 in Scotland. It was certified Gold in Australia and Canada.

Artist’s age on Release Date: Taylor Alison Swift was 27 years old when she released this song.

Cover Versions: Ryan Adams – Anthem Lights – Tiffany Alvord – Relic Hearts – Tyler Ward – Mackenzie Johnson – for King & Country – Rachel Potter – Megan Davies – Ali Brustofski – Savannah Outen & Jake Coco – other amateur artists covered this song on Youtube.