The first song taylor swift she collaborated with her ex-boyfriend Joe Alwynthe ballad appears in the 2020s folklore as a duet with Good Iver. At the time of the album's release, Joe was credited under the pseudonym William Bowery, although Taylor confirmed that William and Joe were the same during their Disney+ concert film. Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions.
Taylor revealed that Joe had written the entire piano part, along with the singing: “I can see you standing, honey/With his arms around your body/Laughing, but the joke ain't funny.” She went on to say that the favorite actor was “always playing and making things up and creating things,” but the pair may never have worked together if it weren't for the COVID-19 shutdown.
“I said, 'Hey, this could be really weird, and we could hate this,'” he explained, “because we're in quarantine and there's nothing else, could we try to see what it's like? Shall we write this song together?”
The result of their professional collaboration? 2021 Grammy Album of the Year Winner.
“We're very proud of 'Exile,'” Taylor said. “All I have to do is dream up some lyrics and come up with a heartbreaking, heartbreaking story to write with him.”
