"Babe" is a song recorded by American
country music
Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...
duo
Sugarland, featuring guest vocals from American singer-songwriter
Taylor Swift
Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Her discography spans multiple genres, and her vivid songwriting—often inspired by her personal life—has received critical praise and wide media coverage. Bor ...
. It was released by
Big Machine Records
Big Machine Records is an American independent record label, distributed by Universal Music Group. Specializing in country and pop artists, Big Machine is based on Music Row in Nashville, Tennessee. The label was founded in September 2005 by fo ...
on April 20, 2018, as the second single from Sugarland's sixth studio album, ''
Bigger'' (2018). "Babe" is a
midtempo
In musical terminology, tempo (Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (often ...
country pop
Country pop (also known as pop country or urban cowboy) is a fusion genre of country music and pop music that was developed by members of the country genre out of a desire to reach a larger, mainstream audience. Country pop music blends genres ...
ballad
A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...
and
breakup song. It peaked at number 2 on the
''Billboard'' Digital Songs chart, number 8 on the
''Billboard'' Hot Country Songs, and at number 72 on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100.
The song was originally written by Swift and
Pat Monahan
Patrick Monahan (born February 28, 1969) is an American musician, singer and songwriter. He is best known as the lead singer and sole constant member of the band Train. He has collaborated with multiple artists and recorded a solo album, '' Las ...
of the American band
Train
In rail transport, a train (from Old French , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles that run along a railway track and transport people or freight. Trains are typically pulled or pushed by locomotives (often ...
, for Swift's fourth studio album, ''
Red
Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondar ...
'' (2012); however, it did not make the final track-list. Swift re-recorded the song for her second re-recorded album, ''
Red (Taylor's Version)
''Red (Taylor's Version)'' is the second re-recorded album by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. Released via Republic Records on November 12, 2021, as a part of Swift's countermeasure against the purchase of the masters of her back cata ...
'' (2021).
Background
Patrick Monahan
Patrick Monahan (born February 28, 1969) is an American musician, singer and songwriter. He is best known as the lead singer and sole constant member of the band Train. He has collaborated with multiple artists and recorded a solo album, ''Last ...
, the founding member of rock band
Train
In rail transport, a train (from Old French , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles that run along a railway track and transport people or freight. Trains are typically pulled or pushed by locomotives (often ...
, first spoke about the song during a 2013 interview with
ABC News Radio. He said that when he asked Swift about collaborating on a song for Train's next album, she asked him to co-write a song for her album ''
Red
Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondar ...
'' (2012). Ultimately, the song was not included on the album, but when Swift decided to put out a deluxe version of ''Red'', Monahan thought it would finally be released. The song was not previously recorded.
The album's track list, which was released on April 12, 2018, shows that "Babe" is the only song on the album not co-written by
Kristian Bush
Kristian Merrill Bush (born March 14, 1970) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. Bush is one half of the country music duo Sugarland with Jennifer Nettles, and was a member of the folk rock duo Billy Pilgrim with Andrew Hyr ...
and
Jennifer Nettles
Jennifer Odessa Nettles (born September 12, 1974) is an American singer, songwriter, actress and record producer.
Nettles is the lead vocalist of the duo Sugarland alongside Kristian Bush, and prior to this she fronted the Atlanta-based band ...
of Sugarland. It also marks the second song Swift has written for a country act since making her full transition to pop in 2014, following
Little Big Town
Little Big Town is an American country music vocal group from Homewood, Alabama. Founded in 1998, the group has comprised the same four members since its founding: Karen Fairchild, Kimberly Schlapman (née Roads), Phillip Sweet, and Jimi Westbr ...
's "
Better Man", as well as the first country song on which she is credited as an artist since that time.
Sugarland told reporters backstage at the
53rd Academy of Country Music Awards
The 53rd Academy of Country Music Awards was held at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on April 15, 2018. Nominations were announced on March 1, 2018, with Chris Stapleton leading the nominations with five. Reba McEntire returned as ...
that the collaboration came about after Swift, who is a Sugarland fan, called the duo wanting to work with them. "She was gracious enough to reach out to us when she heard we were coming back together and doing a record," Bush said. "She said, 'I have a song, would you like to do it?' And we said, 'Uh, yeah!' I was a little anxious. I didn't want to mess it up!" Nettles added: "But she loved it and wanted
sto be a part of it, which is exciting. She said, 'I have a song,' and we said, 'Okay. Send it over.'" The duo found it to be an unusual experience, since they have never featured anybody on their past albums. "So we weren't really used to sorting through that and we didn't want to mess it up. We didn't tell anybody about it until we got finished and she liked it, thank God." In a video Swift posted on Instagram, she expressed that she is delighted that the song "gets its own life" and that "Sugarland wanted to record it and has done such a great job with it".
Swift revealed in August 2021 that she will be recording a solo rendition of "Babe" for the
2021 re-recording of ''Red''.
Composition
"Babe" is an acoustic, midtempo
country
A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while ...
ballad about breaking up. According to ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...
''s Brittney McKenna, the "foot-stomping" song bears a resemblance to Swift's ''
Speak Now
''Speak Now'' is the third studio album by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, released on October 25, 2010, through Big Machine Records. Swift wrote the album entirely herself within two years, while she was promoting her second studio alb ...
'' era. Nettles handles the lead vocals while Swift contributes to the song's backing vocals, which can be heard echoing in the chorus and the bridge. Lyrically, the song addresses an unfaithful lover.
Commercial performance
The song debuted at No. 27 on Country Airplay dated April 28, 2018, The following week it was released for sale, and the song reached No. 8 on Hot Country Songs with 38,000 copies in the first sales week. The song peaked at number 72 on the
Billboard Hot 100
The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streamin ...
chart and at number two on
Digital Song Sales
The Digital Songs or Digital Song Sales chart (previously named Hot Digital Songs) ranks the best-selling digital songs in the United States, as compiled by Nielsen SoundScan and published by ''Billboard'' magazine. Although it originally starte ...
chart. It has sold 166,000 copies in the United States as of November 2018. Additionally the song peaked at number 94 in Canada and number 64 in Scotland.
Music video
The trailer for the music video aired during the 2018
CMT Music Awards
The CMT Music Awards is a fan-voted awards show for country music videos and television performances. The awards ceremony is held every year in Nashville, Tennessee, and broadcast live on the CMT (Country Music Television) channel. Voting takes p ...
and was uploaded to Sugarland's
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...
channel on June 6, 2018, while the official music video premiered on June 9. Swift had the original idea for the video's concept, and as stated per the Sugarland duo themselves, they all got together before the video shoot to collaborate on ideas. To date the video has over 30 million views on YouTube.
Synopsis
The video, directed by
Anthony Mandler, features
Brandon Routh
Brandon James Routh (; born October 9, 1979) is an American actor. He portrayed Superman in the 2006 film '' Superman Returns'', which garnered him international fame. In 2011, he played the titular character of the film '' Dylan Dog: Dead of N ...
,
Jennifer Nettles
Jennifer Odessa Nettles (born September 12, 1974) is an American singer, songwriter, actress and record producer.
Nettles is the lead vocalist of the duo Sugarland alongside Kristian Bush, and prior to this she fronted the Atlanta-based band ...
and
Taylor Swift
Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Her discography spans multiple genres, and her vivid songwriting—often inspired by her personal life—has received critical praise and wide media coverage. Bor ...
in primary roles. Routh and Nettles are a married couple while Swift plays the role of a secretary who is having an affair with her married boss (Routh). Routh is shown to be an unfaithful husband throughout the clip and is, ultimately, discovered by Nettles. However, it is later revealed that both women were victims, with Nettles being cheated on and Swift being told by Routh that he loves her and has written love letters to her, but later abandons her, breaking both women's hearts. The video ends with Routh leaving Swift's house to find his front doors locked and his belongings thrown out on the lawn. Nettles, now alone and free, lies down to go to bed, ready to enjoy her new life, and Routh leaves, as
Kristian Bush
Kristian Merrill Bush (born March 14, 1970) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. Bush is one half of the country music duo Sugarland with Jennifer Nettles, and was a member of the folk rock duo Billy Pilgrim with Andrew Hyr ...
, playing their neighbor, witnesses the whole thing while walking his dog. Swift's attire in the music video was compared to that of character
Joan Holloway
Joan P. Holloway Harris is a fictional character on the AMC television series ''Mad Men'' (2007–15). She is portrayed by Christina Hendricks.
Hendricks has received six consecutive Primetime Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Supporting ...
from the television series ''
Mad Men
''Mad Men'' is an American period drama television series created by Matthew Weiner and produced by Lionsgate Television. It ran on the cable network AMC from July 19, 2007, to May 17, 2015, lasting for seven seasons and 92 episodes. Its f ...
''.
Awards and nominations
Live performances
Sugarland performed the song for the first time on ''
Live with Kelly and Ryan
''Live with Kelly and Ryan'' (or simply ''Live'') is an American syndicated morning talk show hosted by Kelly Ripa and Ryan Seacrest. Executive produced by Michael Gelman, the ''Live with...'' show formula has aired under various hosts since ...
'' on May 8, 2018. On June 6, 2018, they performed it on ''
The Today Show
''Today'' (also called ''The Today Show'' or informally, ''NBC News Today'') is an American news and talk morning television show that airs weekdays from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on NBC. The program debuted on January 14, 1952. It ...
'' live from
Blake Shelton
Blake Tollison Shelton (born June 18, 1976) is an American country music singer and television personality. In 2001, he made his debut with the single "Austin". The lead-off single from his self-titled debut album, "Austin" spent five weeks at ...
's bar, Ole Red. The song is also included in the Still the Same Tour set list. Swift included the song on her pre-show playlist on her
Reputation Stadium Tour
The Reputation Stadium Tour was the fifth concert tour by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, in support of her sixth studio album ''Reputation'' (2017). The all- stadium tour began on May 8, 2018, in Glendale, Arizona, and concluded on ...
and sang it as the surprise song at her Cleveland show. Sugarland joined Swift as the special guest at the second show in Arlington on the tour, where they performed the song together live for the first time.
Credits and personnel
Credits adapted from
Tidal
Tidal is the adjectival form of tide.
Tidal may also refer to:
* ''Tidal'' (album), a 1996 album by Fiona Apple
* Tidal (king), a king involved in the Battle of the Vale of Siddim
* TidalCycles, a live coding environment for music
* Tidal (servic ...
.
*
Kristian Bush
Kristian Merrill Bush (born March 14, 1970) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. Bush is one half of the country music duo Sugarland with Jennifer Nettles, and was a member of the folk rock duo Billy Pilgrim with Andrew Hyr ...
– producer, vocals, acoustic guitar
*
Jennifer Nettles
Jennifer Odessa Nettles (born September 12, 1974) is an American singer, songwriter, actress and record producer.
Nettles is the lead vocalist of the duo Sugarland alongside Kristian Bush, and prior to this she fronted the Atlanta-based band ...
– vocals, producer
*
Taylor Swift
Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Her discography spans multiple genres, and her vivid songwriting—often inspired by her personal life—has received critical praise and wide media coverage. Bor ...
– vocals, songwriter
*
Patrick Monahan
Patrick Monahan (born February 28, 1969) is an American musician, singer and songwriter. He is best known as the lead singer and sole constant member of the band Train. He has collaborated with multiple artists and recorded a solo album, ''Last ...
– songwriter
*
Brandon Bush
Train is an American pop rock band from San Francisco which was formed in 1993. As of 2022 the band consists of Pat Monahan (lead vocals), Taylor Locke (guitar, vocals), Hector Maldonado (bass, vocals), Jerry Becker (keyboards, guitar), Matt Mu ...
– producer, keyboard, mixing assistance
*
Julian Raymond
Julian Raymond is an American songwriter and music producer. He has worked with various music artists, including Insane Clown Posse, Glen Campbell, Cheap Trick, Jennifer Nettles, Fastball, Albert Lee, Fleetwood Mac, Kottonmouth Kings, among othe ...
– producer
* Zoe Rosen – producer
* Brianna Steinitz – producer
* Adam Chignon – mix engineering
*
Ted Jensen
Ted Jensen (born September 19, 1954) is an American mastering engineer, known for having mastered many recordings, including the Eagles' ''Hotel California'', Green Day's '' American Idiot'' and Norah Jones' ''Come Away with Me''.
Biography
T ...
– master engineer
* Tom Tapley – engineer
* Lars Fox – engineer
* Nik Karpen – mixing assistance
* Sean Badum – record engineering assistance
* Kevin Kane – record engineering assistance
* Paul Bushnell – bass
*
Victor Indrizzo
Victor Indrizzo (born September 23, 1967) is an American session musician, primarily known for playing the drums, as well as a songwriter and producer.
Indrizzo was born in Freeport, Long Island, New York. He has toured, recorded and worked wit ...
– drums
*
Tom Bukovac
Tom Bukovac is an American session musician and producer. He was born in Cleveland, Ohio, and raised in nearby Willowick, Ohio. He has been a Nashville-based musician since 1992. He previously owned 2nd Gear, a used music consignment shop in So ...
– electric guitar
*
Chris Lord-Alge
Chris Lord-Alge is an American mix engineer. He is the brother of both Tom Lord-Alge and Jeff Lord-Alge, both of whom are also audio engineers. Chris and Tom are known for their abundant use of dynamic compression for molding mixes that play wel ...
– mixing
* Justin Schipper – steel guitar
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
Release history
"Babe (Taylor's Version)"
Swift re-recorded "Babe", subtitled "(Taylor's Version) (From the Vault)", for her second re-recorded album, ''
Red (Taylor's Version)
''Red (Taylor's Version)'' is the second re-recorded album by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. Released via Republic Records on November 12, 2021, as a part of Swift's countermeasure against the purchase of the masters of her back cata ...
'', released on November 12, 2021, through
Republic Records. Swift posted a snippet of the re-recording on
Tumblr
Tumblr (stylized as tumblr; pronounced "tumbler") is an American microblogging and social networking website founded by David Karp in 2007 and currently owned by Automattic. The service allows users to post multimedia and other content to a sho ...
a day before the album's release.
"Babe (Taylor's Version)" is a
ska
Ska (; ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. It combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is characterized by a walki ...
-
pop song
that features
trumpets
The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard B ...
,
saxophones
The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to pr ...
, and
flutes
The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedless ...
that were absent from Sugarland's version. It includes additional, repetitive lyrics "What about your promises, promises, promises?" on the background.
Credits and personnel
Credits adapted from
Tidal
Tidal is the adjectival form of tide.
Tidal may also refer to:
* ''Tidal'' (album), a 1996 album by Fiona Apple
* Tidal (king), a king involved in the Battle of the Vale of Siddim
* TidalCycles, a live coding environment for music
* Tidal (servic ...
.
*
Taylor Swift
Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Her discography spans multiple genres, and her vivid songwriting—often inspired by her personal life—has received critical praise and wide media coverage. Bor ...
– vocals, songwriting, production
*
Patrick Monahan
Patrick Monahan (born February 28, 1969) is an American musician, singer and songwriter. He is best known as the lead singer and sole constant member of the band Train. He has collaborated with multiple artists and recorded a solo album, ''Last ...
– songwriting
*
Jack Antonoff
Jack Michael Antonoff (born March 31, 1984) is an American singer, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and record producer. Antonoff is the lead singer of rock band Bleachers, and is the guitarist and drummer in the pop rock band Fun. He was pr ...
– production, acoustic guitar, bass, electric guitar, keyboards,
mellotron, percussion, programming, drums, engineering, recording
* Mikey Freedom Hart – acoustic guitar,
celesta, Hammond B3, electric guitar, slide guitar, synthesizer, engineering
* Sean Hutchinson – drums, percussion, engineering
* Evan Smith –
flute, saxophone, engineering
* Michael Riddleberger – percussion, engineering
* Cole Kamen-Green – trumpet, engineering
*
Serban Ghenea
Șerban Ghenea (born October 13, 1969) is a Grammy award-winning Romanian-Canadian audio engineer and mixer.
Early life and education
Ghenea was born in Bucharest, Romania in 1969. In 1976 he moved to Montreal with his family. He later attended ...
–
mixing
* Bryce Bordone – mix engineering
* David Hart – engineering
* John Rooney – engineering, engineering assistance
* Laura Sisk – engineering, recording
* Jon Sher – engineering assistance
* Lauren Marquez – engineering assistance
Charts
References
External links
*
{{authority control
2018 singles
2018 songs
2010s ballads
Big Machine Records singles
Country ballads
Music videos directed by Anthony Mandler
Pop ballads
Songs about infidelity
Songs written by Pat Monahan
Songs written by Taylor Swift
Song recordings produced by Taylor Swift
Song recordings produced by Jack Antonoff
Sugarland songs
Taylor Swift songs
Vocal collaborations
Ska songs