"Dorothea" (stylized in

all lowercase Letter case is the distinction between the letters that are in larger uppercase or capitals (or more formally ''majuscule'') and smaller lowercase (or more formally ''minuscule'') in the written representation of certain languages. The writing ...

) is a song by 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 written by Swift and its producer

Aaron Dessner Aaron Brooking Dessner (born April 23, 1976) is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known as a founding member of the rock band the National, with whom he has recorded eight studio albums; a co-founder of the indie ...

, and is the eighth track on her ninth studio album, '' Evermore'', which was released on December 11, 2020 through

Republic Records Republic Records is a New York City–based American record label owned by Universal Music Group (UMG). It was founded by Avery Lipman and Monte Lipman as an independent label in 1995, and was acquired by UMG in 2000. Republic was initially an ...

. "Dorothea" is titled after the subject of its lyrics. The song tells the story set around two fictitious characters of

Tupelo Tupelo , genus ''Nyssa'' , is a small genus of deciduous trees with alternate, simple leaves. It is sometimes included in the subfamily Nyssoideae of the dogwood family, Cornaceae, but is placed by other authorities in the family Nyssaceae. In ...

, a woman named Dorothea and an unnamed subject, who were romantically involved in their youth, before the girl fled the town for

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

to pursue her passion; "Dorothea" is the lover's ode to the now-famous Hollywood actress, seeing them confess their availability for her and try to convince her into returning to the simplistic life back hometown. Dorothea does visit the town in her winter break and rekindles the old flame with them, which is narrated by Dorothea herself in the fellow track " 'Tis the Damn Season". Musically, "Dorothea" is a bittersweet

Americana Americana may refer to: *Americana (music), a genre or style of American music *Americana (culture), artifacts of the culture of the United States Film, radio and television * ''Americana'' (1992 TV series), a documentary series presented by J ...

song composed using an ebullient

honky-tonk piano A tack piano (also known as a harpsipiano, jangle piano, and junk piano) is an altered version of an ordinary piano, in which objects such as thumbtacks or nails are placed on the felt-padded hammers of the instrument at the point where the ham ...

, folksy guitars, and drums. Upon release, "Dorothea" received enthusiastic reviews from music critics, who complimented Swift's ability to depict different narrative standpoints. Commercially, the song charted in Australia, Canada, Portugal, and the United States, and reached number 13 on the ''Billboard'' Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart.

Background and release

conceived her eighth studio album, ''

Folklore Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, ranging ...

'', as a set of mythopoeic visuals in her mind, a result of her imagination "running wild" while isolating herself during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. She surprised with the album's announcement on July 23, 2020, and released it the next day. To satiate her craving to explore more of the " folklorian woods" she visualized in her mind, Swift immediately developed another album as a conclusive counterpart to ''Folklore'', titled '' Evermore''. "Dorothea" was one of the two songs Swift had written for

Big Red Machine The Big Red Machine is a nickname for the Cincinnati Reds baseball team that dominated the National League from 1970 to 1979 and is widely recognized as being among the best in baseball history. The team won six National League West Division titl ...

, a band consisting of her ''Folklore'' personnel

and

Justin Vernon Justin DeYarmond Edison Vernon (born April 30, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist. He is best known as the primary songwriter and frontman of indie folk band Bon Iver. Known for his distinct falsetto voic ...

, the other being "Closure"; however, the two songs were eventually included on ''Evermore'' track-listing, where "Dorothea" placed eighth. Identical to ''Folklore'' launch, Swift made a surprise announcement of ''Evermore'' on December 10, 2020, and released it the next day.

Composition and lyrics

"Dorothea" is an

song built around

tambourine The tambourine is a musical instrument in the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zills". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, though ...

jingles, and guitars, accompanied by "whirling" acoustics. It features characteristic notes of Swift's lower register in its

hook A hook is a tool consisting of a length of material, typically metal, that contains a portion that is curved or indented, such that it can be used to grab onto, connect, or otherwise attach itself onto another object. In a number of uses, one e ...

. Her vocal range in the song spans from D₃ to B₄. The song is written in the key of

E major E major (or the key of E) is a major scale based on E, consisting of the pitches E, F, G, A, B, C, and D. Its key signature has four sharps. Its relative minor is C-sharp minor and its parallel minor is E minor. Its enharmonic equivalent, ...

and has a moderately fast tempo of 120 beats per minute. Lyrically, "Dorothea" and another track from ''Evermore'', "'Tis the Damn Season", together revolve around a fictitional story set in

Tupelo, Mississippi Tupelo () is a city in and the county seat of Lee County, Mississippi, United States. With an estimated population of 38,300, Tupelo is the sixth-largest city in Mississippi and is considered a commercial, industrial, and cultural hub of North M ...

. The story consists of two characters, Dorothea and an unnamed subject, who were high-school lovers in their hometown Tupelo, until Dorothea decided to move to

to pursue a

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

career, breaking up with her partner, who never wanted to leave the town. The track "Dorothea" represents the her ex's perspective of their relationship with Dorothea after she becomes famous on television. They narrates their backstories of her, such as a skipped

prom A promenade dance, commonly called a prom, is a dance party for high school students. It may be offered in semi-formal black tie or informal suit for boys, and evening gowns for girls. This event is typically held near the end of the school yea ...

and feelings of separation, and attempts to convince Dorothea to return to the simplicity of rural life. The song has been compared to ''Folklore'' "

Betty Betty or Bettie is a name, a common diminutive for the names Bethany and Elizabeth. In Latin America, it is also a common diminutive for the given name Beatriz, the Spanish and Portuguese form of the Latin name Beatrix and the English name Beat ...

" due to Swift's take on male perspectives. "' Tis the Damn Season" is narrated by Dorothea, who expresses her thoughts about the ex when she returns to Tupelo for winter vacation and reconnects with them. In an Q&A session, Swift answered that Dorothea went to the same school as Betty, James, and Inez, the three characters named in "Betty", even though the two storylines do not intersect.

Reception

Brodie Lancaster of ''

The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper ...

'' called "Dorothea" a "masterwork of a character study". ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' critic Hannah Mylrea opined that "Dorothea", over "dancing piano lines", portrays the story of a lovelorn man "whose high-school sweetheart left to try and make it in Hollywood", incorporating vocal melodies reminiscent of Swift's self-titled debut studio album, ''

'' (2006).

Annie Zaleski Annie Zaleski is an American music journalist and author. Career Zaleski is a regular writer for mainstream media outlets such as The A.V. Club and NPR Music, and a columnist at ''Salon''. She is based in Cleveland, Ohio where she has won firs ...

of ''

The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...

'' wrote that the song is for those "who struggle with feeling left behind by glamorous old friends". Writing for ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'',

Alexis Petridis Alexis Petridis ( el, Αλέξης Πετρίδης; born 13 September 1971) is a British journalist, head rock and pop critic for the UK newspaper ''The Guardian'', as well as a regular contributor to the magazine '' GQ''. In addition to his mus ...

called the song "a particularly luminous tune" that eschews "the old country cliche in which a star tells you their life of fame and luxury is nothing compared to the warm comfort of their old small-town life", instead has a protagonist look at a now-famous friend and attempt to convince their return to the simpler life. ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' writer Helen Brown said that "Dorothea" has Swift slip "into the mind of a celebrity's hometown pal. ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' critic Chris Willman described the song's narrator as "a honey in Tupelo who is telling a childhood friend who moved away and became famous that she's always welcome back in her hometown", and praised Swift's "empathic wondering"–"how it feels to be at the other end of the telescope". Commentators and fans have observed similarities between the character profile of Dorothea and that of American actress and singer

Selena Gomez Selena Marie Gomez ( ; born July 22, 1992) is an American singer, actress and producer. Gomez began her acting career on the children's television series ''Barney & Friends'' (2002–2004). As a teenager, she rose to prominence for starring a ...

Commercial performance

Upon ''Evermore'' release, all of the album's tracks debuted on both the US ''Billboard'' Hot Rock & Alternative Songs and the all-genre

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 streaming ...

charts; "Dorothea" entered at number 13 on the former, and at number 67 on the latter. Elsewhere, it further reached number 47 on Australia's

ARIA Singles Chart The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...

and number 34 on the

Canadian Hot 100 The Canadian Hot 100 is a music industry record chart in Canada for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. The Canadian Hot 100 was launched on the issue dated March 31, 2007, and is currently the standard record chart in Canada; a n ...

. The song debuted at number 47 on the ''Billboard'' Global 200 chart.

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the album's liner notes and ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to th ...

''.'''' *

– vocals, songwriter *

– producer, songwriter, recording engineer, bass guitar, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, piano and

* JT Bates – drum kit, percussion, recording * Thomas Bartlett – piano, keyboards, synthesizers, recording * Josh Kaufman – electric guitar and acoustic guitar * Benjamin Lanz –

modular synth Modular synthesizers are synthesizers composed of separate modules for different functions. The modules can be connected together by the user to create a patch. The outputs from the modules may include audio signals, analog control voltages ...

* Laura Sisk – recording engineer * Jonathan Low – mixing, recording engineer * Greg Calbi – mastering * Steve Fallone – mastering

Charts

References

{{authority control 2020 songs Songs about Mississippi Songs written by Aaron Dessner Songs written by Taylor Swift Song recordings produced by Aaron Dessner Taylor Swift songs