"I Bet You Think About Me" 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 ...

featuring American singer-songwriter Chris Stapleton, from Swift's 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). Swift wrote the song with

Lori McKenna Lorraine McKenna ( Giroux; born December 22, 1968) is an American folk, Americana, and country music singer-songwriter. In 2016, she was nominated for the Grammy Award for Song of the Year and won Best Country Song for co-writing the hit sing ...

and produced it with

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 ...

. The song is a

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 accompanied by a harmonica, with

tongue-in-cheek The idiom tongue-in-cheek refers to a humorous or sarcastic statement expressed in a serious manner. History The phrase originally expressed contempt, but by 1842 had acquired its modern meaning. Early users of the phrase include Sir Walter Scot ...

lyrics describing the "high tone" lifestyle of a former lover. Critics praised Swift's songwriting, Stapleton's vocal harmony, and the country production. Upon the album's release, the single peaked at number 22 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and number three on the Hot Country Songs chart, and peaked at number 43 in Australia and number 17 in Canada. Republic Records and

MCA Nashville Universal Music Group Nashville is Universal Music Group's country music subsidiary. Some of the labels in this group include MCA Nashville Records, Mercury Nashville Records, Lost Highway Records, Capitol Records Nashville and EMI Records Nash ...

released "I Bet You Think About Me" to the U.S. country radio on November 15, 2021, as a single from ''Red (Taylor's Version)''. An accompanying music video for the song premiered on

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 ...

on November 15 as well. Starring Swift and

Miles Teller Miles Teller (born February 20, 1987) is an American actor. He played a jazz drummer in '' Whiplash'' and a supporting pilot in '' Top Gun: Maverick''. Teller made his feature film debut in 2010 and gained recognition for his starring role in ...

, the video was written by Swift and American actress

Blake Lively Blake Ellender Lively ( Brown; born August 25, 1987) is an American actress. Born in Los Angeles, Lively is the daughter of actor Ernie Lively, and made her professional debut in his directorial project ''Sandman'' (1998). She starred as Brid ...

, directed by Lively in her directorial debut, and co-produced by Austin Swift. The music video was later nominated for Video of the Year at the

57th Academy of Country Music Awards The 57th Academy of Country Music Awards was held on March 7, 2022 at the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada. The show was hosted by ACM award winner Dolly Parton. Parton was joined by co-hosts, Jimmie Allen and Gabby Barrett. The ceremony ...

and

56th Annual Country Music Association Awards The 56th Annual Country Music Association Awards was held on November 9, 2022 at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee. Luke Bryan hosted the ceremony for the second time, with Peyton Manning as his co-host. The ceremony was broadcast l ...

, marking Lively's first nomination for music industry awards. The song was also nominated for

Best Country Song The Grammy Award for Best Country Song (sometimes known as the Country Songwriter's Award) has been awarded since 1965. The award is given to the songwriter(s) of the song, not to the artist, except if the artist is also the songwriter. There ha ...

at the

65th Annual Grammy Awards The 65th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony will be held at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on February 5, 2023. It will recognize the best recordings, compositions, and artists of the eligibility year, running from October 1, 2021, to September 3 ...

(2023).

Background

American singer-songwriter

wrote "I Bet You Think About Me" at

Gillette Stadium Gillette Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium located in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts, which is southwest of downtown Boston. It serves as the home stadium and administrative offices for both the New England Patriots of the National Foot ...

in Foxborough, Massachusetts, during her

Speak Now World Tour The Speak Now World Tour was the second concert tour by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, and it was launched in support of her third studio album '' Speak Now'' (2010). The Speak Now tour began on February 9, 2011 in Singapore and the to ...

(2011-12), for her next studio album. She then contacted American musician

, through their mutual friend

Liz Rose Elisabeth Wagner (born September 6, 1957), known professionally as Liz Rose, is an American country music songwriter, best known for her work with Taylor Swift. She has co-written seventeen of Swift's officially released songs, including "You Bel ...

, to ask McKenna to join the song as a co-writer. Swift released her 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 ...

'', on October 22, 2012, through

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 ...

. "I Bet You Think About Me" was not part of the track-list. The album, however, was a critical success, ranking at number 99 on ''

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 ...

'' 2020 revision of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. By June 2021, it had sold over four million pure copies in the United States. In 2019, Swift signed with Republic Records after her contract with Big Machine expired in 2018; her contract with the label granted her rights to the

master recordings Mastering, a form of audio post production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device (the master), the source from which all copies will be produced (via meth ...

of her music. Big Machine, as well as the master recordings of Swift's first six studio albums, were acquired by businessman

Scooter Braun Scott Samuel "Scooter" Braun (born June 18, 1981) is an American entrepreneur, investor, and entertainment executive. Known as the manager for artists such as Ariana Grande, Justin Bieber, J Balvin, Demi Lovato, The Kid Laroi and other artists ...

through his holding company Ithaca Holdings. Swift began re-recording her Big Machine albums in November 2020, as a mean to own her master recordings; at the same time, Ithaca sold rights to Taylor Swift's Big Machine recordings to Shamrock Holdings for $300 million. The first re-recorded album, '' Fearless (Taylor's Version)'', the re-recording of Swift's 2008 album, was released on April 9, 2021. She released her second re-recorded album, ''

'', the re-recording of ''Red'', on November 12, 2021. In addition to the original ''Red'' tracks, ''Red (Taylor's Version)'' features nine unreleased "from the Vault" tracks that were meant for the 2012 album but did not make the cut; "I Bet You Think About Me" was revealed to be one of these tracks.

Lyrics and production

While Swift was on the

, in Foxborough, Massachusetts, she wrote "I Bet You Think About Me" at

's house in June 2011. Swift stated, "We wanted this song to be like a comedic,

, funny, not caring what anyone thinks about you sort of breakup song," and explained that she and McKenna wanted to write a

drinking song A drinking song is a song sung while drinking alcohol. Most drinking songs are folk songs or commercium songs, and may be varied from person to person and region to region, in both the lyrics and in the music. In Germany, drinking songs are ...

. The 2021 version of "I Bet You Think About Me" was recorded throughout studios in

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...

and New York, and the

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...

by London Contemporary Orchestra was recorded at the EBC Studio in London. Chris Stapleton's vocals were recorded at Sputnik Sound Studio in Nashville. The track was produced by Swift and Aaron Dessner. It was mixed and engineered by Dessner and Jonathan Low, with assistance from

Josh Kaufman Josh Kaufman (born November 9, 1976) is an American soul singer and singer-songwriter. A native of the Tampa Bay area in Florida, Kaufman is based out of and resides in Indianapolis, Indiana. He is best known for winning the season 6 of NBC's ' ...

, at Dessner's Long Pond Studios in New York. "I Bet You Think About Me" is a country ballad that incorporates additional pop elements, typical of Swift's discography in the original ''Red'' album. Described as

folk-pop Folk-pop is a musical style that may be 1) contemporary folk songs with large, sweeping pop arrangements, or 2) pop songs with intimate, acoustic-based folk arrangements. Recording production values created a unblemished style that appealed to ...

by ''

Taste of Country Townsquare Media, Inc. (formerly Regent Communications until 2010) is an American radio network and media company based in Purchase, New York. The company started in radio and expanded into digital media toward the end of the 2000s, starting wi ...

,'' the song is a harmonica-driven track with twangy vocals and background vocal harmonies from feature artist Chris Stapleton. In the lyrics, Swift makes multiple "cheeky jabs" towards her ex-lover and his lifestyle. The ex-lover in question has "made wiftfeel inferior" towards him; she fails to fit in with his "upper-crust circles", and he has once told her that he and Swift are "too different." Recounting the differences between the two former partners' childhoods, she labels herself as a girl "raised on a farm" and the ex-lover as someone from a "

silver spoon The English language expression silver spoon is synonymous with wealth, especially inherited wealth; someone born into a wealthy family is said to have "been born with a silver spoon in their mouth". As an adjective, "silver spoon" describes s ...

" and " gated community". At the end of the song, Swift additionally calls out her ex-lover's "organic shoes" and "million-dollar couch."

Critical reception

"I Bet You Think About Me" received widespread praise in the press, with critics appreciating Stapleton's guest feature. Writing for ''

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), ...

'', Chris Willman gave "I Bet You Think About Me" a five-out-of-five rating. Although Willman considered Stapleton's guest appearance too short, he praised the track for its rowdier country production compared to what "Swift was pulling off at the time" and the sharp lyrics. Jessica Nicholson from '' Billboard'' complimented Stapleton's "burnished, bluesy vocal" which together with Swift's delivery brought forth a "well-crafted" song. In ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgi ...

'', Melissa Ruggieri wrote that although Stapleton's "whiskey-hued vocals are the beautiful sandpaper to Swift's sleek voice – the tune should be remembered for some of Swift's snarkiest lyrics."

Commercial performance

After ''Red (Taylor's Version)'' was released, "I Bet You Think About Me" debuted at number 22 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart dated November 27, 2021. According to ''

MusicRow ''MusicRow'' is a Nashville music industry trade publication which has been providing reviews, breaking news, and in-depth coverage for 40 years. The publication delivers online content in addition to six annual print magazines including its InCha ...

'', it was the most added song on country radio during its first week of release. The single peaked at number 23 on the Country Airplay chart and number three on the Hot Country Songs chart. In Canada, "I Bet You Think About Me" reached number 17 on the Canadian Hot 100 and number 34 on the

Canada Country The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in ''Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, pr ...

chart. The song peaked at number 22 on the ''Billboard'' Global 200, number 43 on the ARIA Singles Chart in Australia, and number 75 on the UK Streaming Chart in the United Kingdom.

Music video

A music video for "I Bet You Think About Me" premiered on video sharing platform

on November 15, 2021. Swift and American actress

wrote the treatment for the video, and the latter directed it in her directorial debut. Stapleton does not appear in the video. The video documents a wedding, with the wedding couple played by actor

and his wife Keleigh Sperry Teller. Swift plays an ex-girlfriend who intrudes upon the wedding. Co-producer

has a cameo as a member of the wedding band, while Swift's brother, actor Austin Swift, is credited as a producer for the music video. The six-minute video begins with Teller, at his wedding party, having flashbacks to his and Swift's failed relationship. At the wedding ceremony, Swift knocks over the groom figurine on top of the cake, chugs wine after giving a toast, and goofs off with children guests. The video contains references to other Swift music videos and '' All Too Well: The Short Film'', as well as multiple references to the

Lewis Carroll Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (; 27 January 1832 – 14 January 1898), better known by his pen name Lewis Carroll, was an English author, poet and mathematician. His most notable works are '' Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (1865) and its sequ ...

stories of ''

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (commonly ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English novel by Lewis Carroll. It details the story of a young girl named Alice who falls through a rabbit hole into a fantasy world of anthropomorphic creature ...

'' and ''

Through the Looking-Glass ''Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There'' (also known as ''Alice Through the Looking-Glass'' or simply ''Through the Looking-Glass'') is a novel published on 27 December 1871 (though indicated as 1872) by Lewis Carroll and the ...

''. Swift had been asked about

Easter eggs Easter eggs, also called Paschal eggs, are eggs that are decorated for the Christian feast of Easter, which celebrates the resurrection of Jesus. As such, Easter eggs are common during the season of Eastertide (Easter season). The oldest tra ...

prior to the release, quoting Carroll in response.

Accolades

In 2022, the "I Bet You Think About Me" music video was nominated for Video of the Year at

, and at the

for Video of the Year as well. At the

(2023), the song received a nomination for

Personnel

Credits adapted from ''Red (Taylor's Version)'' album

liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for cassettes. Origin Liner notes are desce ...

Production * Taylor Swift – lead vocals, songwriter, producer *

– songwriter * Chris Stapleton – background vocals *

– producer, recording engineer * Michael Fahey – assistant vocal recording *

– additional recording engineer * Jonathan Low – recording engineer, mixer * Jeremy Murphy – strings recording * Vance Powell – vocal recording * Christopher Rowe – vocal recording Musicians * Robert Ames – conductor *

Bryce Dessner Bryce David Dessner (born April 23, 1976) is an American composer and guitarist based in Paris, as well as a member of the rock band the National. Dessner's twin brother Aaron is also a member of the group. Together they write the music, in coll ...

–

orchestrator Orchestration is the study or practice of writing music for an orchestra (or, more loosely, for any musical ensemble, such as a concert band) or of adapting music composed for another medium for an orchestra. Also called "instrumentation", orch ...

* London Contemporary Orchestra –

* Aaron Dessner – acoustic guitar,

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

, high-strung guitar, piano * Josh Kaufman – electric guitar, harmonica,

lap steel guitar The lap steel guitar, also known as a Hawaiian guitar, is a type of steel guitar without pedals that is typically played with the instrument in a horizontal position across the performer's lap. Unlike the usual manner of playing a traditional ...

* Zara Benyounes – first violin * Galya Bisengalieva – first violin * Antonia Kesel – first violin * Natalie Kouda – first violin * Anna Ovsyanikova – first violin * Charlotte Reid – first violin * Dave Brown –

double bass The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or #Terminology, by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched Bow (music), bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox addit ...

* Anna de Bruin – second violin * Guy Button – second violin * Charis Jenson – second violin * Nicole Crespo O'Donoghue – second violin * Nicole Stokes – second violin * Eloisa-Fleur Thom – second violin * Stephanie Edmudson –

viola The viola ( , also , ) is a string instrument that is bow (music), bowed, plucked, or played with varying techniques. Slightly larger than a violin, it has a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of ...

* Clifton Harrison – viola * Matthew Kettle – viola * Zoe Matthews – viola * Jonny Byers –

cello The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a Bow (music), bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), t ...

* Oliver Coates – cello * Max Ruisi – cello *

James Krivchenia Big Thief is an American indie rock band with folk roots based in Brooklyn, New York. Its members are Adrianne Lenker (guitar, vocals), Buck Meek (guitar, backing vocals), Max Oleartchik (bass), and James Krivchenia (drums). The band's debu ...

– drums, percussion

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Release history

Notes

References

{{authority control 2011 songs 2021 singles 2020s ballads Taylor Swift songs Chris Stapleton songs Songs written by Taylor Swift Songs written by Lori McKenna Song recordings produced by Taylor Swift Song recordings produced by Aaron Dessner Country ballads Folk ballads Pop ballads Male–female vocal duets Republic Records singles