"Begin Again" is a song written and recorded by the American singer-songwriter

Taylor Swift Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Known for her autobiographical songwriting, artistic versatility, and Cultural impact of Taylor Swift, cultural impact, Swift is one of the Best selling artists, w ...

for her fourth studio album, '' Red'' (2012). It was released as the second single from ''Red'' on October 1, 2012, by Big Machine Records. Produced by Swift, Dann Huff, and Nathan Chapman, "Begin Again" is a gentle

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

soft rock Soft rock (also known as light rock or mellow rock) is a form of rock music that originated in the late 1960s in the United States and the United Kingdom which smoothed over the edges of singer-songwriter and pop rock, relying on simple, mel ...

, and

folk-pop Folk-pop is a broad Music genre#Subtypes, musical fusion genre that includes contemporary folk songs with pop music, pop arrangements, and pop songs with intimate, acoustic music, acoustic-based folk music, folk arrangements. Folk-pop has been ...

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and song of Great Britain and Ireland from the Late Middle Ages until the 19th century. They were widely used across Eur ...

with arpeggiated acoustic guitar,

steel guitar A steel guitar () is any guitar played while moving a steel bar or similar hard object against plucked strings. The bar itself is called a "steel" and is the source of the name "steel guitar". The instrument differs from a conventional guitar i ...

, and percussion. Its lyrics detail falling in love again after going through heartbreak. Music critics praised the gentle production and the narrative songwriting, with some welcoming Swift's mature perspective on love. "Begin Again" was nominated for Best Country Song at the

56th Annual Grammy Awards The 56th Annual Grammy Awards presentation was held on January 26, 2014, at Staples Center in Los Angeles. The show was broadcast on CBS at 8 p.m. ET/PT and was hosted for the third time by LL Cool J. The show was moved to January to avoid co ...

in 2014. In the United States, the single peaked at number seven on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and number 10 on

Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data along with digital sales and streaming. ...

, and it was certified platinum by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

. It peaked at number four on the

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

and received certifications in Australia, Brazil, and Canada. The song's accompanying music video was directed by Philip Andelman. Shot in Paris, the video depicts Swift strolling around the city with a male love interest. Swift performed "Begin Again" live at the 2012 Country Music Association Awards and on the Red Tour (2013–2014). She also sang it on certain dates of her later tours: the Reputation Tour in 2018 and the Eras Tour in 2023–2024. Following the 2019 dispute regarding the ownership of Swift's back catalog, she re-recorded the song as "Begin Again (Taylor's Version)" for her re-recorded album ''

Red (Taylor's Version) ''Red (Taylor's Version)'' is the second re-recorded album by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. It was released on November 12, 2021, by Republic Records, as part of Swift's re-recording project following the Taylor Swift masters d ...

'' (2021).

Background and release

designated her fourth studio album, ''Red'', as a breakup album that was inspired by a particularly intense relationship she had experienced. She wrote "Begin Again" in 2011, and the track was produced for ''Red'' by Swift, Nathan Chapman, and Dann Huff. "Begin Again" was recorded by Steve Marcantonio and mixed by Justin Niebank, with assistance from Drew Bollman, at Blackbird Studio, Nashville. Hank Williams mastered the track at Nashville's MasterMix studio. Swift previewed "Begin Again" on ''

Good Morning America ''Good Morning America'', often abbreviated as ''GMA'', is an American breakfast television, morning television program that is broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends wit ...

'' on September 24, 2012, and Big Machine Records released it for

download In computer networks, download means to ''receive'' data from a remote system, typically a server such as a web server, an FTP server, an email server, or other similar systems. This contrasts with uploading, where data is ''sent to'' a remote ...

onto

iTunes iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...

the next day. "Begin Again" was one of the four

promotional single A promotional recording, promo, or plug copy is an audio or video recording distributed free, usually in order to promote a recording that is or soon will be commercially available. Promos are normally sent directly to broadcasters, such as mu ...

s that preceded the release of ''Red'', and it was later released to

country radio Country radio refers to radio stations that play country music. Most country radio stations are commercial radio stations. Most country radio stations usually play only music which has been officially released to country radio by record labels. T ...

in the United States on October 1, 2012, as the album's second single by Big Machine. In further promotion, an individually numbered

CD single A CD single is a single (music), music single in the form of a compact disc (CD). Originally the ''CD single'' standard (as defined in the Rainbow Books, Red Book) was an 8 cm (3-inch) "mini CD" (''CD3''); later on the term referred to any si ...

was released on October 23, 2012, to Amazon.com and Swift's official store.

Composition and lyrics

"Begin Again" is a

, and

accentuated by

mandolin A mandolin (, ; literally "small mandola") is a Chordophone, stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally Plucked string instrument, plucked with a plectrum, pick. It most commonly has four Course (music), courses of doubled St ...

and

banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and in modern forms is usually made of plastic, where early membranes were made of animal skin. ...

, arpeggiated acoustic guitar, and gentle percussion in its production. Marc Hogan from '' Spin'' found the instruments reminiscent to the music of the 1970s soft-rock singer-songwriters

Joni Mitchell Roberta Joan Mitchell (née Anderson; born November 7, 1943) is a Canadian and American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and painter. As one of the most influential singer-songwriters to emerge from the 1960s folk music circuit, Mitch ...

and

James Taylor James Vernon Taylor (born March 12, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A six-time Grammy Award winner, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. Taylor achieved his breakthrough in 1970 with the single "Fi ...

, the latter of whom is referenced to in the lyrics, "You said you never met one girl who had as many James Taylor records as you/ But I do." For the music critic

Annie Zaleski Annie Zaleski is a ''New York Times'' best-selling author and music historian. Career Zaleski is a regular writer for mainstream media outlets such as The Guardian and NPR Music, and a columnist at ''Salon''. She is based in Cleveland, Ohio w ...

, "Begin Again" is stylistically reminiscent of the songs by James Taylor and

Kris Kristofferson Kristoffer Kristofferson (June 22, 1936 – September 28, 2024) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He was a pioneering figure in the outlaw country movement of the 1970s, moving away from the polished Nashville sound and toward a m ...

, whom Swift cited as her influences. Lindsay Zoladz from ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' found the song to feature a "coffee shop folksiness". The

musicologist Musicology is the academic, research-based study of music, as opposed to musical composition or performance. Musicology research combines and intersects with many fields, including psychology, sociology, acoustics, neurology, natural sciences, f ...

James E. Perone believed the song's production confirms the significance of Swift's country roots on the genre-spanning, pop-oriented ''Red''. The lyrics of "Begin Again" are about a protagonist falling in love again after a failed relationship. Swift told ''

'' about the song's content, "It's actually a song about kind of when you've gotten through a really bad relationship and you finally dust yourself off and go on that first date after a horrible breakup and the vulnerability that goes along with all of that." The narrator compares her ex-lover to a new love interest, "I think it's strange that you think I'm funny, because he never did." Billy Dukes from '' Taste of Country'' remarked that the narrator of "Begin Again" is willing to reveal her vulnerability to the new lover, which makes the song touching. The placement of "Begin Again" as the final track on the standard edition of ''Red'' received analysis—Perone observed that the track served as the thematic conclusion to the album. Noting the tracks of ''Red'' were centered on the emotional intensity of the narrator after exploring a newfound relationship—followed through stages of heartbreak and "red" tumultuous feelings from a toxic breakup—he settled that the track focused on a relationship that is deeper and potentially more lasting.

Critical reception

Upon its release, "Begin Again" received acclaim from critics, who complimented it as a showcase of Swift's mature songwriting. Perone found the lyrics "wide-ranging and free-ranging" and deemed the track an appropriate album closer for ''Red''. Writing for ''Taste of Country'', Billy Dukes gave the song a four star rating out of five, describing it as "a cleansing breath that hopefully foreshadows the true tone of her album". Grady Smith of ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...

'' wrote the song is "a well-crafted love story" and noted Swift's talent "at taking a single moment in time and letting it unfold like a pop-up storybook." Matt Bjorke gave four out of five stars as well for Roughstock, complimenting that "The song is a vast improvement for Taylor. A ballad that's neither in-your-face or sounding like its from a twelve year old". The storytelling of the song received praise; The Boot noted that it was "sweet" and a "beautiful ballad". MuchMusic lauded Swift, stating "while she is more than capable of releasing the carefree, jump-around-your-room-with-a-hairbrush break up songs like "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together," she also has the pen of a poet and knows how to craft emotionally gut-wrenching songs that speak to her millions of fans." ''Billboard'' magazine ranked "Begin Again" at number six on their list of the best songs of 2012, praising Swift's artistic maturity.

Rob Sheffield Robert James Sheffield (born February 2, 1966) is an American music journalist and author. He is a long time contributing editor at ''Rolling Stone'', writing about music, TV, and pop culture. Previously, he was a contributing editor at '' Blen ...

from ''

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. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' called the track "a deceptively simple ballad that sneaks up and steamrolls all over you". The song was nominated for Best Country Song at the

in 2014.

Commercial performance

In the United States, "Begin Again" debuted at number one on the

Hot Digital Songs The Digital Song Sales (previously named Digital Songs and Hot Digital Songs) ranks the best-selling digital songs in the United States, as compiled by Luminate and published by ''Billboard'' magazine. Although it originally started tracking so ...

chart with first-week sales of 299,000 digital copies; it was Swift's fifth chart topper. On the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart dated October 4, 2012, it debuted and peaked at number seven, becoming Swift's 12th top-10 entry and her ninth top-10 debut. On the

chart dated October 13, 2012, "Begin Again" opened at number 37 with three million airplay impressions. For the next week's issue, ''Billboard'' incorporated digital sales and streaming data to the Hot Country Songs chart, in addition to only airplay data as previously done. As a result, "Begin Again" jumped to number 10 on Hot Country Songs (which would be its peak position), and appeared at number 29 on the newly revamped Country Airplay chart, which replaced the aforementioned chart as the country-airplay-only ranking. It ultimately peaked at number three and spent 22 weeks on the Country Airplay chart. On March 29, 2013, the song was

certified Certification is part of testing, inspection and certification and the provision by an independent body of written assurance (a certificate) that the product, service or system in question meets specific requirements. It is the formal attestatio ...

platinum by the

. In Canada, "Begin Again" reached number four on the

and number seven 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, p ...

airplay chart and received a gold

certification Certification is part of testing, inspection and certification and the provision by an independent body of written assurance (a certificate) that the product, service or system in question meets specific requirements. It is the formal attestatio ...

from

Music Canada Music Canada is a non-profit Industry trade group, trade organization that was founded 9 April 1963 in Toronto to represent the interests of companies that record, manufacture, produce, and distribute music in Canada. It also offers benefits to s ...

. Elsewhere, the song debuted on the charts in several territories, peaking within the top 40 of New Zealand (11), Australia (20), Ireland (25), Scotland (27), the United Kingdom (30), and Spain (35), and Italy (72). The single was certified platinum in Australia, and gold in Brazil and New Zealand.

Music video

The music video for "Begin Again" premiered on

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

on October 23, 2012. Swift chose to film the video in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

as a "love letter" in tribute to the city, " 'Cause it's just the city and this storyline of somebody moving on and finding yourself again." The video starts with Swift standing on a bridge while pensively gazing across the water and remembering a lost love. She then takes a walk along the

Seine The Seine ( , ) is a river in northern France. Its drainage basin is in the Paris Basin (a geological relative lowland) covering most of northern France. It rises at Source-Seine, northwest of Dijon in northeastern France in the Langres plat ...

, wearing a red dress with white flower appliques and blue peep toes and sits beside the river Seine. The video draws comparison to that of singer

Adele Adele Laurie Blue Adkins (; born 5 May 1988) is an English singer-songwriter. Regarded as a British cultural icon, icon, she is known for her mezzo-soprano vocals and sentimental songwriting. List of awards and nominations received by Adele, ...

's music video " Someone Like You" and Swift's own " Back to December". Directed by Philip Andelman and produced by Arthur Cantin, the story in the video deviates from the song's lyrical narrative in several respects. While the lyrics recount the narrator's (Swift) trepidation of a first date after a bad breakup, the video instead relates a chance meeting in a cafe in Paris. In the video, Swift is seated at a booth, doodling in a small notebook when a Frenchman at another table takes interest and introduces himself. Missing from the video are the Swift's initial moments in the cafe, where her date has arrived early to wait for her, greets her, then helps her into her chair, displaying kindness and respect that was apparently absent from her former relationship. Late in the song, the restaurant encounter draws to a conclusion while the couple walks to Swift's car. ''Entertainment Weekly'' thought the video was "another classic bittersweet Swift joint," writing: "Though her boyfriend doesn't laugh at her jokes and bores her with stories about his family's

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...

movie-watching traditions, she finds the ultimate salve: Wandering through the streets of Paris, chuckling with handsome dudes in a café (and probably snacking on snails or something). It's a lovely clip, but a little bit sleepy. Also, there's something about it that recalls ’Back to December’ — is it the color palette, or just the general moodiness?”. The video was nominated for Video of the Year at the 2013 American Country Awards and Female Video of the Year at the 2013 CMT Music Awards.

Live performances

Swift first performed "Begin Again" at the 2012 Country Music Association Awards in Nashville. The performance featured Swift, in a red dress, singing on a Parisian café-inspired stage with an

accordion Accordions (from 19th-century German language, German ', from '—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a Reed (mou ...

player. Writing for ''Entertainment Weekly'', Grady Smith believed Swift did not showcase a powerful voice like other country artists, but found Swift's tone "gently evocative and rather soothing" in the right place. The song was later added on the main

setlist A set list, or setlist, is typically a handwritten or printed document created as an ordered list of songs, jokes, stories and other elements an artist intends to present during a specific performance. A setlist can be made of nearly any materi ...

to Swift's Red Tour (2013–2014). At the August 31, 2018, concert in

Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

, as part of her Reputation Stadium Tour, she sang "Begin Again" as a "surprise song". Swift again performed an acoustic guitar rendition at the April 23, 2023, concert in

Houston, Texas Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

and a piano rendition mashup with her song "Paris" at the May 12, 2024 concert in Paris, France as part of the Eras Tour. Other live performances of "Begin Again" include an appearance on ''

The Ellen DeGeneres Show ''The Ellen DeGeneres Show'' is an American first-run syndicated talk show that was hosted by Ellen DeGeneres. The show ran for nineteen seasons from September 8, 2003, to May 26, 2022, in which it broadcast 3,339 episodes. It was produced by ...

'' in 2012. Additionally, there was a "Live from New York City" performance in 2012, and the song has most recently been performed as a "surprise song" on Swift's current tour cycle for the Eras Tour. "Begin Again" was used in the setlist of the Eras Tour on April 23, 2023, in Houston, TX and again on May 12, 2024, in Paris, France.

Credits and personnel

Adapted from the

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 cassette j-cards. Origin Liner notes are descended from the prog ...

of ''Red'' *

– lead vocals, writer, producer * Dann Huff – producer,

electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external electric Guitar amplifier, sound amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar. It uses one or more pickup (music technology), pickups ...

, digital editing,

acoustic guitar An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked, its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...

* Nathan Chapman – producer, acoustic guitar, high string acoustic guitar *Steve Marcantonio – recording *Seth Morton – assistant recording *Justin Niebank – mixing *Drew Bollman – assistant mixing *Mike "Frog" Griffith – production coordinator *Jason Campbell – production coordinator * Tom Bukovac – electric guitar * Paul Franklin –

*Ilya Toshinsky –

* Jimmie Lee Sloas –

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

* Jonathan Yudkin – violin,

string String or strings may refer to: *String (structure), a long flexible structure made from threads twisted together, which is used to tie, bind, or hang other objects Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Strings'' (1991 film), a Canadian anim ...

*Charlie Judge – Hammond B3,

synthesizers A synthesizer (also synthesiser or synth) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...

, strings, accordion, piano *Aaron Sterling – drums *Caitlin Evanson – background vocals

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

"Begin Again (Taylor's Version)"

After signing a new contract with

Republic Records Republic Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group (UMG). Based in New York City, 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 ...

, Swift began re-recording her first six studio albums in November 2020. The decision came after the public 2019 dispute between Swift and talent manager Scooter Braun, who acquired Big Machine Records, including the masters of Swift's albums the label had released. By re-recording them, Swift had full ownership of the new masters, including the copyright licensing of her songs, devaluing the Big Machine-owned masters. The re-recording of "Begin Again", subtitled "(Taylor's Version)", was released as part of ''Red'''s re-recording, ''

'', on November 12, 2021. "Begin Again (Taylor's Version)" was produced by Swift and Christopher Rowe, and it was recorded by David Payne at Blackbird Studios, Nashville. Rowe recorded Swift's vocals at Kitty Committee Studio in

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

, Northern Ireland, and Serban Ghenea mixed both tracks at MixStar Studios,

Virginia Beach, Virginia Virginia Beach (colloquially VB) is the most populous city in the U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. The city is located on the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay in southeastern Virginia. It is the sixth-most populous city in the ...

. ''Slant Magazine'''s Jonathan Keefe complimented the re-recorded track for showcasing a stronger country production and an improved in Swift's musical instincts, "heightening its plainspoken candor and hopefulness".

Personnel

Adapted from the liner notes of ''Red (Taylor's Version)'' * Taylor Swift – lead vocals, songwriter, producer * Christopher Rowe – producer, vocals engineer * David Payne – recording engineer * Dan Burns – additional engineer * Austin Brown – assistant engineer, assistant editor * Bryce Bordone – engineer * Derek Garten – engineer * Serban Ghenea – mixer * Charles Judge – accordion * Mike Meadows – acoustic guitar, Hammond organ, mandolin * Amos Heller – bass guitar * Matt Billingslea – drums * Paul Sidoti – electric guitar * David Cook – piano * Max Bernstein – steel guitar, synths * Jonathan Yudkin – violin * Caitlin Evanson – background vocals

Charts

References

Sources

* * {{authority control 2012 singles 2012 songs Taylor Swift songs Country ballads Songs written by Taylor Swift Song recordings produced by Taylor Swift Song recordings produced by Dann Huff Song recordings produced by Nathan Chapman (record producer) Song recordings produced by Chris Rowe Big Machine Records singles Music videos directed by Philip Andelman 2010s ballads American soft rock songs Folk-pop songs Folk ballads

Background and release

Composition and lyrics

Critical reception

Commercial performance

Music video

Live performances

Credits and personnel

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

"Begin Again (Taylor's Version)"

Personnel

Charts

See also

References

Sources