"Carolina" 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 the soundtrack of the 2022 murder mystery film '' Where the Crawdads Sing''. Released via

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 ...

on June 24, 2022, the song is titled after the

Carolinas The Carolinas, also known simply as Carolina, are the U.S. states of North Carolina and South Carolina considered collectively. They are bordered by Virginia to the north, Tennessee to the west, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the southwes ...

region in the United States, and sung from the perspective of the film's protagonist, Kya. "Carolina" was met with strong acclaim from

music critics Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on ...

, most of whom felt the song's ambience matched the film's atmosphere, and is reminiscent of Swift's 2020 indie folk albums, ''

Folklore Folklore is the body of expressive culture shared by a particular group of people, culture or subculture. This includes oral traditions such as Narrative, tales, myths, legends, proverbs, Poetry, poems, jokes, and other oral traditions. This also ...

'' and ''

Evermore ''Evermore'' (stylized in all lowercase) is the ninth studio album by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. It was surprise-released on December 11, 2020, by Republic Records. Swift conceived ''Evermore'' as a "sister record" to its p ...

.'' Reviews commended the song for Swift's vocals, songwriting style, and the overall "haunting" mood. Produced by Swift and Aaron Dessner, "Carolina" is a slow-paced, downtempo, Americana ballad, particularly in an Appalachian folk style, with

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, ...

and bluegrass inflections. It is driven by acoustic instruments of the early 1950s, such as

fiddle A fiddle is a Bow (music), bowed String instrument, string musical instrument, most often a violin or a bass. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including European classical music, classical music. Althou ...

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 acoustic guitars. "Carolina" charted in Australia, Canada, Hungary, Ireland, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, the United States and Vietnam. It won a MTV Movie & TV Award, and was nominated for a Critics' Choice Award, a

Golden Globe Award The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally held every Janua ...

, a

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, and a Satellite Award amongst other accolades.

Background and release

''Where the Crawdads Sing'' is an American mystery thriller

drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...

film starring Daisy Edgar-Jones in the lead role, directed by Olivia Newman and produced by

Reese Witherspoon Laura Jeanne Reese Witherspoon (born March 22, 1976) is an American actress and producer. She is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Reese Witherspoon, various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Aw ...

. It is a

film adaptation A film adaptation transfers the details or story of an existing source text, such as a novel, into a feature film. This transfer can involve adapting most details of the source text closely, including characters or plot points, or the original sou ...

of the 2018 novel of the same name written by American author Delia Owens. The story is set in the 1950s, revolving around an abandoned girl named Kya, who grew up in a

marsh In ecology, a marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous plants rather than by woody plants.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p More in genera ...

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

and becomes the prime suspect in the murder of a man who once romantically pursued her. The first trailer for the film was released on March 22, 2022, and featured "Carolina" being played in the background. The trailer also revealed that the song was written and performed by American singer-songwriter

. Another snippet of the song was revealed through a longer trailer of the film on May 22, 2022. The release date of the song was teased by the film's official

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account, when they made a series of posts on June 22 with captions that had capitalized letters, spelling out "Carolina This Thursday" together. The next day, the song's release date was confirmed as June 24, 2022. A lyric video on YouTube accompanied the release. On June 15, 2024, Swift performed "Carolina" as part of a mashup with her song " No Body, No Crime" (2020) during the Liverpool stop of her Eras Tour (2023–2024).

Writing

"Carolina" was written solely by Swift and produced by her and Aaron Dessner, with whom she collaborated on her 2020 studio albums ''

'' and ''

''. She wrote the song well over a year and a half before the release date of June 24, 2022''.'' According to Witherspoon, Swift wrote the song while working on ''Folklore'' but did not reveal that she had written "Carolina" until after she finished the song. Swift's eagerness to contribute to the film grew after she was aware that Witherspoon would be producing. Swift stated on

that she enjoyed the original novel by Owens, and as soon as she heard a film adaptation was "in the works", she wanted to be a part of its soundtrack. She said she aimed to create a "haunting and ethereal" song that captured the novel's "mesmerizing" story. "Carolina" plays over the ending credits, and Newman opined that it "reflects the tone of the story's ending".

Lyrics and composition

"Carolina" has been described as an Americana and Appalachian folk song, with country folk and bluegrass elements, on

minor chord In music theory, a minor chord is a chord that has a root, a minor third, and a perfect fifth. When a chord comprises only these three notes, it is called a minor triad. For example, the minor triad built on A, called an A minor triad, has pit ...

s. It was recorded in one take and only features instruments available before 1953—around the time when ''Where the Crawdads Sing'' takes place—acoustic instruments such as

, gently strummed acoustic guitar and "sweeping" strings. The song begins with the sparse strums of the guitar and eventually expands into a "misty atmosphere" incorporating strings 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. ...

. The lyrics deal with how Kya, the narrator in the song and the lead character of the film, "roams the lonesome marshes, despairs over those who have left her and hints at the many secrets she's keeping". The lyrics are heavy with naturalistic imagery, such as creeks, backroads,

mist Mist is a phenomenon caused by small droplets of water suspended in the cold air, usually by condensation. Physically, it is an example of a Dispersion (chemistry), dispersion. It is most commonly seen where water vapor in warm, moist air meets ...

, clouds, mud,

pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. ''World Flora Online'' accepts 134 species-rank taxa (119 species and 15 nothospecies) of pines as cu ...

s, beaches and forests, inspired by the story's setting in coastal

. Swift's vocals in the song have been characterized as a "breathy" lower register.

Critical reception

"Carolina" received acclaim from

music critic '' The Oxford Companion to Music'' defines music criticism as "the intellectual activity of formulating judgments on the value and degree of excellence of individual works of music, or whole groups or genres". In this sense, it is a branch of m ...

s. ''

People The term "the people" refers to the public or Common people, common mass of people of a polity. As such it is a concept of human rights law, international law as well as constitutional law, particularly used for claims of popular sovereignty. I ...

'' journalist Jack Irvin described "Carolina" as a downtempo, "haunting ballad" with lyrics about "sneakily moving through various locations without being seen". '' Variety'' critic Chris Willman felt the song is stylistically reminiscent of the music in ''Folklore'' and ''Evermore'' "at their most folky and subdued." Emily Zemler and Kat Bouza reviewed the song for ''

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 ...

'', noting that the "haunting" song evokes the film's backwoods setting and the "elegiac" tone of Appalachian folk ballads and praising Swift's "otherworldly and siren-like" vocals. Will Lavin of ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

'' described Swift's vocals as "eerie". In a glowing review for '' Clash'', Robin Murray called the song a timeless "grand achievement" and the greatest example of Swift's ability to "suggest inner movement, the passing of time and emotion in only a few words." He praised the "innate" instrumentation, Swift's " minimalist yet potent" vocals, and the lyrics "somehow distilling Delia Owens' work—in all its breadth and depth—into a song of real brevity and power." '' Collider''s Ryan O'Rourke called "Carolina" a "chilling" tune with a haunting melody and is "almost a loose re-telling of the events of the book." Emily Zemler of Observer said the song "perfectly captures the bittersweet conclusion" of ''Where the Crawdads Sing'', complementing the film's "palpable mood".

ABC News ABC News most commonly refers to: * ABC News (Australia), a national news service of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation * ABC News (United States), a news-gathering and broadcasting division of the American Broadcasting Company ABC News may a ...

journalist Peter Travers wrote Swift captures "the haunting,

folklore Folklore is the body of expressive culture shared by a particular group of people, culture or subculture. This includes oral traditions such as Narrative, tales, myths, legends, proverbs, Poetry, poems, jokes, and other oral traditions. This also ...

quality" of the film's story in the song, via her music and lyrics that suggest an "abiding mystery". '' British Vogue'' journalist Radhika Seth described the song as a "sweeping earworm" with a "mournful, intensely atmospheric" composition tonally reminiscent of ''Evermore.'' Sam Sodomsky of ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

'' said "Carolina" is an understated song, one that stems from the "darker corners" of ''Folklore'' and ''Evermore'', abandoning the "language and texture of

pop music Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom.S. Frith, W. Straw, and J. Street, eds, ''iarchive:cambridgecompani00frit, The Cambridge Companion to Pop ...

in favor of old American folk songs". He further complemented the synergy between Swift's musical approaches in the song: the "ghost story-writing" of the lyrics, and the deep and slow vocals. Lindsay Zoladz of ''

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 ...

'' named "Carolina" one of the "spookiest" tracks in Swift's discography and "the closest wift hascome to writing an outright murder ballad" other than " No Body, No Crime" (2020). Jonathan Broxton of ''Movie Music UK'' also described the song as a murder ballad; "not one of her usual chart topping efforts—instead this is a mournful, soulful piece". He praised "Carolina" as "a superb piece of traditional Americana, stripped down and carried by little more than a guitar, a banjo, and Swift’s unexpectedly dreamy voice, and has poetic lyrics that directly reference elements of the story." In a review of the film for '' Consequence'', Liz Shannon Miller wrote "Carolina" is a "perfect match for the content of the film as well as its mood." Pat Padua of ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'' said the song, making use of ominous lyrics, "bridges pop music with Americana".

Accolades

At the 65th Annual Grammy Awards (2023), "Carolina" contended for Best Song Written for Visual Media—Swift's fourth nomination in the category, following " Safe & Sound" (2011) from '' The Hunger Games: Songs from District 12 and Beyond'', " I Don't Wanna Live Forever" (2017) from '' Fifty Shades Darker'', and " Beautiful Ghosts" (2019) from ''

Cats The cat (''Felis catus''), also referred to as the domestic cat or house cat, is a small domesticated carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species of the family Felidae. Advances in archaeology and genetics have shown that the ...

'', the first of which won. Swift also garnered her career's first-ever Critics' Choice Movie Award nomination with the song. The song was shortlisted for Best Original Song at the 95th Academy Awards.

Credits and personnel

Credits are 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 ''Where the Crawdads Sing'' soundtrack''. *

– vocals, songwriter, producer * Aaron Dessner – producer, engineer, acoustic guitar, banjo, bass guitar, mandolin, piano, synthesizer, orchestration * Reid Jenkins – fiddle * Jonathan Low – mixer, engineer * Randy Merrill – mastering engineer * John Hanes – Dolby Atmos mixer

Charts

Release history

References

{{Taylor Swift songs 2020s ballads 2022 songs Folk ballads Taylor Swift songs Songs written by Taylor Swift Song recordings produced by Taylor Swift Song recordings produced by Aaron Dessner Appalachian folk songs Songs about North Carolina Music based on novels Songs about nature Americana songs