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"White Horse" is the fifth track from American singer and songwriter Taylor Swift's second studio album, Fearless, released on November 11, 2008, through Big Machine Records. The song became the second single from the album on December 8, 2008. It is also the fifth track from her debut re-recorded album, Fearless (Taylor's Version), released on April 9, 2021, through Republic Records.

Background[]

According to Country Weekly magazine, Swift says she wrote the song within weeks of writing "Love Story".[1] Swift said the guy from the previous song "reminded [her] a lot of fairy tales and Prince Charming." After she wrote part of the first verse, she placed a call to her friend, co-writer Liz Rose, to help her write the song.[1] Swift and Rose had finished "White Horse" within 45 minutes.[1]

Taylor recorded an acoustic demo after finishing the song. It was described by the Inner Circle as: White Horse (3 min 36 sec / Studio)- One of the most precious album demos we own. A perfect acoustic studio version. Taylor sounds so young here, it makes us think this song was written prior to the first album.

Composition[]

The song is a mid-tempo ballad backed mostly by piano. It is written in the key of C Major and in 4/4 time. Its female narrator tells of being rejected in a relationship. She uses fairy tale imagery to describe this, especially in the metaphor of her ex-boyfriend being a prince on a white horse, and by saying "I'm not a princess, this ain't a fairy tale" after realizing that the relationship was not what she had expected. "In the song "White Horse", you put everything you have into love and you get your heart broken," Swift tells The Boot. "More people have been able to relate to those songs; the ones that I wrote when I was really going through something terrible."[2]

Swift also says, "To me, ā€œWhite Horseā€ is about what, in my opinion, is the most heart-breaking part of a break-up ā€“ that moment when you realize that all the dreams you had, all those visions you had of being with this person, all that disappears. Everything after that moment is moving on... But that initial moment of ā€œWow, itā€™s overā€ is what I wrote ā€œWhite Horseā€ about."

Music video[]

Taylor Swift in White Horse music video

Taylor Swift in the music video for "White Horse".

This was her last video to date to be directed by Trey Fanjoy. As the video begins, Swift is leaning against the wall and crying. In a flashback, her boyfriend (played by actor Stephen Colletti, of Laguna Beach and One Tree Hill fame) has called her, attempting to make amends and begging for a second chance, but she does not respond. The video then presents the couple in a happy teen-aged relationship.


Later, Swift tells a friend (played by actress Teah Spears) how wonderful this boy is and that he is the best thing to have happened to her. Her friend does not share the same enthusiasm, explaining "there's something you should know about him." The explanation was that the young man has been in another relationship for years. Swift then walks to her boyfriend's house to see his girlfriend there; she leaves, horrified while he tries to explain and apologize. In the end, the boy asks for another chance. Showing he left his other girlfriend. After a quick-zoom montage of the couple's relationship, Swift admits that she still loves him, but denies his request; after hanging up before he can argue, she uncontrollably breaks down.

Hidden message[]

Hidden message: All I ever wanted was the truth.

Lyrics[]

[Verse 1]
Say you're sorry, that face of an angel
Comes out just when you need it to
As I paced back and forth all this time
'Cause I honestly believed in you

[Pre-Chorus]
Holding on, the days drag on
Stupid girl
I should have known, I should have known

[Chorus]
That I'm not a princess, this ain't a fairy tale
I'm not the one you'll sweep off her feet
Lead her up the stairwell
This ain't Hollywood, this is a small town
I was a dreamer before you went and let me down
Now it's too late for you and your white horse
To come around

[Verse 2]
Maybe I was naive
Got lost in your eyes
And never really had a chance
My mistake, I didn't know to be in love
You had to fight to have the upper hand

[Pre-Chorus]
I had so many dreams about you and me
Happy endings
Now, I know

[Chorus]
That I'm not a princess, this ain't a fairy tale
I'm not the one you'll sweep off her feet
Lead her up the stairwell
This ain't Hollywood, this is a small town
I was a dreamer before you went and let me down
Now it's too late for you and your white horse
To come around

[Bridge]
And there you are, on your knees
Begging for forgiveness, begging for me
Just like I always wanted, but I'm so sorry

'Cause I'm not your princess, this ain't a fairytale
I'm gonna find someone someday who might actually treat me well
This is a big world, that was a small town
There in my rearview mirror disappearing now
And its too late for you and your white horse
Now, its too late for you and your white horse
To catch me now

[Outro]
Oh, whoa, whoa, whoa
Try and catch me now
Oh, it's too late
To catch me now

Lyric video[]

Taymoji pack[]

Expand/collapse gallery

Critical reception[]

The song has received favorable reviews from music critics. Billboard critic Deborah Evans Price said "The second single from Taylor Swift's top-selling sophomore CD is a beautiful, understated ballad that showcases her skill with a lyric and shines a spotlight on her signature tender, heart-on-her-sleeve vocals".[3] Karlie Justus of The 9513 gave it a "thumbs up" review, calling it "quite a leap for the queen of the OMGeneration. It's a direct rebuttal to her previous single's happy-ever-after ideal, down to shared references of grand staircases, princesses, and fairytale romances... Although Swift has dealt with themes of rejection and loss before, the results have never been this mature or realistic."[4] Country Universe gave the song an A-. reviewer Kevin J. Coyne said, "Swift effectively uses the standard imagery of the prince on a white horse, and thereā€™s just something about the fairy tale not coming true that makes it feel a little more country and a lot more relevant than ā€œLove Story.ā€ Itā€™s worth noting that this is the best that Swift has sounded on record so far, and the understated vocal serves her well."[5]

The song won two Grammy Awards for Best Country Song and Best Female Country Vocal Performance.[6]

Chart performance[]

"White Horse" became Swift's third single to miss the top spot, and eventually peaked inside the Top 3 (The others were "Teardrops on My Guitar" which peaked at number two and "Picture to Burn" which peaked at number 3), peaked at number 2 on Billboard's Hot Country Songs for the week of April 11, 2009, and peaked at number thirteen on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Swift's second Top 20 hit from her sophomore album and 5th Top 20 hit overall. It will be the third official single release for Taylor Swift in New Zealand. The single was certified platinum by the RIAA for shipments of 1 million copies.

Chart (2008-2009) Peak
position
U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs 2
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 13
U.S. Billboard Pop 100 23
Canadian Radio & Records Country Singles 5
Canadian Hot 100 43
Australian ARIA Singles 41
UK Singles[7] 60

Awards and nominations[]

ā€œWhite Horseā€ received five awards from five nominations.

Year Award Show Award Result
2009 SESAC Nashville Music Awards Country Performance Activity Awards Won
2010 BMI Country Awards Publisher of the Year Won
Award-Winning Songs Won
Grammy Awards Best Female Country Vocal Performance Won
Best Country Song Won

Live performances[]

"White Horse" was performed as a main part of the Fearless Tour setlist. The song was also performed as the second surprise song on March 25, 2023, at Las Vegas night two of The Eras Tour. It was performed as an Eras Tour surprise song a second time, as a duet with Sabrina Carpenter and mashed up with "coney island", on February 23, 2024, in Sydney, Australia.

Gallery[]

Wh-lizrose

White Horse lyrics handwritten by the co-writer Liz Rose

References[]

Fearless
"Fearless" ā€¢ "Fifteen" ā€¢ "Love Story" ā€¢ "Hey Stephen" ā€¢ "White Horse" ā€¢ "You Belong with Me" ā€¢ "Breathe" ā€¢ "Tell Me Why" ā€¢ "You're Not Sorry" ā€¢ "The Way I Loved You" ā€¢ "Forever & Always" ā€¢ "The Best Day" ā€¢ "Change"
Platinum Edition
"Jump Then Fall" ā€¢ "Untouchable" ā€¢ "Forever & Always" (piano version) ā€¢ "Come in with the Rain" ā€¢ "Superstar" ā€¢ "The Other Side of the Door"
Taylor's Version
"Today Was a Fairytale" ā€¢ "You All Over Me" ā€¢ "Mr. Perfectly Fine" ā€¢ "We Were Happy" ā€¢ "That's When" ā€¢ "Don't You" ā€¢ "Bye Bye Baby"
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