"the 1" by Taylor Swift // Song Review
The message and storyline of "the 1" by Taylor Swift is present in so many of the songs she went on to write in the years to follow. This was the last song written for Folklore, which was a surprise release in July 2020 at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. She wrote "the 1" and "hoax" in the matter of a few hours, just before she was about to submit the final album. The songs that serve as bookends for Folklore are so intricately linked together through their shared narrative and yearning for a version of herself and her life that's gone. It is so warm and nostalgic, written as if she is having a conversation with someone she hasn't seen in a long time, an old friend or an old lover that didn't work out. "I'm doing good, I'm on some new shit, been saying 'yes' instead of 'no'," is truly one of the greatest album openers of all time and beautifully reflects the new chapter of her career that was about to begin.
Even though so much time has passed, she sings about the way he has been at the back of her mind, leaving her forever wondering what could have been if they ended up together. It is deeply reflective but also brings up these bittersweet feelings that she has been trying to let go of ever since. "And if you never bleed, you're never gonna grow," she sings, "And it's alright now, but we were something, don't you think so? Roaring 20s, tossing pennies in the pool, and if my wishes came true, it would've been you".
She goes on to imagine what his life is probably like right now - her mind literally turns his life into folklore on the second verse; "I have this dream you're doing cool shit, having adventures on your own, you meet some woman on the internet and take her home".
In her 2020 Disney+ special, folklore: the long pond studio sessions, Taylor and her main collaborator for the album, Aaron Dessner, talked about how much this song shaped the rest of the record. "It was funny because I feel like you captured the spirit of the whole record with that song," Aaron said in conversation with Taylor, "With 'the 1' in the sense of, just the way it opens, 'I’m doing good, I’m on some new shit, been saying yes instead of no', and I was like, 'is she talking about writing songs with me and everything else at the same time or something?'" Taylor responded, "I think it has a double meaning. Opening the album with those words, it applies to the situation that the song is written about, where you're updating a former lover on what your life is like now and trying to be positive about it. But it was also where I am creatively, where it's, like, I'm just saying yes, I'm just putting an album out in the worst time you could put one out, I’m just making stuff with someone who I always wanted to make stuff with as long as I've been a fan of The National," she said. "I'm just gonna say yes to stuff, and it worked out."
Not only does much of it shape the nostalgic storytelling of both Folklore and the sister album Evermore - it is also evident that it went on to shape much of the narrative surrounding both Midnights and The Tortured Poets Department as well. It has been so interesting to see that unfold through her songs and the piece of herself she shares through the storytelling. The entirety of Tortured Poets is the product of Taylor literally "digging up the grave another time" - a detrimental choice that she details in depth throughout every single one of the 31 songs on that album. Other songs like "cardigan", "Death By A Thousand Cuts", "gold rush", "Maroon", and "...Question?", among others, are also intricately intertwined with "the 1" in that way. It is truly one of the most important songs in Taylor's discography, and the basis of so much she made after.
"Chloe or Sam or Sophia or Marcus" is a song that particularly draws the closest lyrical parallels to "the 1". With lyrics like, "If you want to break my cold, cold heart, just say, 'I loved you the way that you were', if you want to tear my world apart, just say you've always wondered," and the simple question that ends the song, "Will I always wonder?" That same yearning and confusion is the center point of the entire Tortured Poets album.
"the 1" is written from such an interesting perspective, almost like she was consumed by flickers of what could have been. "But it would've been fun, if you would've been the one", Taylor sings in the chorus. It also raises the question of if there were different circumstances or different choices were made years prior - who would you be today? Would your life really be that different? I always reference this, but it is very reminiscent of Sylvia Plath's Fig Tree analogy in that way. "I persist and resist the temptation to ask you, if one thing had been different, would everything be different today?" she sings near the end of the song. "the 1" is looking back on their days of wild, their "roaring twenties" set in New York, the backdrop for so much of her best music. That specific line also always makes me think of The Great Gatsby, a story Taylor has taken inspiration many times throughout her career, as if it could have been Daisy singing to Jay about their ill-fated love affair.
I could go on and on about how much I love every single song on Folklore, it is truly perfect beginning to end. Whenever I listen to it, I always think back to the night the album came out in the summer of 2020. I was literally in tears from start to finish hearing it for the first time, which is an experience I never had with music before, and haven't really ever had since then either. "the 1" also goes in tandem with the second song on the album, "cardigan", for all of those same reasons. It was just such a profound listening experience that I'll always remember. It came at the perfect time and holds so much sentimentality for me.
I have written about Taylor Swift's music many times in the past, which are all linked here and below. I have specifically written about the music from Folklore several times - including my 2020 album review, the folklore: the long pond studio sessions vinyl, "the lakes" vinyl + song review, and much more all linked here as well. 2025 also marks the fifth anniversary of "the 1" and the rest of Folklore, so be sure to expect even more in the coming months related to this album!
This is the first post in a new series on my blog, which I will be sharing a new song of the week every Monday. For obvious reasons, "the 1" felt like the perfect song to start this series! I love finding new ways to highlight the songs and artists I love, in addition to my monthly New Music Friday posts, in-depth album reviews, vinyl collection, concerts and more. The songs that are going to be shared through this series will span new and old releases, classics, trending songs and deeper cuts - pretty much anything I'm listening to that week! I'm looking forward to sharing more every week and as always, I would love to hear any suggestions on what to feature next! Thanks for reading!
Photo Credit: Taylor Swift, Beth Garrabrant, TAS Rights Management
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