"Renegade" by Big Red Machine featuring Taylor Swift // Song Review

- June 29, 2026

"Renegade" was born from such a creatively fulfilling time for Taylor Swift, specifically of her work with frequent collaborators Aaron Dessner and Justin Vernon. Coming off of folklore and evermore the year prior, and in the midst of the early stages of her Taylor's Version re-releasing journey, this remains a largely underrated, but very special chapter of her music catalog thus far. Those albums were made entirely on her own terms, unburdened by the expectations that had defined her career up until then. That spontaneity and refusal to overthink is what made this era so singular in her discography thus far. "Renegade" stands out as such a raw and confessional lament, opening up in a way that feels rare, even for a songwriter that has long been known for her deep, personal storytelling.

Aaron and Justin, who have collaborated countless times over the years together, formed the duo Big Red Machine in 2018 alongside the release of their debut self-titled album and decided to revisit their side project in 2021 with How Long Do You Think It's Gonna Last?, featuring a variety of collaborators alongside them. In an interview with Apple Music, Aaron said "The way it came together as a song, it just really sums up the whole Big Red Machine record."

"When Aaron came into my life, I was ushered into his world of free-flowing creativity where you don't overthink, you just make music. His generosity of spirit and humility bleeds into every part of his life, and that’s why so many artists have jumped at the chance to be a part of his collaborative project, Big Red Machine." Taylor wrote on Instagram alongside the song's release. She also featured on another song from their album called "Birch" as well.

Aaron and Justin have each played a major role in shaping and inspiring the deeply intimate and introspective songwriting that Taylor dove headfirst into at this point in her life. "Renegade" focuses on trying to confront her partner that is struggling with the fear of commitment and mental health with full transparency. The inner battle they are each facing is creating a rift in the relationship in a way she doesn't sugarcoat at all.

The way Justin's vocal harmonies complements the narrative of this song so well and gives new perspective to the track, much in the same way as they did on songs like "exile" and "evermore" as well. Bon Iver's music as a whole deeply inspired the direction she went in during this era, and that influence comes through so clearly on both of the surprise albums she released in 2020.

The same warm and atmospheric sonic palette - both signature qualities of Aaron's production style - feels linked to songs like "the 1", "cardigan", and "the last great american dynasty". It also embodies much of the same brutally honest and vulnerable lyrical moments that were inspired by his lush instrumentals. Although those particular songs are from folklore, it's likely that "Renegade" was written during the evermore sessions, a period when they felt so deeply inspired that they just kept going and couldn't stop writing, even after releasing her first pandemic‑era surprise album of the year.

"Everytime we write a song together we both, sort of, are a little bit dumbfounded by it. Or sort of like, how is this possible? Because it feels like the shoe fits so well, somehow, and I think something about the way that I think or the way that I relate to music emotionally and then her incredible acumen or her way of tracing music and her storytelling and her sense of melody; there's something that really clicks," Aaron said in an interview with Apple Music. "...It's also something that I emotionally was really struck by the first time I heard it - just the way she talks about how anxiety and fear get in the way of loving someone or, you know, create an inability for someone to love and I think it's incredibly relatable but it's expressed in the context of this fairly experimental sound world."

"Are you really gonna talk about timing in times like these? And let all your damage damage me? And carry your baggage up my street? And make me your future history?" she sings in the chorus. "It's time, you've come a long way, open the blinds, let me see your face, you wouldn't be the first renegade to need somebody".

"Renegade" is so honest, coming toward the mid-point of the foundational love story that shaped her writing for many years - the same relationship that served as the emotional center of Lover through Midnights, with its ultimate conclusion alluded to on The Tortured Poets Department's "So Long, London". It's a moment where the fear of commitment and the struggles with mental health begin to interfere with fully giving yourself to another person, creating distance in a relationship that had once felt so strong.

It is a marking point where the cracks finally began to show, the ones that she often kept hidden in her writing, whether intentionally or not. That same level of vulnerability would continue to surface on Midnights the following year. In hindsight, "Renegade" feels like a clear precursor to a track like "You're Losing Me", or even to the emotional finality of "So Long, London", which again is widely seen as the closing chapter of this era of her life.

"Is it insensitive for me to say 'Get your shit together so I can love you'?" Taylor sings on one of the sharpest lines she has ever written. "Is it really your anxiety that stops you from giving me everything, or do you just not want to?"