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"Babe"
Single by Sugarland featuring Taylor Swift
from the album Bigger
Released	April 20, 2018 (2018-04-20)
Genre	Country pop folk rock
Length	3:35
Label	Big Machine
Songwriter(s)	Taylor Swift Pat Monahan
Producer(s)	Kristian Bush Jennifer Nettles Julian Raymond
Sugarland singles chronology
"Still the Same" (2017) "Babe" (2018)
Taylor Swift singles chronology
"Delicate" (2018) "Babe" (2018) "Getaway Car" (2018)
Music video
"Babe" on YouTube

"Babe" is a song by the American country music duo Sugarland featuring the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. It was released by Big Machine Records on April 20, 2018, as the second single from Sugarland's sixth studio album, Bigger (2018). Written by Swift and Pat Monahan, "Babe" was intended for Swift's 2012 studio album Red but it did not make the final track list.

The track was produced by Sugarland's Kristian Bush and Jennifer Nettles, and Julian Raymond. It is a midtempo country pop and folk rock breakup ballad, with lyrics about being heartbroken by an undeserving ex-partner and moving on from it. In the US, the single peaked at number eight on Hot Country Songs, number 17 on Country Airplay, and number 72 on the Billboard Hot 100.

After a 2019 dispute over the ownership of Swift's back catalog, she re-recorded a solo version of the song as "Babe (Taylor's Version) (From the Vault)" for her second re-recorded album, Red (Taylor's Version) (2021). Produced by Swift and Jack Antonoff, the re-recorded track features elements of ska and new instruments like trumpet, saxophone, and flute.

Background and release

Taylor Swift wrote "Babe" with Pat Monahan intending to include it on her 2012 studio album Red. Scott Borchetta, CEO of Big Machine Records where Swift was signed at the time, confirmed her collaboration with Monahan in September 2012 at the iHeartRadio Music Festival. According to Monahan, he first reached out to Swift asking for a collaboration on a song for his band Train's album, and Swift in turn asked him to collaborate on a track for Red. The track was ultimately left off Red's final track listing and was not recorded.

Swift pitched "Babe" to Sugarland in 2018 upon learning that the duo reunited. Talking to reporters backstage at the 53rd Academy of Country Music Awards, Sugarland's Kristian Bush said that he felt "a little anxious" upon hearing from Swift because he "didn't want to mess it up". It was the first time the duo recorded a song written by another artist for their album: "We didn't tell anybody about it until we got finished and she liked it, thank God." Swift posted onto Instagram expressing her gratitude for Sugarland for giving the track "its own life" and that they " done such a great job with it". "Babe" is the only track on Sugarland's album Bigger (2018) that is not written by Bush and Jennifer Nettles of Sugarland. It also marked the second song Swift wrote for a country music act since abandoning the genre in 2014, following Little Big Town's "Better Man" (2016). "Babe" was released for download and streaming, and to country radio by Big Machine Records on April 20, 2018.

Composition and reception

"Babe" is a midtempo, acoustic breakup ballad. Glamour described it as a country tune, Billboard categorized it as country pop, while Variety said that it is "not straight-up country" but also a "return" to the "pre-1989 pop style" of Swift's music. Rolling Stone's Brittney McKenna characterized it as a "foot-stomping" tune that resembles the styles of Swift's 2010 album Speak Now. Jon Caramanica of The New York Times regarded the genre as "arena folk-rock". Nettles sings lead vocals, and Swift contributes to the song's backing vocals, which can be heard echoing in the chorus and the bridge. The lyrics address heartbreak; the narrator is devastated upon discovering her lover's infidelity: "And it's strange how your face doesn't look so innocent/ Your secret has its consequence and that's on you, babe."

Spin's Israel Daramola considered "Babe" a lovely and passionate breakup song, deeming it a "surprisingly feel-good" track given its theme of moving on from heartbreak. Jewly Hight of NPR complimented the track as a "breezy pop kiss-off" that sums up "female dissatisfaction". Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone described her background vocals as "lethal", while Billboard's Taylor Weatherby and Danielle Pascual praised the "addictive hook and heart-clenching bridge". In a less positive review, Caramanica thought that Nettles on the track sounds "constricted, hemmed into another vocalist's box", losing her signature vocal styles. He further complained that the production did not showcase Sugarland's usual "rootsy jubilation" was replaced by an "anodyne" sound.

"Babe" debuted at number 27 on the Country Airplay chart dated April 28, 2018. The following week it was released for sale, and the song reached No. 8 on Hot Country Songs with 38,000 copies in the first sales week. The song peaked at number 72 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It has sold 166,000 copies in the United States as of November 2018. The song peaked at number 94 in Canada and number 64 in Scotland.

Music video

The trailer for the music video aired during the 2018 CMT Music Awards and was uploaded to Sugarland's YouTube channel on June 6, 2018, while the official music video premiered on June 9. Swift had the original idea for the video's concept, and as stated per the Sugarland duo themselves, they all got together before the video shoot to collaborate on ideas.

The video, directed by Anthony Mandler, features Brandon Routh, Nettles, and Swift in primary roles. Routh and Nettles are a married couple while Swift plays the role of a secretary who is having an affair with her married boss (Routh). Routh is shown to be an unfaithful husband throughout the clip and is, ultimately, discovered by Nettles. However, it is later revealed that both women were victims, with Nettles being cheated on and Swift being told by Routh that he loves her and has written love letters to her, but later abandons her, breaking both women's hearts. The video ends with Routh leaving Swift's house to find his front doors locked and his belongings thrown out on the lawn. Nettles, now alone and free, lies down to go to bed, ready to enjoy her new life, and Routh leaves, as Bush, playing their neighbor, witnesses the whole thing while walking his dog. Swift's attire in the music video was compared to that of character Joan Holloway from the television series Mad Men.

Awards and nominations

Live performances

Sugarland performed "Babe" for the first time on Live with Kelly and Ryan on May 8, 2018. On June 6, 2018, they performed it on The Today Show live from Blake Shelton's bar, Ole Red. The duo included the track in the set list of their 2018 tour, Still the Same.

Swift included "Babe" on her pre-show playlist on her Reputation Stadium Tour (2018) and performed it at the Cleveland show on July 17, and the Arlington show on October 6, where Sugarland joined Swift onstage to sing the song together live for the first time. During the fourth show of the Eras Tour in Singapore on March 7, 2024, Swift performed the song in a mashup with her song "Death by a Thousand Cuts" (2019).

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from Tidal

• Kristian Bush – producer, vocals, acoustic guitar
• Jennifer Nettles – vocals, producer
• Taylor Swift – vocals, songwriter
• Patrick Monahan – songwriter
• Brandon Bush – producer, keyboard, mixing assistance
• Julian Raymond – producer
• Zoe Rosen – producer
• Brianna Steinitz – producer
• Adam Chignon – mix engineering
• Ted Jensen – master engineer
• Tom Tapley – engineer
• Lars Fox – engineer
• Nik Karpen – mixing assistance
• Sean Badum – record engineering assistance
• Kevin Kane – record engineering assistance
• Paul Bushnell – bass
• Victor Indrizzo – drums
• Tom Bukovac – electric guitar
• Chris Lord-Alge – mixing
• Justin Schipper – steel guitar

Charts

Certifications

Release history

"Babe (Taylor's Version)"

After signing a new contract with Republic Records, Swift began re-recording her first six studio albums, including Fearless, in November 2020. The decision came after a 2019 public dispute between Swift and the talent manager Scooter Braun, who acquired Big Machine Records, including the masters of Swift's albums the label had released. By re-recording her catalog, Swift had full ownership of the new masters, including the copyright licensing of her songs. In doing so, she would benefit from the financial gains over the Big Machine–owned masters.

Swift re-recorded "Babe" for her second re-recorded album, Red (Taylor's Version), released on November 12, 2021, through Republic Records. The official title of the track is "Babe (Taylor's Version) (From the Vault)". Swift posted a snippet of the re-recording on Tumblr a day before the album's release.

Composition and reception

"Babe (Taylor's Version)" is a country pop and pop-ska song with influences of 1970s folk-pop. Its production features slide guitars, trumpets, saxophones, and flutes that were absent from Sugarland's version; Annie Zaleski described "Babe (Taylor's Version)" as a sonic tribute to the 1970s singer-songwriters Carole King and Joni Mitchell. It includes the additional lyrics "What about your promises, promises, promises?" that repeat in the background.

Sheffield thought that it was "worth the wait" for Swift to release her solo version of "Babe", highlighting the "promises, promises" as the new hook. Time ranked it ninth out of Swift's 25 "From the Vault" tracks up until October 2023, describing it as a "pure pop diss track" with the signatures of Swift's best breakup songs. Uproxx's Josh Kurp was not as enthusiastic, deeming Swift's solo version of "Babe" not indistinguishable enough from Sugarland's version to truly stand out.

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Red (Taylor's Version)

• Taylor Swift – vocals, songwriting, production
• Patrick Monahan – songwriting
• Jack Antonoff – production, acoustic guitar, bass, electric guitar, keyboards, mellotron, percussion, programming, drums, engineering, recording
• Mikey Freedom Hart – acoustic guitar, celesta, Hammond B3, electric guitar, slide guitar, synthesizer, engineering
• Sean Hutchinson – drums, percussion, engineering
• Evan Smith – flute, saxophone, engineering
• Michael Riddleberger – percussion, engineering
• Cole Kamen-Green – trumpet, engineering
• Serban Ghenea – mixing
• Bryce Bordone – mix engineering
• David Hart – engineering
• John Rooney – engineering, engineering assistance
• Laura Sisk – engineering, recording
• Jon Sher – engineering assistance
• Lauren Marquez – engineering assistance

Charts

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Source

• Zaleski, Annie (2024). "The Red Era". Taylor Swift: The Stories Behind the Songs. Thunder Bay Press. pp. 76–105. ISBN 978-1-6672-0845-9.

• 2018 singles
• 2018 songs
• 2010s ballads
• Big Machine Records singles
• Country ballads
• Music videos directed by Anthony Mandler
• Pop ballads
• Songs about infidelity
• Songs written by Pat Monahan
• Songs written by Taylor Swift
• Song recordings produced by Taylor Swift
• Song recordings produced by Jack Antonoff
• Sugarland songs
• Taylor Swift songs
• Female vocal duets
• Breakup songs