Taylor Swift fans pride themselves to know everything about the singer's career and the stories inspired by her music, but they're about to receive a curveball.
According to Billboard, Swift's iconic songs "Cardigan" and "Willow," from the "Folklore" and "Evermore" albums respectively, were originally written for The National.
The big reveal was shared by Matt Berninger, the frontman and lyricist of the indie rock band: "I'd taken a swing at ['Cardigan'] and 'Willow' and a couple of others, and I wasn't having a lot of luck, so Aaron sent them to Taylor."
Frequent Collaborators
Berninger is referring to Aaron Dessner, one of the founding members of The National and a close friend and collaborator of Swift. He worked with the "Lavender Haze" singer on her eighth and ninth studio albums.
"I always have a lot of music to work on, and I am looking for something to connect emotionally. The reverse has happened, too, where Aaron wrote something for Taylor, and I dove right in. It works both ways."
This friendship between The National and Swift goes both ways, as she will reportedly return the favor by jumping on the band's forthcoming album, "First Two Pages of Frankenstein."
According to reports, the album is expected to drop on Apr. 28, and Swift will be featured on a song titled "The Alcott."
Bryce Dessner, another member of The National, dished out on details about the collab song: "The Alcott' is a song that she co-wrote with Matt [Berninger], where she co-wrote the lyrics.
"It's really amazing to hear her, the way she was able to take what Matt had done and then reinvent the song, and it's really a special song."
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Nothing But Praises
It is unclear when The National and Swift first linked up for music collaborations, but obviously, their ties now run deeper than just collaborators.
In fact, the "Anti-Hero" singer invited Dessner on her "Eras Tour" to perform a duet with her, the Daily Mail UK reported.
During one of her shows in Tampa, Florida, the singer brought out Dessner and they performed "The Great War," a song they both worked on for the "Midnights" album.
Dessner had nothing but great things to say about the singer, too: "She is an incredibly gifted writer, with the lyrical prowess of a Joni Mitchess, but also an entertainer on this level of, like, Beyonce, and I don't think we've seen that before."
"She made me so much better than I could have ever imagined on my own. It felt like a lightning bolt hit the house. Because I just do what I do. And then she would be like, 'here's this elaborately written narrative to your sad piano that you played on 'Cardigan'."
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