Joe Alwyn addresses co-writing songs with Taylor Swift for the first time

Joe Alwyn has spoken about co-writing songs with Taylor Swift for the first time.

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The actor and musician, who is dating the pop star, contributed to her 2020 albums ‘Folklore’ and ‘Evermore’ under the pseudonym William Bowery.

Swift revealed the identity of her mystery co-writer in November 2020, though Alwyn hadn’t spoken publicly about the arrangement until this month when he opened up to Vulture about it in a new interview.

Alwyn gained co-writing credits for the ‘Folklore’ songs ‘Betty’ and ‘Exile’ as well as  ‘Evermore’ cuts ‘Champagne Problems’, ‘Coney Island’ and the record’s title track.

The actor told Vulture that he was “messing around” on the piano and was singing what would become the first verse to ‘Exile’ when Swift asked him to help her finish the song.

“It was completely off the cuff, an accident. She said, ‘Can we try and sit down and get to the end together?’ And so we did. It was as basic as some people made sourdough,” Alwyn said.

When asked by the interviewer how he managed to unintentionally write a verse, Alwyn responded, “Who doesn’t walk around the house singing?”

Alwyn had been listening to The National (The National and Bon Iver collaborated on the song ‘Evermore’), which provided inspiration for writing the chorus to ‘Betty’.

“I’d probably had a drink and was just stumbling around the house,” Alwyn said. “We couldn’t decide on a film to watch that night, and she was like, ‘Do you want to try and finish writing that song you were singing earlier?’ And so we got a guitar and did that.”

Meanwhile, Swift has shared ‘This Love (Taylor’s Version)’, another track from her rework of her 2014 album ‘1989’.

Taking to social media to announce the song’s arrival last week (May 6), Swift wrote: “This Love (My version!) is out & I’m currently reliving the 1989 tour in my head and spiralling, it’s fine”.

It arrived alongside an accompanying lyric video, featuring a section of boardwalk surrounded by swaying grasses and a blue, dusky-looking sky, with the song’s lyrics fading in and out across it. Check it out here.

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