‘Toy Story 5’ song, “I Knew It, I Knew You” by Taylor Swift has debuted on digital streaming services. Disney had previously billed the track as Swift’s return to country music when they helped her announce it earlier in the week.
The single is available on all major platforms, including Spotify, where it went live Thursday night.
Swift’s message to fans
When the single dropped, Swift shared a post on social media alongside vintage home video footage of herself as a young girl wearing a red cowgirl hat and a shirt embroidered with boots. In her message, she wrote that writing the song felt like “a musical departure and coming home at the same time” and that creating something for the character Jessie was both a new challenge and felt like second nature. She also noted that she has been a ‘Toy Story’ fan since she was five years old.
Swift thanked director Andrew Stanton, saying he had imagined her for the project years ago when writing the film. She also credited Randy Newman for building the sonic world of ‘Toy Story’ across the franchise.
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Co-written and co-produced with Jack Antonoff
The track is co-written and co-produced by Swift and Jack Antonoff, who is returning to a production role for the first time since “The Tortured Poets Department.” Although Antonoff joined Swift’s circle after she had largely stepped away from country music, the two have worked in that territory before. They collaborated on the country-leaning song “Betty” from her 2020 album “Folklore,” which was also co-produced by Aaron Dessner.
In her social media post, Swift acknowledged Antonoff directly, saying the two wrote the song with deep affection for the ‘Toy Story’ characters that shaped their childhoods.
What the song is about
The song appears to follow the storyline of Jessie reuniting with her owner. It is sprightly and upbeat in tone. Critics have noted it could serve a similar narrative purpose to “When She Loved Me” in ‘Toy Story 2’, which played over a Jessie-focused montage. However, where that song dealt with separation and loss, “I Knew It, I Knew You” carries the opposite feeling, centered on the joy of reunion.
The song also includes one of Swift’s signature extended bridges, a structural element she is known for across her discography.
Lyrics
The song opens with Jessie recalling the details of a childhood friendship:
‘I knew you / Through the daze of the blades of the grass in summer / Parachutes for the free fall of being younger / I memorized the sound of your bare footsteps / Running wild, it’s been a long time.’
The chorus resolves with the lines: ‘I remembered I loved you / Came back when it mattered / I saw you, standing there in the light of the window / Wearing that same smile / Man, it’s been a while / But I knew it, I knew you.’
Physical copies sold out
Alongside the digital release, Swift has been selling both CD and vinyl versions of the single through her website. All physical editions sold out before their 48-hour sales windows closed.
Connection to the broader ‘Toy Story’ legacy
‘Toy Story 5’ is the work of Andrew Stanton, who also has a long history with the franchise. Randy Newman, who has composed and performed songs for every ‘Toy Story’ film, also continues his involvement in the new installment. Swift’s contribution marks the first time an outside artist has recorded an original song specifically tied to a Jessie storyline since Sarah McLachlan performed “When She Loved Me” for ‘Toy Story 2’ in 1999.