"Long Live" is a song written and recorded by the American singer-songwriter

Taylor Swift Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Known for her autobiographical songwriting, artistic versatility, and Cultural impact of Taylor Swift, cultural impact, Swift is one of the Best selling artists, w ...

for her third studio album, ''

Speak Now ''Speak Now'' is the third studio album by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. It was released on October 25, 2010, by Big Machine Records. Swift wrote the album entirely herself while touring in 2009–2010 to reflect on her transitio ...

'' (2010). Produced by Swift and Nathan Chapman, "Long Live" is a

heartland rock Heartland rock is a genre of rock music characterized by a straightforward, often roots musical style, often with a focus on blue-collar workers, and a conviction that rock music has a social or communal purpose beyond just entertainment. The g ...

and

pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre and form of rock music characterized by a strong commercial appeal, with more emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than standard rock musi ...

song featuring girl group

harmonies In music, harmony is the concept of combining different sounds in order to create new, distinct musical ideas. Theories of harmony seek to describe or explain the effects created by distinct pitches or tones coinciding with one another; harm ...

and chiming

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

guitars. The lyrics are about Swift's gratitude for her fans and bandmates, using high-school and royalty imagery to describe the accomplishments in the narrator's life. After ''Speak Now'' was released, "Long Live" entered and peaked at number 85 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Some music critics deemed it an album highlight and lauded the production and lyrics, but others felt it was generic and unmemorable. A remix featuring verses written and sung in Portuguese by the Brazilian singer

Paula Fernandes Paula Fernandes de Souza (; born August 28, 1984, in Sete Lagoas, Minas Gerais) is a Brazilian singer-songwriter. She won Latin Grammy Awards for her albums ''Amanhecer'' in 2016 and for ''Origens (Ao Vivo em Sete Lagoas)'' in 2020. Biograph ...

, accompanied by a music video, was released as a digital single in Brazil in January 2012 to promote the live album ''

Speak Now World Tour – Live ''Speak Now World Tour – Live'' is the first live album by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. It was released on November 21, 2011, by Big Machine Records. The physical copy consists of an audio CD and a visual accompaniment on DVD ...

''. A commercial successes in Brazil, "Long Live" peaked at number five on the

Brasil Hot 100 Airplay The ''Billboard'' Brasil Hot 100 is a record chart in Brazil for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard Brasil'' magazine. First launched in October 2009, the chart was initially published monthly and measured the airplay of songs on radio stations ...

chart and was certified four-times diamond by

Pro-Música Brasil Pro-Música Brasil (PMB), previously Associação Brasileira dos Produtores de Discos (ABPD) ( English: Brazilian Association of Record Producers), is an official representative body of the record labels in the Brazilian phonographic market. H ...

. Swift included the song on the set lists of three of her world tours — the

Speak Now World Tour The Speak Now World Tour was the second concert tour by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, in support of her third studio album, '' Speak Now'' (2010). It began in Singapore, on February 9, 2011, and concluded in Auckland, New Zealand ...

(2011–2012),

Reputation Stadium Tour The Reputation Stadium Tour was the fifth concert tour and the first stadium tour by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, in support of her sixth studio album, ''Reputation'' (2017). It began in Glendale, Arizona, United States, on May ...

(2018), and

The Eras Tour The Eras Tour was the sixth concert tour by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. It began in Glendale, Arizona, United States, on March 17, 2023, and concluded in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, on December 8, 2024. Spanning 149 sh ...

(2023–2024) — and performed it on select dates of

the Red Tour The Red Tour was the third concert tour by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, in support of her fourth studio album, '' Red'' (2012). It began in Omaha, Nebraska, on March 13, 2013, and concluded in Singapore, on June 12, 2014. The tou ...

(2013–2014) and

the 1989 World Tour The 1989 World Tour was the fourth concert tour by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, in support of her fifth studio album, ''1989'' (2014). It began in Tokyo, Japan, on May 5, 2015, and concluded in Melbourne, Australia, on December ...

(2015). A

re-recorded A re-recording is a recording produced following a new performance of a work of music. This is most commonly, but not exclusively, by a popular artist or group. It differs from a reissue, which involves a second or subsequent release of a previousl ...

version, titled "Long Live (Taylor's Version)", was released as part of Swift's third re-recorded album ''

Speak Now (Taylor's Version) ''Speak Now (Taylor's Version)'' is the third re-recorded album by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. It was released on July 7, 2023, by Republic Records, as part of Swift's re-recording project following the 2019 dispute over the ...

'' on July 7, 2023.

Composition and lyrics

released her third studio album, ''

'', on October 25, 2010. She wrote all 14 tracks on the standard album by herself and co-produced them with Nathan Chapman. "Long Live" is the closing track of ''Speak Now'' 14-track standard edition. Musically, "Long Live" is a

and

song featuring contemporary country elements, chiming

guitars, loud

cymbal A cymbal is a common percussion instrument. Often used in pairs, cymbals consist of thin, normally round plates of various alloys. The majority of cymbals are of indefinite pitch, although small disc-shaped cymbals based on ancient designs sou ...

beats, and girl-group-styled

vocal harmonies Vocal harmony is a style of vocal music in which a consonant note or notes are simultaneously sung as a main melody in a predominantly homophonic texture. Vocal harmonies are used in many subgenres of European art music, including Classical chor ...

Rob Sheffield Robert James Sheffield (born February 2, 1966) is an American music journalist and author. He is a long time contributing editor at ''Rolling Stone'', writing about music, TV, and pop culture. Previously, he was a contributing editor at '' Blen ...

in ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' compared the song's guitars to those on "

Hysteria Hysteria is a term used to mean ungovernable emotional excess and can refer to a temporary state of mind or emotion. In the nineteenth century, female hysteria was considered a diagnosable physical illness in women. It is assumed that the bas ...

" by

Def Leppard Def Leppard are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Sheffield in 1977. Since 1992, the band has consisted of Rick Savage (bass, backing vocals), Joe Elliott (lead vocals), Rick Allen (drummer), Rick Allen (drums), Phil Collen (guitar, ...

, while the

musicologist Musicology is the academic, research-based study of music, as opposed to musical composition or performance. Musicology research combines and intersects with many fields, including psychology, sociology, acoustics, neurology, natural sciences, f ...

James E. Perone compared the song's production to rock music from the 1980s, specifically the music of the Irish band U2. Swift dedicated "Long Live" to her bandmates and fans. The lyrics celebrate moments of triumph in the narrator's life, featuring royalty (kings and queens) and high school imagery ("You traded your baseball cap for a crown / And they gave us our trophies / And we held them up for our town") to describe the accomplishments in life. The narrator describes herself as a queen who, with a king by her side, fights dragons to protect her kingdom. Swift also acknowledges that her triumph will fade some day, and there are bittersweet and poignant moments ("But if God forbid fate should step in / And force us into a goodbye / If you have children someday / When they point to the pictures / Please tell them my name"). Towards the end, Swift sings, "Will you take a moment / Promise me this / That you'll stand by me forever", which ''Billboard'' interpreted as her message to her fans. Perone commented that the lyrical theme of overcoming odds to achieve victory, coupled with the "near anthem-like structure", resembles

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...

's 1977 classic "

Heroes Heroes or Héroes may refer to: * Hero, one who displays courage and self-sacrifice for the greater good Film * ''Heroes'' (1977 film), an American drama * ''Heroes'' (2008 film), an Indian Hindi film Gaming * ''Heroes of Might and Magic'' ...

". Brittany Spanos from ''

'' agreed with this interpretation, saying that "Long Live" throws back to "Heroes" by how "it portrays two lovers who have amicably parted ways but not without leaving an unforgettable mark on one another". In ''

Vulture A vulture is a bird of prey that scavenges on carrion. There are 23 extant species of vulture (including condors). Old World vultures include 16 living species native to Europe, Africa, and Asia; New World vultures are restricted to Nort ...

'', Nate Jones commented that despite Swift's intention to dedicate the track to her bandmates and fans, the "adolescent self-mythologizing" lyrics are universal enough to be taken as a graduation song. Jonathan Keefe from ''

Slant Magazine ''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New Yor ...

'' commented that the track features fairy-tale imagery recalling Swift's 2008 album '' Fearless''. In an analysis for the ''

New Statesman ''The New Statesman'' (known from 1931 to 1964 as the ''New Statesman and Nation'') is a British political and cultural news magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first c ...

'', Anna Leszkiewicz deemed the imagery of crowns, kings, and queens in "Long Live" a representation of Swift's optimism towards her life and career, and her earnestness with her fans. Leszkiewicz noted that in some of Swift's later songs, such as "

Blank Space "Blank Space" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift and the second single from her fifth studio album, ''1989'' (2014). Swift wrote the song with its producers, Max Martin and Shellback. Inspired by the media scrutiny on Sw ...

" (2014) and " Call It What You Want" (2017), the imagery became darker and represented the pitfalls of celebrity. Some lyrics of the song are included in one of Swift's journal entries from June 2010, printed in the

liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or cassette j-cards. Origin Liner notes are descended from the prog ...

of her 2019 studio album '' Lover''.

Live performances

Swift's first live performance of "Long Live" was for an

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

''Speak Now''

Thanksgiving Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in October and November in the United States, Canada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Germany. It is also observed in the Australian territory ...

Special, which broadcast on November 25, 2010. The television special showcased the making of the album along with live performances on a rooftop in New York City. She also included the song as part of the set list of the

(2011–2012), performing it as the last song before the

encore An encore is an additional performance given by performers at the conclusion of a show or concert, usually in response to extended applause from the audience.Lalange Cochrane, in ''Oxford Companion to Music'', Alison Latham, ed., Oxford Universi ...

. Swift performed "Long Live" on select dates of her later tours, including

(Vancouver, June 2013), and

(Melbourne, third night, December 2015). On her

(2018), she performed a

mashup Mashup may refer to: * Mashup (culture), the rearrangement of spliced parts of musical pieces as part of a subculture * Mashup (education), combining various forms of data and media by a teacher or student in an instructional setting * Mashup (mus ...

of "Long Live" and "

New Year's Day In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Day is the first day of the calendar year, January 1, 1 January. Most solar calendars, such as the Gregorian and Julian calendars, begin the year regularly at or near the December solstice, northern winter ...

" (2017) on piano. Following the release of ''

'' (2023), Swift added "Long Live" to the set list for

the Eras Tour The Eras Tour was the sixth concert tour by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. It began in Glendale, Arizona, United States, on March 17, 2023, and concluded in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, on December 8, 2024. Spanning 149 sh ...

(2023–2024), from July 7, 2023 to March 9, 2024, as part of the ''Speak Now'' act; she also performed as part of a piano mashup with " You're on Your Own, Kid" (2022) during a

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

concert on May 25, 2024 and as part of a guitar mashup with "

Change Change, Changed or Changing may refer to the below. Other forms are listed at Alteration * Impermanence, a difference in a state of affairs at different points in time * Menopause, also referred to as "the change", the permanent cessation of t ...

" (2008) during a

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

concert on August 19, 2024. Most recently, she performed a mashup of "Long Live", "New Year's Day" and "The Manuscript" (2024) on piano during the final show of the Eras Tour in

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

Reception

After ''Speak Now'' was released, "Long Live" debuted and peaked at number 85 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100. In a review of ''Speak Now'' for ''Rolling Stone'', Sheffield stated that it is "a ridiculously over-the-top prom anthem". He placed "Long Live" sixth on his list ranking all songs in Swift's discography, and called it "a song nobody else could have written, as she rides those power chords home". In

BBC Music BBC Music is the arm of the BBC responsible for the music played across its services. The current director of music is Lorna Clarke. Officially it is a part of the BBC's Radio operational division; however, its remit also includes music used i ...

, Matthew Horton noted the track as an example of Swift's maturing songwriting. In a 2021 retrospective for '' Consequence'', Natalia Barr picked "Long Live" as the best song from ''Speak Now''; he lauded its anthemic production and lyrical sentiments and opined that the song "has only gotten better with time". ''

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, ...

'' editor Dave Heaton compared the song favorably to "

" from ''Fearless''; he found "Long Live" somewhat generic, but that the ambiguity of its subject matter strengthened the song's appeal as an anthem. Spanos picked it among the 10 best deep cuts in Swift's discography and wrote: "Swift can make falling in love sound like every holiday is happening at once." On a less positive side, Keefe believed that the high-school imagery showcased Swift's lack of repertoire in her songwriting. In her review for ''

HitFix HitFix, or HitFix.com, was an entertainment news website that launched in December 2008 specializing in breaking entertainment news, insider information, and reviews and critiques of film, music, and television. In mid-2010 HitFix crossed the 1,00 ...

'', Melinda Newman deemed "Long Live" too long and lyrically unsophisticated compared to the sharper lyricism of other tracks. Mikael Wood from ''

Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spin (physics) or particle spin, a fundamental property of elementary particles * Spin quantum number, a number which defines the value of a particle's spin * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thr ...

'' selected the song as one of ''Speak Now'' most forgettable, alongside " Sparks Fly". ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

'' Hannah Mylrea, in a 2020 ranking of Swift's catalog, regarded "Long Live" as a generic filler on ''Speak Now''.

Paula Fernandes version

In 2012, Swift released a new version of "Long Live" featuring the Brazilian singer

. It features Portuguese verses written and sung by Fernandes, and was released to promote the Brazilian edition of Swift's 2011 live album, ''

'', and was included in the soundtrack of the Brazilian soap opera '' Avenida Brasil''. The version was released onto the Brazilian iTunes Store on January 3, 2012, through

Universal Music Group Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as Universal Music Group or Universal Music) is a Netherlands, Dutch–United States, American multinational Music industry, music corporation under Law of the Netherlands, ...

. The music video for the song, directed by Eduardo Levy, includes scenes of Fernandes singing the song in a studio in Brazil and Swift performing it during a U.S. concert. In ''Billboard'', Taylor Weatherby praised Fernandes's deeper vocals complementing Swift's lighter tones. Swift and Fernandes performed the song live at a Rio de Janeiro concert held at Citibank Hall on September 13, 2012. The version featuring Fernandes reached the top five on ''

Billboard Brasil ''Billboard Brasil'' is the Brazilian edition of the American magazine ''Billboard''. The magazine provides music charts, news, photos and videos related to the music industry. Its charts include the Brasil Hot 100 and the Artistas 25, trackin ...

Hot 100 Airplay The Radio Songs chart (previously named Hot 100 Airplay until 2014 and Top 40 Radio Monitor until July 1993) is released weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and measures the airplay of songs being played on radio stations throughout the United States ...

chart. "Long Live" was later included on Fernandes's studio album ''Meus Encantos'' (2012) as a bonus track, and her live album ''Multishow Ao Vivo: Um Ser Amor'' (2013).

Charts

Certifications

"Long Live (Taylor's Version)"

After signing a new contract with

Republic Records Republic Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group (UMG). Based in New York City, it was founded by Avery Lipman and Monte Lipman as an independent label in 1995, and was acquired by UMG in 2000. Republic was initially ...

, Swift began re-recording her first six studio albums in November 2020. The decision came after the public 2019 dispute between Swift and talent manager

Scooter Braun Scott Samuel "Scooter" Braun ( ; born June 18, 1981) is an American businessman, investor, and record executive. Since 2023 he has served as chief executive officer (CEO) of Hybe America, the North American subsidiary of South Korean entertain ...

, 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, devaluing the Big Machine-owned masters. A

version of "Long Live", titled "Long Live (Taylor's Version)", was released on July 7, 2023, via

as part of ''

'', Swift's third re-recorded album.

Personnel

Adapted from ''Speak Now (Taylor's Version)'' digital album inline notes * Taylor Swift – vocals, background vocals, songwriter, producer * Christopher Rowe – producer, vocal engineer * David Payne – recording

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...

* Lowell Reynolds – assistant recording engineer, editor * Derek Garten – engineer, editor,

programming Program (American English; also Commonwealth English in terms of computer programming and related activities) or programme (Commonwealth English in all other meanings), programmer, or programming may refer to: Business and management * Program m ...

Serban Ghenea Serban Ghenea () is a Canadian audio engineer and mixer. He has been nominated for a Grammy Award a total of 45 times and has won 21 times. Early life and education Ghenea was born in Romania, and in 1976 he moved to Montreal with his family. H ...

– mixing * Bryce Bordone – mix engineer *

Randy Merrill Randy Merrill is an American mastering engineer who has worked with international artists including Blink-182, DAY6, Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Maroon 5, Harry Styles, One Direction, Adele, Imagine Dragons, Beck, Liam Gallagher, Jonas Brothers, Muse ...

– mastering * Matt Billingslea –

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a percussion mallet, beater including attached or enclosed beaters or Rattle (percussion beater), rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or ...

* Amos Heller –

bass guitar The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an Electric guitar, electric but with a longer nec ...

* Paul Sidoti –

electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external electric Guitar amplifier, sound amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar. It uses one or more pickup (music technology), pickups ...

* Mike Meadows – acoustic guitar,

Hammond B-3 The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert, first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding #Drawbars, drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, sound was created ...

, background vocals * Max Bernstein – electric guitar,

synthesizer A synthesizer (also synthesiser or synth) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis a ...

* David Cook – piano * Brian Pruitt – drum programming * Caitlin Evanson – background vocals

Charts

Certifications

Notes

References

Sources

* * {{authority control Single chart usages for Billboardhot100 Single chart called without song Single chart making named ref 2010s ballads 2010 songs Live singles Rock ballads Taylor Swift songs Songs written by Taylor Swift Song recordings produced by Taylor Swift Song recordings produced by Chris Rowe Song recordings produced by Nathan Chapman (record producer) Heartland rock songs American pop rock songs