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As a huge fan of The National, Taylor Swift always longed to work with Aaron Dessner. However, she didn’t know when or if she’d get the opportunity. But, as fate would have it, the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic would present her with a prime opportunity. Suddenly, she had endless amounts of time on her hands and she was eager for a musical outlet. Thus, she gave Dessner a call.

Dessner and Swift had no idea what it would be like to work together, especially in a remote capacity. However, it turned out to be a fairly effortless endeavor. The All Too Well director asked Dessner to send her all the music he was working on, no matter the style. He obliged with a folder and, within hours, Swift replied back with the lead single for folklore.

Aaron Dessner, Taylor Swift and Jack Antonoff at the 63rd Annual Grammy awards
Aaron Dessner, Taylor Swift and Jack Antonoff | Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for The Recording Academy

Taylor Swift wrote her song ‘cardigan’ at warp speed

“I thought it would take a while for song ideas to come and I had no expectations as far as what we could accomplish remotely,” Desser shared with Vulture about working with Swift. “But a few hours after sharing music, my phone lit up with a voice memo from Taylor of a fully written version of a song — the momentum never really stopped.”

Perhaps the reason Swift was able to create so quickly was because she was deeply moved by Dessner’s music. In the aforementioned interview, Dessner revealed that his music struck an emotional chord with Swift. In fact, she had a pretty hilarious reaction when he first sent over his tunes.

The ‘All Too Well’ singer dropped an f-bomb when Aaron Dessner first sent her music

“She doesn’t often get to work with music that is so raw and emotional, or melodic and emotional, at the same time,” Dessner shared about Swift. “When I sent her the folder, that was one of the main feelings. She said, ‘What the f***? How do you just have that?’ I was humbled and honored because she just said, ‘It’s a gift, and I want to write to all of this.’ She didn’t write to all of it, but a lot of it, and relatively quickly.”

Of course, folklore would hardly be the last time that Swift and Dessner collaborated. They were so lit up by working together, that they continued to write music after folklore was released. Less than five months after folklore debuted, Swift surprised fans again with her ninth studio album. evermore serves as folklore’s sister album and explores some of the same themes.

Dessner and Swift have collaborated on other songs and albums since ‘folklore’ and ‘evermore’

But Dessner and Swift’s collaboration isn’t limited to the music that they created in 2020. Swift has been candid about the fact that she plans to collaborate with Dessner for years to come. The “Bye Bye Baby” singer has already made good on this promise and utilized Dessner’s gifts on the albums that she’s re-recorded.

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Taylor Swift Wrote 12 Songs Before Realizing ‘folklore’ Was an Album

Swift has also worked on one of Dessner’s musical endeavors. The pair co-wrote the song “Renegade” for his project Big Red Machine. It certainly seems as if the musicians have only scratched the surface of their musical partnership together. We’re sure fans can’t wait to hear what they dream up next.