| "So It Goes..." | |
|---|---|
| Song by Taylor Swift | |
| from the album Reputation | |
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| Genre | |
| Length | 3:52 |
| Label | Big Machine |
| Songwriter(s) |
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| Audio | |
| "So It Goes..." on YouTube | |
"So It Goes..." is a song by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift from her sixth studio album, Reputation (2017). Swift wrote the song with the producers Max Martin, Shellback and Oscar Görres. Certified gold by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA), "So It Goes..." quotes Kurt Vonnegut's novel, "Slaughterhouse-Five". Its lyrics, which had been interpreted as about Swift's then-boyfriend Joe Alwyn, depicts a narrator's vulnerability to a lover, which is portrayed as a greater force.
The American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift released her fifth studio album, 1989, in October 2014. 1989's synth-pop production transformed Swift's sound and image from country-oriented to mainstream pop.[1] The album was a commercial success, selling over five million copies in the United States within one year, and spawning three Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles.[2] The BBC asserted that the success solidified Swift's status as a global pop star.[3]
Swift was a target of tabloid gossip during the promotion of 1989.[4] Her "America's Sweetheart" reputation, a result of her wholesome and innocent image, was blemished from publicized short-lived relationships and disputes with other celebrities, including a dispute with the rapper Kanye West and the media personality Kim Kardashian.[5][6] Swift became increasingly reticent on social media, having previously maintained an active presence with a large following, and avoided interactions with the press amidst the tumultuous affairs.[7] She conceived her sixth studio album, Reputation, as an answer to the media commotion surrounding her celebrity.[8]
Swift wrote "So It Goes..." with its producers, Max Martin, Shellback and Oscar Görres.[9] It is an atmospheric trap-pop[10][11] and EDM-pop[12] power ballad.[13] "So It Goes..." is a love song about reflecting on how a new love interest might help her out of her fixations,[14] but with concerns of fear and danger. Swift portrays herself as trapped and powerless against a greater force,[15] while singing about leaving scratches on its back.[16] Some of the lyrics signal how she found love during her darkest days: "And all the pieces fall/Right into place".[17] The song shares its name with a phrase from American author Kurt Vonnegut's novel "Slaughterhouse-Five".[15] "So It Goes..." is the eighth track on Reputation,[9] and has a chord progression of G6/A, except for the choruses and the refrains.[18]
Taylor Maple of Bustle described "So It Goes..." as "reminiscent of a relationship that's endured despite public attention or the stresses that come along with it", connecting it to how Swift and then-boyfriend American actor Joe Alwyn met.[19] Kayleigh Roberts and Samantha Olson of Cosmopolitan also drew connections to Swift and Alwyn's relationship.[20] Jamieson Cox of Pitchfork described "So It Goes..." as "replacement-level trap-pop", while commending that "it's hard to shake the thought of her smeared lipstick, of fingernails dug into someone's back".[11] Wendy Michaels of Elite Daily described the lyrics of the song as sexual and steamy.[21] Craig Jenkins of Vulture commended in his review of Reputation that the song "[weighs] the freedom of being single against the irresistible magnetism of a growing attraction".[22]
Chris Richards of The Washington Post posted a negative review of the song, describing it as an attempt to "rap like Travis Scott".[23] Alex Hopper of American Songwriter ranked the song as nine out of ten of the least streamed songs in every Taylor Swift album, further elaborating that it is "not as powerful as [other songs on Reputation]".[24] Mackenzie Jamieson of FSView & Florida Flambeau gave a negative review of "So It Goes...", criticizing it as a "extremely soft-boiled" song, further elaborating that it is "flat and mostly boring", and a "lukewarm song about aggressive sex".[25]
Swift performed "So It Goes..." on her Reputation Stadium Tour on select dates, both as a surprise song and in place of "Dancing with Our Hands Tied".[26][27] The song was excluded from the set list for The Eras Tour, but was performed as a surprise song on the November 20, 2023 show in Rio de Janeiro.[28]
Credits are adapted from the album liner notes.[29]
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[30] | Gold | 35,000‡ |
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‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
