"Only the Young" is a song recorded by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. It was released on January 31, 2020, through Republic Records, as a promotional single for Miss Americana, a 2020 Netflix documentary on Swift. In the film's closing credits, the song is featured. Held back from being included on Swift's seventh studio album, Lover (2019), the song was both written and produced by Swift and Joel Little, inspired by the 2018 United States elections.
The song is a synth-pop tune and features backing vocals from Little's daughters. As a protest song, "Only the Young" discusses subjects such as school shootings, Donald Trump, and vote-tampering concerns in its lyrics. Upon release, music critics praised Swift's lyricism on United States politics, addressing matters such as gun violence and mass shootings. Some critics have noted it as Swift's most politically charged song yet.
"Only the Young" won the People's Choice Award for the Best Soundtrack Song of 2020. The song entered the charts in several countries worldwide, reaching the top 20 in Scotland and the Netherlands, top 40 in Australia, Hungary, and Ireland, as well as the top 50 in Belgium and the US. It debuted at number one on the Billboard Digital Song Sales, becoming Swift's record-extending nineteenth number-one song on the chart. The song was used in a video advertisement for the Biden/Harris campaign in the 2020 United States presidential election and trended during the 2022 Philippine presidential election.
Background and release
In an interview with Chris Willman of Variety, Swift revealed that she held back "Only the Young" from being included on her seventh studio album Lover (2019). She also revealed that the song is both co-written and co-produced with Joel Little, who worked with Swift on four songs for the album including "Miss Americana & the Heartbreak Prince", from which the title of the documentary comes, Swift further said that the song is not intended to be single, but a song for her 2020 Netflix documentary, Miss Americana. Little added the song was the last he and Swift worked on during a week in New York City, following "The Man" and "Me!", and that his two daughters contributed backing vocals to the song. Swift released "Only the Young" on January 31, 2020, as a promotional single. She wrote the song after the 2018 United States elections. Prior to the elections, Swift broke her political silence by endorsing two Democrats: Congressman Jim Cooper for re-election to the House of Representatives, and former Tennessee governor Phil Bredesen for the Senate. Swift also criticized the voting record of Bredesen's opponent Republican Marsha Blackburn.
Composition
"Only the Young" has been described as a "synth-pop tribute to the next generation of political activists." Swift's vocal range in the song spans between E3 to B4. The song is written in the key of F-flat major and has a moderately fast tempo of 94 beats per minute. "Only the Young" incorporates political lyrics, in contrast to Swift's earlier works that were politically neutral. Swift urges young citizens to get involved in politics if they want things to change. She does this by alluding to 2017–2021 US President Donald Trump, the 2016 presidential election, the succeeding vote tampering allegations, and issues like gun violence and school shootings in the United States. Willman termed the song as "an anthem for millennials who might've come away disillusioned with the political process".
Critical reception
Entertainment Weekly writer Lauren Huff dubbed "Only the Young" a "political anthem" with lyrics aimed at American youth. Billboards Gil Kaufman called the song an "urgent, clear-eyed" tune that sees Swift "giving voice to her disillusionment about our stuck society". He described the theme as "a sad concession and a defiant warning" to older generations on how "their greed and failure to act has given rise to a youth movement determined to turn the page". Vultures Zoey Haylock found the song to be urging the listeners to "get out there and participate in democracy", and added that it exudes Swift's faith in the American youth.