"Dorothea" (stylized in all lowercase) is a song by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. It is taken from her ninth studio album, Evermore, which was released on December 11, 2020, via Republic Records. Written by Swift and its producer Aaron Dessner, "Dorothea" is titled after the subject of its lyrics.
The song tells the story set around two fictitious characters of Tupelo, a woman named Dorothea and an unnamed subject, who were romantically involved in their youth, before the girl fled the town for Los Angeles to pursue her passion; "Dorothea" is the lover's ode to the now-famous Hollywood actress, seeing them confess their availability for her and try to convince her into returning to the simplistic life back hometown. Dorothea does visit the town in her winter break and rekindles the old flame with them, which is narrated by Dorothea herself in the fellow track "'Tis the Damn Season". Musically, "Dorothea" is a bittersweet Americana song composed using an ebullient honky-tonk piano, folksy guitars, and drums.
Upon release, "Dorothea" received enthusiastic reviews from music critics, who complimented Swift's ability to depict different narrative standpoints. Commercially, the song charted in Australia, Canada, Portugal, and the United States, and reached number 13 on the Billboard Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart.
Background and release
Taylor Swift conceived her eighth studio album, Folklore, as a set of mythopoeic visuals in her mind, a result of her imagination "running wild" while isolating herself during the COVID-19 pandemic. She surprised with the album's announcement on July 23, 2020, and released it the next day. To satiate her craving to explore more of the "folklorian woods" she visualized in her mind, Swift immediately developed another album as a conclusive counterpart to Folklore, titled Evermore. "Dorothea" was one of the two songs Swift had written for Big Red Machine, a band consisting of her Folklore personnel Aaron Dessner and Justin Vernon, the other being "Closure"; however, the two songs were eventually included on Evermore track-listing, where "Dorothea" placed eighth. Identical to Folklore launch, Swift made a surprise announcement of Evermore on December 10, 2020, and released it the next day. After Evermore release, she performed "Dorothea" as a "surprise song" at the July 8, 2023, show in Kansas City, Missouri, as part of the Eras Tour (2023–2024).
Composition and lyrics
"Dorothea" is an Americana song built around honky-tonk piano, tambourine jingles, and guitars, accompanied by "whirling" acoustics. It features characteristic notes of Swift's lower register in its hook. Her vocal range in the song spans from D#3 to B4. The song is written in the key of E major and has a moderately fast tempo of 120 beats per minute.
Lyrically, "Dorothea" and another track from Evermore, "'Tis the Damn Season", together revolve around a fictional story set in Tupelo, Mississippi. The story consists of two characters, Dorothea and an unnamed subject, who were high-school lovers until Dorothea decided to move to Los Angeles to pursue a Hollywood career, subsequently breaking up with her partner who never wanted to leave the town. The track represents the exes reminiscings of their past relationship after Dorothea becomes famous, singing about how he is happy for her and wondering if she still thinks of him like he does her. The narrator sings about memories with her, such as a skipped prom and feelings of separation, and attempts to convince Dorothea to return to the simplicity of rural life. The song has been compared to Folklore "Betty" due to Swift's take on male perspectives. "'Tis the Damn Season" is narrated by Dorothea, who expresses her thoughts about the ex when she returns to Tupelo for winter vacation and reconnects with him. In a Q&A session, Swift answered that Dorothea went to the same school as Betty, James, and Inez, the three characters named in "Betty", even though the two storylines do not intersect.