Written By: Adam Feeney, Louis Bell & Taylor Swift
Produced By: Ging, Louis Bell & Taylor Swift
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The opening track of Lover sees Swift letting go of the qualms and struggles she described throughout her previous album, 2017’s reputation. It allows her to formally conclude those situations, contextualize the following track, “Cruel Summer,” and focus on the true theme of the album: the several types of love she experiences in her life.
The track has an upbeat and light sound, accentuated by the short piano chords and the faded out vocals in the background. This choice seems deliberate, given the fun, carefree mood of the song.
Bright, light and bubbly, “I Forgot You Existed” sounds like Swift’s final rejoinder to the darkness of the Reputation era. “I Forgot That You Existed” is an album opener with a purpose: to show she’s moved on, which she says in no uncertain terms. “I forgot that you existed and I thought that it would kill me, but it didn’t / And it was so nice, so peaceful and quiet… It isn’t love, it isn’t hate, it’s just indifference,” she shrugs, sing-talking her way through the tune, even throwing in a laugh.
[Verse 1]
How many days did I spend thinking
'Bout how you did me wrong, wrong, wrong?
Lived in the shade you were throwing
'Til all of my sunshine was gone, gone, gone
And I couldn't get away from ya
In my feelings more than Drake, so yeah
Your name on my lips, tongue-tied
Free rent, living in my mind
[Pre-Chorus]
But then something happened one magical night
[Chorus]
I forgot that you existed
And I thought that it would kill me, but it didn't
And it was so nice
So peaceful and quiet
I forgot that you existed
It isn't love, it isn't hate, it's just indifference
I forgot that you
[Verse 2]
Got out some popcorn
As soon as my rep started going down, down, down
Laughed on the school yard
As soon as I tripped up and hit the ground, ground, ground
And I would've stuck around for ya
Would've fought the whole town, so yeah
Would've been right there, front row
Even if nobody came to your show
[Pre-Chorus]
But you showed who you are, then one magical night
[Chorus]
I forgot that you existed
And I thought that it would kill me, but it didn't
And it was so nice
So peaceful and quiet
I forgot that you existed
It isn't love, it isn't hate, it's just indifference
I forgot that you
[Bridge]
Sent me a clear message
Taught me some hard lessons
I just forget what they were
It's all just a blur
[Chorus]
I forgot that you existed
And I thought that it would kill me, but it didn't
And it was so nice
So peaceful and quiet
I forgot that you existed
I did, I did, I did
It isn't hate, it's just indifference
It isn't love, it isn't hate, it's just indifference
So, yeah
"So the album’s called Lover, it’s about all the facets of love that I find really interesting. Love is the broadest thing you could ever write about. And love, even when it’s good, has every facet of emotional complexity in it to write from. And so, coming from having released an album called reputation, reputation was an album all in response to something — a lot of things — that happened in my life. So, reputation was pretty much like a coping mechanism. reputation was like going through all the stages of grief over the loss of one’s reputation; kind of like throwing a funeral for something that maybe wasn’t even good for you to have in the first place. In doing that, and in picking the first song and writing the first song on this album, I wanted to complete the cycle of grieving, almost, and the cycle of when you go through some drama or some frustrating stuff in your life where a relationship ends, or you’re going through this turmoil in your life, there’s all these phases you through. And then, when you’re really done with it, you hit indifference. The actual definition of getting over something is a shrug. And so, I was working with this production duo, it’s Louis Bell and Frank Dukes, and they had worked with my friend Camila [Cabello], and she had made some really cool stuff with them, so I was like, ‘Let’s try it.’ And so, I played it for them, and they started making the track, and I wrote the song and I wanted it to be just as simple as the emotion of indifference is."
— Via the iHeartRadio Lover Album Release Party and Secret Session
On the piano demo of the song that’s included on the deluxe edition of the album, Swift said:
I was writing with two writers I hadn’t ever worked with before, so I wanted to come in with an idea that was pretty much all there, melody and lyrics. So I had this idea called “I Forgot That You Existed,” and I wanted it to be really simple. I thought it might be a really fun way to open the album, like, basically kind of shrugging off a lot of things that you’ve been through that have been causing a lot of struggle and pain. And just, one day you wake up and you realize you’re indifferent to whatever caused you that pain.
When explaining the stories of each song for her Spotify promotional material, Swift said:
"With the first song on this new album I wanted to bring us out the ‘reputation’ era. ‘reputation’ for me was about grieving the loss of your reputation and all of the phases you go through.
This song closes the book on ‘reputation’ in resolving that whole conflict with a shrug. “Well, I guess I’m over it now, because I forgot that you existed.”
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