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London Boy (song)

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Wikipedia article




{{Infobox song

| name = London Boy

| type = song

| artist = Taylor Swift

| album = Lover

| released =

| studio = Electric Lady (New York City)

| genre = *Britpop

*bubblegum pop

| length = 3:10

| label = Republic

| writer =

* Taylor Swift

* Jack Antonoff

* Cautious Clay

* Mark Anthony Spears

| producer =

* Jack Antonoff

* Taylor Swift

| misc =

}}

"'London Boy'" is a song by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift from her seventh studio album, 'Lover' (2019). The song was written and produced by Swift, Jack Antonoff, and Sounwave, the latter of whom served as a co-producer. It gives additional writing credit to Cautious Clay, as a result of an interpolation of Clay's song "Cold War". An upbeat bubblegum pop song with reggae influences, it is about an infatuation with a love interest from London, inspired by Swift's experiences in the city.

The lyrics of "London Boy" name-check a range of locations and cultural icons associated with London, from a perspective of a woman from Tennessee, U.S. It features a spoken-word intro by Idris Elba. The song received favorable comments from general music critics, but a mixed reception from British critics, who complimented the production but felt the lyrics do not represent London properly. Upon the release of 'Lover', it charted on the singles charts of Australia, Canada, and the U.S. Swift performed the song live on BBC Radio 1's Live Lounge and at Capital FM's Jingle Bell Ball.

Background and production



of "Cold War" by Cautious Clay '(pictured)'.

Taylor Swift released 'Lover' on August 23, 2019, through Republic Records. Described by Swift as a "love letter to love itself", 'Lover' explores the "full spectrum of love", inspired by the connection she felt to her fans during her Reputation Stadium Tour (2018). The track list of the album consists of 18 songs. "London Boy" was written and produced by Swift, Jack Antonoff, and Sounwave, with additional writing credit for R&B musician Cautious Clay, a result of an interpolation of Clay's 2018 song "Cold War". The song was recorded at Electric Lady Studios in New York.

Cautious Clay was contacted by Swift's team in June 2019, prior to 'Lover' release, when he was on tour in Bergen, Norway. Swift wanted to interpolate "Cold War" into "London Boy", which he happily accepted. "Cold War" was written and produced entirely by Cautious Clay in June 2017, after he had attended the annual Coney Island Mermaid Parade in Brooklyn. He told 'Rolling Stone': "[...] I don't know anything about her, really, so, to me, that she would feel it was appropriate to include that interpolation is just pretty surreal."

Music and lyrics



Musically, "London Boy" is a Britpop and bubblegum pop song, featuring layers of synthesizers and repetitive beats. The song incorporates a minimal, upbeat production, with elements of reggae. It contains an interpolation of "Cold War" by Cautious Clay. Lyrically, "London Boy" was inspired by Swift's appreciation of the city of London, England. Swift described the overall inspiration: "With this song, I just kind of wrote about, basically, what it was like to basically be like, 'Bye guys! I'm gonna go here for a long time.' "

The lyrics describe a Tennessean woman's infatuation for a "London boy", and name-check a series of locations and cultural icons typically associated with her own American culture and the love interest's English culture. The beginning features a spoken-word by English actor Idris Elba from when he appeared on 'The Late Late Show with James Corden' in 2017. Throughout the song, Swift mentions Motown Records, Southern California, Bruce Springsteen, Tennessee whiskey, and "American smile" as examples of her own culture, and name-checks the London tourist spots of Shoreditch, Camden Market, Soho, Hackney, Brixton, Bond Street, and the West End. The love interest is a resident of Highgate, a neighborhood associated with old money and wealth. Swift expresses enjoyment of several cultural activities in London, including having an evening high tea, hearing "stories from uni", and watching rugby at a pub. At one point, Swift declares that she is "a Tennessee Stella McCartney", referencing the fashion designer with whom Swift launched a 'Lover'-inspired sustainable clothing line.

Reception and live performances



Roisin O'Connor of 'The Independent' called "London Boy" one of the most divisive tracks of 'Lover', adding that "a lot of Brits are taking issue with the lyrics, as they're essentially a tourist's guide to where-not-to-visit in London". She ranked the song 37th on her list of Swift's 100 best album tracks. Jon Caramanica of 'The New York Times' selected the song as one of 'Lover' weakest moments. In a review for 'Slate', Carl Wilson thought that the London references are annoying and ineffective. Shon Faye from 'Dazed' similarly expressed distaste towards the lyrics, but noted that it was justifiable for Swift, an American, to have a "wide-eyed naivety" embraced by first-timers in London. Sarah Carson from 'i' lauded the catchy production of "London Boy", but dismissed the lyrics as one of the album's "concessions to silliness and gimmicks". On the positive side, Keira Leonard of 'The Music' complimented the track's lighthearted and rather silly nature. Nick Levine from 'NME' agreed, and opined that the song is not to be taken seriously for its "clumsy fun" sentiments. In 'The Irish Times', Louis Bruton selected "London Boy" as one of the album's most cheerful songs.

Swift performed "London Boy" for the first time during BBC Radio 1's Live Lounge on September 2, 2019. She later included the song on the set list of her performance at Capital FM's Jingle Bell Ball in London on December 8, 2019.

Credits and personnel



Credits are adapted from the liner notes of 'Lover'.

* Taylor Swift  vocals, songwriter, producer

* Jack Antonoff  producer, songwriter, programming, recording, percussion, bass, keyboard

* Sounwave  co-producer, songwriter

* Cautious Clay  songwriter, interpolation

* Laura Sisk  recording

* John Rooney  assistant recording

* Jon Sher  assistant recording

* Nick Mills  assistant recording

* John Hanes  engineer

* Mikey Freedom Hart  keyboard

* Evan Smith  keyboard, saxophone

* Sean Hutchinson  drums

* Serban Ghenea  mixing

* Randy Merrill  mastering

* Idris Elba  guest intro

* James Corden  guest intro

Charts



Upon the release of 'Lover', "London Boy" entered the official singles charts in Australia (ARIA Singles Chartpeaking at number 42), Canada (Canadian Hot 100peaking at number 54), and the U.S. ('Billboard' Hot 100at number 62). It also entered and peaked at number 47 on the UK Streaming Chart, a component of the UK Singles Chart.

References




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