Taylor Swift is playing around with acoustic versions of her Toy Story 5 soundtrack song, “I Knew It, I Knew You,” dropping two new renditions backed by piano and a very old-fashioned acoustic band, respectively.
The original “I Knew It, I Knew You” balances pathos and playfulness, while the new versions each tip the scales in one direction. The piano track turns the song into a slower, more straightforward ballad: the kind of alternate version that might return towards the end of a film as characters grapple with big feelings — and the kind of tune that generations of songwriters have counted on to color in the O in their EGOT dream.
In contrast, her edition with an acoustic band leans in to the fun of the Toy Story franchise, although the person having the most fun is Jack Antonoff. He plays mandolin, harmonica, harpsichord (a plucked precursor to the piano), and even a celesta, best known as the sound of the sugar plum fairies in Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker. As if that weren’t enough, the song also has that icon of Chicago jazz, a Hammond organ! Despite all the Classical instrumentation, the song has a modern twang, as well as a bit of the energy of a late-night porch jam. Check out the tracks below.
Toy Story 5 drops June 19th, and Swift has been getting ready by having Tom Hanks and Tim Allen autograph her original Toy Story VHS. Yesterday, June 11th, Swift, was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
