State of Grace

"State of Grace" is a song written and recorded by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. It was released for digital download as a promotional single from her fourth studio album Red on October 16, 2012, by Big Machine Records. Produced by Swift and Nathan Chapman, "State of Grace" is an arena rock song that uses chiming, feedback-drenched guitars and pounding drums. An acoustic version features as a deluxe-edition bonus track. The lyrics are about the tumultuous feelings evoked by the first signs of love. Critics deemed the song's arena-rock production a showcase of Swift's expanding artistry beyond her previous country pop sound. They praised the production and emotional sentiments and retrospectively regarded it as one of Swift's best songs. "State of Grace" peaked within the top 50 of singles charts in Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, and the UK. It reached number nine on the Canadian Hot 100 and number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100, and received a gold certification from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Following a dispute regarding the ownership of Swift's masters, she re-recorded the song as "State of Grace (Taylor's Version)", as part of Red's re-recording, Red (Taylor's Version) (2021). "State of Grace (Taylor's Version)" peaked within the top 10 of singles charts in Ireland, Canada, and Singapore; and top 25 in Australia, New Zealand, the UK, and the US. Background In October 2010, singer-songwriter Taylor Swift released her third studio album Speak Now, which she wrote entirely by herself. She co-produced it with Nathan Chapman, who had produced both of her previous albums. Speak Now continued the country pop sound of Swift's previous records, with a radio-friendly pop crossover production and elements from various rock subgenres of the 1970s and 1980s decades. On Speak Now follow-up Red, Swift wanted to experiment beyond country pop and worked with different producers. Chapman remained a key collaborator on Red—he and Swift produced eight tracks, including "State of Grace". It was one of the first songs she wrote in Nashville, Tennessee, before she went to Los Angeles to enlist other producers.