Taylor Swift celebrates ‘Folklore’ anniversary with orchestral version of ‘The Lakes’

Taylor Swift has shared an orchestral version of ‘The Lakes’ to celebrate the one-year anniversary of her ‘Folklore’ album.

• READ MORE: Taylor Swift – ‘Folklore’ review: pop superstar undergoes an extraordinary indie-folk makeover

Released on July 24, 2020, Swift’s acclaimed eighth studio album – which was a surprise release – spawned the singles ‘Cardigan’, ‘Exile’, ‘Betty’ and ‘The 1’, and would go on to become the best-selling album of last year. A sister album, ‘Evermore’, arrived five months later in December 2020.

Taking to social media earlier today (July 24), Swift thanked her fans for everything they’ve “done to make this album what is was” and shared the original version of ‘Folklore’ bonus track, ‘The Lakes’.

“It’s been one year since we escaped the real world together and imagined ourselves someplace simpler,” Swift wrote on Instagram, sharing a pair of black and white pictures of her at the beach.
“With tall tall trees and salt air. Where you’re allowed to wear lace nightgowns that make you look like a Victorian ghost every day & no one will side eye you cause no one is around. It’s just you and your imaginary cabin and the stories you make up to pass the time. To say thank you for all you have done to make this album what it was, I wanted to give you the original version of The Lakes.”
She concluded: “Happy 1 year anniversary to Rebekah, Betty, Inez, James, Augustine, and the lives we all created around them. Happy Anniversary, folklore.”

You can listen to the orchestral version of ‘The Lakes’ below:

Swift has also unveiled a ‘Folklore’ anniversary merch collection available for just 72 hours.
The collection includes: a “lost in the memory” hoodie; a “beautiful things” keepsake box; an “I would die for you in secret” hoodie; a “tied me to you” bracelet; a “dreamt of you all summer” long sleeve top; a “picture me in the weeds” t-shirt; an “auroras and sad prose” notebook, and more.

The merch line is available to purchase until July 26 at 3pm EST – you can get it here.

Meanwhile, Swift will not be submitting the re-recording of her 2008 album ‘Fearless’ for Grammys consideration, her label has confirmed.

According to Billboard, Swift will not be submitting ‘Fearless (Taylor’s Version)’, and will instead focus on nominating ‘Evermore’ for all eligible categories. The singer will also be doing the same for the Country Music Association Awards.

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