Taylor Swift Releases Intimate New Song ‘The Archer’

Following bullseye teasers this past week and even a hint in a previous music video, Taylor Swift released a new song “The Archer,” from her forthcoming album Lover, out August 23rd. “The Archer” marks the third offering from the album, following “ME!” and “You Need to Calm Down,” though Swift specified in her Instagram Live announcement that the song is “not a single.”

The Jack Antonoff-produced song is a somber, synth-heavy ballad centered around the metaphor of the archer, which is also Taylor Swift’s birth sign, as she’s a Sagittarius. The track follows in the informal tradition of Swift making the fifth track on her record the emotional and personal centerpiece (previous examples include “White Horse,” “All Too Well” and “Delicate”).

Along with the song, Swift announced that she would be releasing a total of 120 pages from her old diaries, which she has methodically kept since she was 13, inside deluxe editions of Lover. Pages will include “pictures drawn, photos of that time in my life,” along with original lyrics to songs like “All Too Well.”

Swift recently appeared in the new trailer for the film Cats. She also received 10 nominations for this year’s MTV Video Music Awards, seven for “You Need to Calm Down,” including Video of the Year, and three for “ME!” The ceremony will air live from New Jersey’s Prudential Center on Monday, August 26th at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT.