Taylor Swift’s songs ‘Willow’ and ‘Cardigan’ originally belonged to The National

Fans might not be able to imagine it, but beloved Taylor Swift songs ‘Willow’ and ‘Cardigan’ could have very easily never belonged to the artist’s repertoire.

In fact, the two songs could have been performed by The National, who has frequently worked with Swift, including on the 2020 albums ‘Folklore’ and ‘Evermore’.

Swift herself will also be making an appearance on their upcoming album, ‘First Two Pages of Frankenstein’ to be released on April 28.

The National’s praise for Taylor Swift

The National members Aaron Dessner and Matt Berninger recently opened up about how much they love working with Swift, including how ‘Willow’ and ‘Cardigan’ almost became theirs.

“I’d taken a swing at [’Cardigan’] and ‘Willow’ and a couple of others, and I wasn’t having a lot of luck, so Aaron sent them to Taylor,” Benninger said of the two songs in a recent interview with The Telegraph.

“I always have a lot of music to work on, and I am looking for something to connect emotionally. The reverse has happened, too, where Aaron wrote something for Taylor, and I dove right in. It works both ways.”

Dessner, who recently showed up on tour with Swift during her April 14 show in Tampa, called Swift “an incredibly gifted writer, with the lyrical prowess of a Joni Mitchell but also an entertainer on this level of, like, Beyoncé, and I don’t think we’ve seen that before.”

He continued, “She made me so much better than I could have ever imagined on my own. It felt like a lightning bolt hit the house. Because I just do what I do. And then she would be like, ‘Here’s this elaborately written narrative to your sad piano that you played on ‘Cardigan.’”

Dessner has regularly expressed his love of Swift, and the two are long-time collaborators.

“We’re all big fans of Taylor, and she’s been really generous with us, inviting us to be part of ‘Coney Island,” he told Apple Music earlier this year. “And obviously my brother’s worked with her a lot, and I’ve done a bunch of orchestration for her albums.”

Swift set to appear on the newest The National album

On Swift’s upcoming feature on their newest album, Bryce Dessner explained how Swift helped with lyrics.

“‘The Alcott’ is a song that she co-wrote with Matt [Berninger], where she co-wrote the lyrics. It’s really amazing to hear her, the way she was able to take what Matt had done and then reinvent the song, and it’s really a special song.”