Taylor Swift has called upon boyfriend Joe Alwyn for some songwriting help on her two most recent non-remake albums. On Folklore, Alwyn is credited, under the pen name William Bowery, as a co-writer on “Exile” and “Betty.” On Evermore, he’s credited on “Champagne Problems,” “Coney Island,” and “Evermore.” Now, he’s back for the upcoming Midnights, too: The list of songwriters on the album was shared today (October 18) and Alwyn (as Bowery) is credited alongside Swift on “Sweet Nothing.”
🚨| ‘Midnights’ songwriters unveiled!
— 9 in total, including @TaylorSwift13 herself. pic.twitter.com/Qh032dG8Cs
— The Swift Society (@TheSwiftSociety) October 18, 2022
In an interview from earlier this year, Alwyn spoke about writing “Exile” with Swift, noting the process began when he was “messing around” on the piano and singing what would end up being the first verse of the Bon Iver duet, which Swift overheard. He continued, “It was completely off the cuff, an accident. She said, ‘Can we try and sit down and get to the end together?’ And so we did. It was as basic as some people made sourdough.”
He also co-wrote “Betty” and noted of working on that one, “I’d probably had a drink and was just stumbling around the house. We couldn’t decide on a film to watch that night, and she was like, ‘Do you want to try and finish writing that song you were singing earlier?’ And so we got a guitar and did that.”
Midnights is out 10/21 via Republic. Pre-order it here.