| "White Horse" | ||||
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| Single by Taylor Swift | ||||
| from the album Fearless | ||||
| Released | December 8, 2008 | |||
| Genre | Country pop | |||
| Length | 3:54 | |||
| Label | Big Machine | |||
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| Taylor Swift singles chronology | ||||
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| Music video | ||||
| "White Horse" on YouTube | ||||
"White Horse" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift and the second single from her second studio album, Fearless (2008). Big Machine Records released the track to US country radio on December 8, 2008. Swift wrote "White Horse" with Liz Rose and produced it with Nathan Chapman. An understated country pop ballad, the song is driven by a finger-picked guitar and includes piano and cello accents. The lyrics incorporate fairy-tale imagery of princesses and white horses: the narrator is heartbroken upon realizing that her boyfriend is not an ideal figure like she thought, and in the end she leaves her town with hopes of finding somebody more worthy.
Music critics lauded "White Horse" for what they deemed a somber production and a portrayal of universal feelings arising from heartbreak, but some found the lyrics uncreative. At the 2010 Grammy Awards, the track won Best Country Song and Best Female Country Vocal Performance. In the United States, the single peaked at number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number two on the Hot Country Songs chart, and the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certified it double platinum. The song also charted in Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom; it received certifications in the first two countries.
Trey Fanjoy directed the song's music video, which depicts Swift reliving memories with her ex-boyfriend and her discovery of his infidelity after having ended their relationship through a phone call. The video premiered on February 7, 2009, on CMT, and it became the first video to debut at number one on the network's countdown. Swift performed "White Horse" live at the 2008 American Music Awards, on her Fearless Tour (2009–2010), and on certain dates of her later tours. Following the 2019 dispute regarding the ownership of Swift's back catalog, she re-recorded the song as "White Horse (Taylor's Version)" for her 2021 re-recorded album Fearless (Taylor's Version).