They might be less popular than they once were, but we love a good bridge or middle eight. In fact, in some cases, this short ‘alternative’ section ends up being our favourite part of the song.
One bridge that’s risen to particular prominence over the past few years is the one from Taylor Swift’s Getaway Car. (There’s got to be a bridge/getaway car joke in there somewhere, surely?) Released as a single in 2018, it featured on her 2017 album Reputation.
This is thanks to a clip from Swift’s 2020 documentary Miss Americana that captures the exact moment Swift and her frequent collaborator Jack Antonoff were bouncing lyrical ideas off each other and came up with what would turn out to be the complete bridge in just a few seconds.
@slayingswift ♬ original sound - Riz (Taylor's Version)
The video has since gone viral on TikTok, and in a new interview with Today, Antonoff was asked why he thinks the scene has become so popular.
“That is the only time in my life, in the millions of hours I’ve spent in studios, that a camera was ever on when magic actually happened,” he began by revealing.
“She just had her iPhone on for whatever reason, and I think that’s why that video became so popular - because it was real.”
Antonoff goes on to say that he has “no idea” why Swift had her phone videoing at the time, but thank God it was.” A happy accident, then.
Commenting more broadly on why he thinks that he and Swift are such well-suited collaborators, Antonoff said: “I could quantify our relationship in very reductive ways - about the things we agree on, the sounds we like - but the truth is we’ve just grown together and she put an amazing amount of belief in me.
Antonoff’s interview comes in the week that Billie Eilish and Finneas showed Jimmy Kimmel a behind-the-scenes video that shows the moment they came up with the main theme and lyric of their wistful Barbie soundtrack song What Was I Made For? The pair revealed that they’re currently recording all of their studio sessions for Eilish’s next album so that the footage can be used in an upcoming documentary.
Swift, meanwhile, is currently promoting her Eras Tour movie, which opens in cinemas around the world today (13 October).
Back to Getaway Car, though, and we have one remaining question: is the ‘bridge’ actually a bridge at all? Not that it matters, but to us it sounds like a pre-chorus breakdown.
Have a listen and decide for yourself (and yes, we are great fun at parties).
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“There’s three of us playing guitar in Foo Fighters… A lot of tone details can get lost, which is what drew me to the Cleaver – that P-90 cut”: Chris Shiflett on how he found his weapon of choice with his Fender Cleaver Telecaster Deluxe
“People have used it as their wedding song. I often think, ‘Hey, did you listen to the lyrics?’”: The classic number one hit with a sting in its tail
