White Horse (Taylor Swift song)

2008 single by Taylor Swift

"White Horse"

Single by Taylor Swift
from the album  Fearless
Released| December 8, 2008 (2008-12-08)
Genre| Country pop
Length| 3:54
Label| Big Machine
Songwriter(s)|

* Taylor Swift
* Liz Rose

Producer(s)|

* Taylor Swift
* Nathan Chapman

Taylor Swift singles chronology
| "Love Story"
(2008)  | "White Horse"
(2008)  | "You Belong with Me"
(2009)

|
|

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).

## Background and writing

[edit]

Taylor Swift wrote songs for her second studio album, Fearless, while touring as an opening act for other country musicians to promote her first album Taylor Swift during 2007–2008, when she was 17–18 years old.[1][2] Continuing the romantic themes of her first album, Swift wrote songs about love and personal experiences from the perspective of a teenage girl to ensure her fans could relate to Fearless. She said that nearly every album track had a "face" that she associated with it.[3] The end product is a collection of songs about the challenges of love with prominent high-school and fairy-tale lyrical imagery.[4] Swift and the producer Nathan Chapman recorded more than 50 songs for Fearless, and "White Horse" was one of the 13 tracks that made the final cut.[5][6] Recorded by the engineer Chad Carlson, "White Horse" was produced by Swift and Chapman. Justin Niebank, assisted by Steve Blackmon, mixed it at Blackbird Studio in Nashville.[6]

According to a note published in the liner notes of Swift's 2019 album Lover, part of the lyrics to "White Horse" dated from December 2006.[7] She wrote the first verse by herself, and Liz Rose helped her complete the song in 45 minutes.[8] Swift completed writing "White Horse" weeks after she finished the lead single "Love Story",[8] almost one year before the release of Fearless.[9] Swift said she was inspired to write "White Horse" by the moment she realized all the fantasies she had about a boy turned out completely false.[10] The subject was also the inspiration for "Love Story"[11]—Swift never dated him and, although initially infatuated with him, realized he was not an ideal Prince Charming like she thought.[9] She told The Daily Telegraph that she kept his identity anonymous so as to "not glorify his inspirational qualities".[12] Whereas both "Love Story" and "White Horse" feature prominent fairy-tale lyrical imagery, Swift said it was important to regard fairy tales with "both sides"; the former song represented her optimistic and idealistic viewpoint on romance, and the latter her disillusionment with the said notion.[13]

## Release

[edit]

Swift intended to leave "White Horse" off Fearless because she felt the album already had a fair share of sad songs.[10] She changed the decision when the producers of Grey's Anatomy wanted to feature the song in the series.[14] Swift recalled that at a meeting set up by her agency with the show's executive producers Shonda Rhimes and Betsy Beers, she played "White Horse" alone on guitar and they "freaked out".[15] The song appeared on the premiere of season five, broadcast on September 25, 2008.[16] Swift was elated by the feature and said it was her "life goal" to have her song on Grey's Anatomy, one of her favorite series.[17]

"White Horse" was released as an album cut on Fearless, on November 11, 2008, by Big Machine Records.[18] On December 8, Big Machine released the song to US country radio as the second single from the album.[19] In the United States, "White Horse" debuted and peaked at number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart week ending November 29, 2008.[20] It gave Swift her sixth top-20 debut in 2008,[21] which broke the record for the most top-20 debuts in a calendar year by an artist.[22] On Hot Country Songs, the single peaked at number two on the chart week ending April 4, 2009.[23] It was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in 2014[24] and had sold two million digital copies in the United States by 2017.[25] The single also charted in Australia (41),[26] Canada (43),[27] and the United Kingdom (60).[28] It was certified platinum in Australia[29] and gold in Canada.[30]

### "White Horse (Taylor's Version)"

[edit]

"White Horse (Taylor's Version)"

Song by Taylor Swift
from the album  Fearless (Taylor's Version)
Released| April 9, 2021 (2021-04-09)
Studio|

* Black Bird
* Prime Recording

(Nashville)
Length| 3:54
Label| Republic
Songwriter(s)|

* Taylor Swift
* Liz Rose

Producer(s)|

* Taylor Swift
* Christopher Rowe

Lyric video
"White Horse (Taylor's Version)" on YouTube

After signing a new contract with Republic Records, Swift began re-recording her first six studio albums in November 2020.[31] The decision followed a public 2019 dispute between Swift and the talent manager Scooter Braun, who acquired Big Machine Records, including the masters of Swift's albums which the label had released.[32][33] By re-recording the albums, Swift had full ownership of the new masters, which enabled her to control the licensing of her songs for commercial use and therefore substituted the Big Machine–owned masters.[34]

Swift and Christopher Rowe produced the re-recorded track, which was recorded by David Payne at Black Bird and Prime Recording Studios in Nashville. Rowe recorded Swift's lead vocals at her home studio in London, and Serban Ghenea mixed the track at MixStar Studios in Virginia Beach, Virginia. John Hanes engineered the track, and Derek Garten and Lowell Reynolds were credited as additional engineers. Instruments and their corresponding musicians on the re-recording include acoustic guitar (Mike Meadows), bass guitar (Amos Heller), drums (Matt Billingslea), piano (Paul Sidoti), and string (Jonathan Yudkin).[35]

The re-recording of "White Horse", subtitled "Taylor's Version", was released as part of Fearless's re-recording, Fearless (Taylor's Version).[36] Swift contacted the singer-songwriters Olivia Rodrigo and Conan Gray to preview a snippet of "White Horse (Taylor's Version)" on their social media on April 8, 2021,[37] one day before Republic Records released Fearless (Taylor's Version).[38] "White Horse (Taylor's Version)" charted in Canada (72)[27] and Australia (99),[39] and it peaked at number 111 on the Billboard Global 200.[40] In the United States, the re-recorded song peaked at number two on Bubbling Under Hot 100[41] and number 29 on Hot Country Songs.[23]

## Music and lyrics

[edit]

"White Horse" (2008)

"White Horse" is a country pop ballad driven by a finger-picked acoustic guitar, piano and cello accents. In the lyrics, a narrator is disillusioned with her notion of a fairy-tale romance.

* * *

Problems playing this file? See media help.

"White Horse" runs for 3 minutes and 54 seconds.[6] It is a country pop ballad;[42] Slant Magazine's Jonathan Keefe wrote that it has a pop hook.[43] The song has an understated production driven by a finger-picked acoustic guitar alongside piano notes and cello accents.[44][45] The sparse production highlights Swift's vocals that some critics found tender[46] and breathy.[43] For certain critics, the track's sound is melancholy[45] and poignant[46]—Jim Abott from the Orlando Sentinel picked it as a track that represents the album's sad songs.[44] The Arizona Republic's Ed Masley attributed this quality to the "haunting" piano and "dark, dramatic" cello.[45] Swift said the sparse production made "White Horse" a Fearless track she was very proud of.[10] The re-recorded "White Horse (Taylor's Version)" has the same arrangement,[47] but the cello in the introduction is more resonant and the outro is a little longer.[48]

The co-writer Liz Rose said the song is "every teenage girl's dream song of everything she ever wished from a boy".[49] In the lyrics, a narrator is heartbroken that the boyfriend whom she used to love turns out contrary to the ideal figure she had hoped for.[50][51] The narrator and the boyfriend reside in a small town.[52] In the refrain, she compares her romance to a fairy tale fallen apart: "I'm not a princess, this ain't a fairytale/ I'm not the one you'll sweep off her feet/ Lead her up the stairwell."[46] She then tells him that "it's too late for [him] and [his] white horse" to return to her and rekindle the relationship.[53] In the final refrain, the narrator says she will move on from him and escape her town for a bigger world outside, to find somebody else who is more worthy,[54][55] "This is a big world, that was a small town/ There in my rearview mirror disappearing now."[42][56]

Some lyrical motifs on "White Horse" reprise those on the preceding Fearless tracks: the narrator dreams of being a "princess" ("Love Story") and compares the subject to an "angel" ("Hey Stephen").[57] Some critics said "White Horse" is a Fearless track that explores the disconnect between fantasy and real life[56][58] and an antithesis of the optimist lead single "Love Story", which explores a fairy-tale–inspired romance that has a happy ending.[a] Josh Love in The Village Voice found the lyrics to be from the perspective of a "reborn realist".[60] According to Gigwise's Kelsey Barnes, Swift's vocals in the re-recording no longer display the naivete and shame of feeling sad and instead express the narrator's loss of innocence from a more reflective point-of-view.[49]

## Critical reception

[edit]

When "White Horse" was first released, some critics praised the song for what they deemed a portrayal of heartbreak that, although told from a teenager's perspective, appealed to a broad audience and not just Swift's target audience of teenagers.[b] Love said its lyrics showcased "preternatural wisdom and inclusiveness",[60] and USA Today's Elysa Gardner complimented the "guileless urgency and unmannered precociousness".[64] Other critics praised the production. Reviewing the single for Billboard, Deborah Evan Price wrote it appealed to many people because its production highlighted Swift's lyrics and "heart-on-the-sleeve" vocals that "[made] the pain and disillusionment palpable".[46] The Guardian's Alex Macpherson lauded the "breathtaking" final refrain,[65] and Keefe, who picked the track as Fearless's best, complimented how "strongly the hooks stand out".[43] Newsday's Glenn Gamboa ranked "White Horse" ninth on a list of the 10 best songs of 2008.[66] At the 2010 Grammy Awards, the single won Best Country Song and Best Female Country Vocal Performance.[67]

Reviewing the re-recorded "White Horse (Taylor's Version)", some critics positively remarked how it retained the original's earnest emotion.[68][69] In The New York Times, Joe Coscarelli found the re-recording's production fresh and refined, which elevated the original's songwriting.[47] Keefe, who initially criticized Swift's vocals as weak and restrained,[43] wrote that they improved on "White Horse (Taylor's Version)", which consolidated it as the album's best track.[70] Allison Stewart of The Washington Post felt the re-recorded song, though a compelling track, "drags a little".[71] "White Horse" featured highly on some retrospective rankings of Swift's songs, such as those by Masley, who highlighted the "aching" refrain,[45] and The Guardian's Alexis Petridis, who praised its "impressive subtlety".[72]

Some critics were not as complementary and said the lyrics were uncreative[73]—Roisin O'Connor of The Independent said the fairy-tale–indebted narrative was not as effective as that of the previous single, "Love Story".[74] Keefe deemed the lyrical imagery "well worn, clichéd",[43] and NME's Lucy Harbron said it "comes at the expense of emotional heft".[75] The musicologist James E. Perone deemed the lyrics familiar and generic, but contended that the track was effective because of Swift's performance and the "engaging music and musical arrangement".[53]

## Music video

[edit]

Swift chose Stephen Colletti (pictured in 2012) as the male lead: a character who is seemingly loyal but cheats in a relationship.

Trey Fanjoy, who had directed Swift's previous music videos, returned to film the "White Horse" music video for Swift.[9] On the video's plot, Swift said the theme was infidelity. Because this was also the theme for the music video of her past single "Picture to Burn" (2008), she wanted "White Horse" to convey a different aspect of it: whereas the former stars a girl to whom someone was unfaithful to, the latter depicts a girl whom someone was unfaithful with. Swift explained the concept: "This girl falls in love with this guy and he's perfect. [...] Then, she comes to realize that he's been leading a double life. He was already in a relationship years before he ever met her."[9]

Swift chose the actor Stephen Colletti, whom she had watched on the series One Tree Hill, to portray the male lead because of his sweet and endearing demeanor.[76] According to her, Colletti was ideal to portray a character who seemed as though he would never lie in a relationship but ultimately did and brought "the worst heartbreak".[9] She and Fanjoy shot the video in one day in January 2009, in Germantown, Nashville.[77] It rained heavily that day, which Swift found appropriate for the gloomy and dark feel she wanted: it brought forth more muted tones and made the video less colorful lighting-wise.[9] The last scene, which involved crying, was challenging for Swift because she felt unaccustomed doing so in front of the crew. Fanjoy helped Swift feel more comfortable and guided her into thinking about what made her most solemn; they completed the scene within three hours.[9][76]

The video starts with Swift's and Colletti's characters talking on the phone. Colletti's character asks if Swift's still loves him and asks for another chance. Then, Swift's character is seen sitting on the living room floor, next to a fireplace, and reminiscing about her intimate moments with him. When she has lunch with a friend at a restaurant, her friend informs her of his infidelity. When Swift's character walks home on a street at night, she sees Colletti's character carrying groceries with another woman into a house. She runs away from the scene and the video transitions to the beginning's phone call, where Colletti's character repeats, "Will you give me another chance?" A rapid flashback of cut-scenes is played and, after its conclusion, Swift denies his request, hangs up, and cries.[9] The video premiered on February 7, 2009, on CMT.[78] It was the first video to debut at number one on CMT's weekly countdown.[79][80]

## Live performances

[edit]

Swift performing live in 2010

Swift first performed "White Horse" at the 2008 American Music Awards on November 23; she donned a white evening gown and sang the song sitting on a floral-patterned couch.[81] She again performed the song at a pre-awards concert for nominees of the 51st Annual Grammy Awards, which was held on December 3, 2008, at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles. At the concert, she was the only artist who performed her own song in addition to covering a song that had been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame: she sang a portion of Brenda Lee's "I'm Sorry" (1960) before singing "White Horse".[82] In the Los Angeles Times, Ann Powers deemed Swift's rendition of "White Horse" the concert's best performance: "In that moment, Swift had it all: tabloid heat and a firm hold on her brand, along with songcraft and the well-contained charisma of a career artist."[83]

"White Horse" was part of the set lists for Swift's 2009 headline festival performances including Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo,[84] the Florida Strawberry Festival,[85] and Craven Country Jamboree.[86] She also performed "White Horse" live at her Australian concert debut at the Tivoli in Brisbane on March 5, 2009,[87] and on a November 2010 episode of Dancing with the Stars.[88] Swift included "White Horse" in the set list of her first headlining concert tour, the Fearless Tour (2009–2010), where she performed the song by herself on an acoustic guitar.[89] At the Los Angeles concert on May 22, 2009, she sang "White Horse" in a duet with the singer-songwriter John Mayer.[90]

On her later tours, Swift performed the song as a surprise number not part of the regular setlist on select dates. She sang it at the Red Tour concert in Edmonton, June 2013,[91] the 1989 World Tour concert in Los Angeles, August 2015,[92] and the Reputation Stadium Tour concert in Arlington, October 2018.[93] On the Eras Tour, Swift performed "White Horse" as a "surprise song" in Las Vegas, March 2023, and in Sydney (as a mashup with "Coney Island", with Sabrina Carpenter), February 2024.[94]

## Personnel

[edit]

"White Horse" (2008)

* Chad Carlson – recording engineer
* Nathan Chapman – producer
* Taylor Swift – producer
* Steve Blackmon – assistant mixer
* Justin Niebank – mixer

"White Horse (Taylor's Version)" (2021)

* Christopher Rowe – vocals engineer, producer
* Taylor Swift – producer, lead vocals
* David Payne – recording engineer
* Derek Garten – additional engineer
* John Hanes – engineer
* Lowell Reynolds – assistant recording engineer, additional engineer
* Serban Ghenea – mixing
* Mike Meadows – acoustic guitar, background vocals
* Amos Heller – bass guitar
* Matt Billingslea – drums
* Paul Sidoti – piano
* Jonathan Yudkin – strings

## Charts

[edit]

### Weekly charts

[edit]

Weekly chart performance for "White Horse"  | Chart (2008–2009)  | Peak
position

|

Australia (ARIA)[26] | 41
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[27] | 43
Canada Country (Billboard)[95] | 5
UK Singles (OCC)[28] | 60
US Billboard Hot 100[96] | 13
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[23] | 2
US Pop 100 (Billboard)[97] | 23
Weekly chart performance for "White Horse (Taylor's Version)"  Chart (2021)  | Peak
position

|

Australia (ARIA)[39] | 99
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[27] | 72
Global 200 (Billboard)[40] | 111
US Bubbling Under Hot 100 (Billboard)[41] | 2
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[23] | 29

### Year-end charts

[edit]

Year-end chart performance for "White Horse"  | Chart (2009)  | Position

|

US Billboard Hot 100[98] | 76
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[99] | 27

## Certifications

[edit]

Certifications for "White Horse"  Region  | Certification | Certified units/sales

|
|

Australia (ARIA)[29] | Platinum  | 70,000‡
Canada (Music Canada)[30] | Gold  | 40,000*
United States (RIAA)[24] | 2× Platinum  | 2,000,000‡

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ Attributed to reviews by Billboard's Deborah Evans Price,[46] NME's Hannah Mylrea,[59] and the Reading Eagle[55]
2. ^ Attributed to reviews by Billboard's Ken Tucker,[61] The Korea Times' Cathy Rose A. Garcia,[62] and The Observer's Alice Fisher[63]

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[edit]

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### Sources

[edit]

* Perone, James E. (2017). The Words and Music of Taylor Swift. The Praeger Singer-Songwriter Collection. ABC-Clio. ISBN 978-1-4408-5294-7.
* Spencer, Liv (2010). Taylor Swift: Every Day Is a Fairytale – The Unofficial Story. ECW Press. ISBN 978-1-77041-151-7.

* v
* t
* e

Taylor Swift songs

* Singles discography

Taylor Swift|

* "Tim McGraw"
* "Picture to Burn"
* "Teardrops on My Guitar"
* "A Place in This World"
* "Should've Said No"
* "Our Song"

Fearless|

* "Fearless"
* "Fifteen"
* "Love Story"
* "Hey Stephen"
* "White Horse"
* "You Belong with Me"
* "Breathe"
* "You're Not Sorry"
* "The Way I Loved You"
* "Forever & Always"
* "The Best Day"
* "Change"

| Taylor's Version|

* "You All Over Me"
* "Mr. Perfectly Fine"
* "That's When"

|

Speak Now|

* "Mine"
* "Sparks Fly"
* "Back to December"
* "Speak Now"
* "Dear John"
* "Mean"
* "The Story of Us"
* "Never Grow Up"
* "Enchanted"
* "Better than Revenge"
* "Innocent"
* "Haunted"
* "Long Live"
* "Ours"
* "If This Was a Movie"

| Taylor's Version|

* "Electric Touch"
* "When Emma Falls in Love"
* "I Can See You"
* "Castles Crumbling"

|

Red|

* "State of Grace"
* "Red"
* "Treacherous"
* "I Knew You Were Trouble"
* "All Too Well"
* "22"
* "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together"
* "The Last Time"
* "Holy Ground"
* "Everything Has Changed"
* "Starlight"
* "Begin Again"

| Taylor's Version|

* "Nothing New"
* "Message in a Bottle"
* "I Bet You Think About Me"
* "Forever Winter"

|

1989|

* "Welcome to New York"
* "Blank Space"
* "Style"
* "Out of the Woods"
* "All You Had to Do Was Stay"
* "Shake It Off"
* "I Wish You Would"
* "Bad Blood"
* "Wildest Dreams"
* "How You Get the Girl"
* "This Love"
* "I Know Places"
* "Clean"
* "Wonderland"
* "You Are in Love"
* "New Romantics"

| Taylor's Version|

* "'Slut!'"
* "Say Don't Go"
* "Now That We Don't Talk"
* "Suburban Legends"
* "Is It Over Now?"

|

Reputation|

* "...Ready for It?"
* "End Game"
* "I Did Something Bad"
* "Don't Blame Me"
* "Delicate"
* "Look What You Made Me Do"
* "So It Goes..."
* "Gorgeous"
* "Getaway Car"
* "King of My Heart"
* "Dress"
* "Call It What You Want"
* "New Year's Day"

Lover|

* "I Forgot That You Existed"
* "Cruel Summer"
* "Lover"
* "The Man"
* "The Archer"
* "Miss Americana & the Heartbreak Prince"
* "Paper Rings"
* "Cornelia Street"
* "Death by a Thousand Cuts"
* "London Boy"
* "Soon You'll Get Better"
* "False God"
* "You Need to Calm Down"
* "Me!"
* "Daylight"

Folklore|

* "The 1"
* "Cardigan"
* "The Last Great American Dynasty"
* "Exile"
* "My Tears Ricochet"
* "Mirrorball"
* "Seven"
* "August"
* "This Is Me Trying"
* "Illicit Affairs"
* "Invisible String"
* "Mad Woman"
* "Epiphany"
* "Betty"
* "Peace"
* "Hoax"
* "The Lakes"

Evermore|

* "Willow"
* "Champagne Problems"
* "'Tis the Damn Season"
* "Tolerate It"
* "No Body, No Crime"
* "Happiness"
* "Dorothea"
* "Coney Island"
* "Cowboy like Me"
* "Long Story Short"
* "Marjorie"

Midnights|

* "Lavender Haze"
* "Maroon"
* "Anti-Hero"
* "Snow on the Beach"
* "You're on Your Own, Kid"
* "Midnight Rain"
* "Question...?"
* "Vigilante Shit"
* "Bejeweled"
* "Labyrinth"
* "Karma"
* "Sweet Nothing"
* "Mastermind"
* "Hits Different"
* "Bigger Than the Whole Sky"
* "Would've, Could've, Should've"
* "You're Losing Me"

The Tortured Poets
Department|

* "Fortnight"
* "The Tortured Poets Department
* "My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys"
* "Down Bad"
* "So Long, London"
* "But Daddy I Love Him"
* "Fresh Out the Slammer"
* "Florida!!!"
* "Guilty as Sin?"
* "Who's Afraid of Little Old Me?"
* "I Can Fix Him (No Really I Can)"
* "Loml"
* "I Can Do It with a Broken Heart"
* "The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived"
* "The Alchemy"
* "Clara Bow"

| The Anthology|

* "The Black Dog"
* "Imgonnagetyouback"
* "So High School"
* "Thank You Aimee"

|

Soundtrack songs|

* "Crazier"
* "Today Was a Fairytale"
* "Safe & Sound"
* "Eyes Open"
* "Sweeter than Fiction"
* "I Don't Wanna Live Forever"
* "Beautiful Ghosts"
* "Only the Young"
* "Carolina"

Featured songs|

* "Two Is Better Than One"
* "Half of My Heart"
* "Both of Us"
* "Babe"
* "Gasoline"
* "Renegade"
* "The Joker and the Queen"
* "The Alcott"
* "Us"

Other songs|

* "Best Days of Your Life"
* "Ronan"
* "Highway Don't Care"
* "Better Man"
* "Christmas Tree Farm"
* "All of the Girls You Loved Before"

* Category

* v
* t
* e

Grammy Award for Best Country Song

Awarded to songwriters

1960s|

* "Dang Me" – Roger Miller (1965)
* "King of the Road" – Roger Miller (1966)
* "Almost Persuaded" – Billy Sherrill & Glenn Sutton (1967)
* "Gentle on My Mind" – John Hartford (1968)
* "Little Green Apples" – Bobby Russell (1969)

1970s|

* "A Boy Named Sue" – Shel Silverstein (1970)
* "My Woman, My Woman, My Wife" – Marty Robbins (1971)
* "Help Me Make It Through the Night" – Kris Kristofferson (1972)
* "Kiss an Angel Good Mornin'" – Ben Peters (1973)
* "Behind Closed Doors" – Kenny O'Dell (1974)
* "A Very Special Love Song" – Norro Wilson & Billy Sherrill (1975)
* "(Hey Won't You Play) Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song" – Chips Moman & Larry Butler (1976)
* "Broken Lady" – Larry Gatlin (1977)
* "Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue" – Richard Leigh (1978)
* "The Gambler" – Don Schlitz (1979)

1980s|

* "You Decorated My Life" – Debbie Hupp & Bob Morrison (1980)
* "On the Road Again" – Willie Nelson (1981)
* "9 to 5" – Dolly Parton (1982)
* "Always on My Mind" – Wayne Carson, Johnny Christopher & Mark James (1983)
* "Stranger in My House" – Mike Reid (1984)
* "City of New Orleans" – Steve Goodman (1985)
* "Highwayman" – Jimmy Webb (1986)
* "Grandpa (Tell Me 'Bout the Good Old Days)" – Jamie O'Hara (1987)
* "Forever and Ever, Amen" – Paul Overstreet & Don Schlitz (1988)
* "Hold Me" – K. T. Oslin (1989)

1990s|

* "After All This Time" – Rodney Crowell (1980)
* "Where've You Been" – Don Henry & Jon Vezner (1991)
* "Love Can Build a Bridge" – John Barlow Jarvis, Naomi Judd & Paul Overstreet (1992)
* "I Still Believe in You" – Vince Gill & John Barlow Jarvis (1993)
* "Passionate Kisses" – Lucinda Williams (1994)
* "I Swear" – Gary Baker & Frank J. Myers (1995)
* "Go Rest High on That Mountain" – Vince Gill (1996)
* "Blue" – Bill Mack (1997)
* "Butterfly Kisses" – Bob Carlisle & Randy Thomas (1998)
* "You're Still the One" – Robert John "Mutt" Lange & Shania Twain (1999)

2000s|

* "Come On Over" – Robert John "Mutt" Lange & Shania Twain (2000)
* "I Hope You Dance" – Mark D. Sanders & Tia Sillers (2001)
* "The Lucky One" – Robert Lee Castleman (2002)
* "Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)" – Alan Jackson (2003)
* "It's Five O'Clock Somewhere" – Jim "Moose" Brown & Don Rollins (2004)
* "Live Like You Were Dying" – Tim Nichols & Craig Wiseman (2005)
* "Bless the Broken Road" – Bobby Boyd, Jeff Hanna, & Marcus Hummon (2006)
* "Jesus, Take the Wheel" – Hillary Lindsey, Brett James & Gordie Sampson (2007)
* "Before He Cheats" – Chris Tompkins & Josh Kear (2008)
* "Stay" – Jennifer Nettles (2009)

2010s|

* "White Horse" – Liz Rose & Taylor Swift (2010)
* "Need You Now" – Dave Haywood, Josh Kear, Charles Kelley & Hillary Scott (2011)
* "Mean" – Taylor Swift (2012)
* "Blown Away" – Josh Kear & Chris Tompkins (2013)
* "Merry Go 'Round" – Shane McAnally, Kacey Musgraves & Josh Osborne (2014)
* "I'm Not Gonna Miss You" – Glen Campbell & Julian Raymond (2015)
* "Girl Crush" – Hillary Lindsey, Lori McKenna, & Liz Rose (2016)
* "Humble and Kind" – Lori McKenna (2017)
* "Broken Halos" – Mike Henderson & Chris Stapleton (2018)
* "Space Cowboy" – Luke Laird, Shane McAnally, & Kacey Musgraves (2019)

2020s|

* "Bring My Flowers Now" – Brandi Carlile, Phil Hanseroth, Tim Hanseroth, & Tanya Tucker (2020)
* "Crowded Table" – Brandi Carlile, Natalie Hemby & Lori McKenna (2021)
* "Cold" – Dave Cobb, J.T. Cure, Derek Mixon & Chris Stapleton (2022)
* "'Til You Can't" – Matt Rogers & Ben Stennis (2023)
* "White Horse" – Chris Stapleton & Dan Wilson (2024)
* "The Architect" – Shane McAnally, Kacey Musgraves & Josh Osborne (2025)

Authority control databases |

* MusicBrainz work

|

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