Gracie Abrams doesn’t need Taylor Swift to make people pay attention to her new album, The Secret Of Us. As it stands, six of the Top 10 entries on the Genius Top Songs chart are fresh Abrams jams. But the No. 1 spot belongs to “us.,” featuring Swift, who previously tapped Abrams to open select dates on her Eras Tour. Taylor doesn’t even sing a full verse here, but her mere presence on this track is enough to get people the people going.
Abrams wrote “us.” with Swift and their mutual friend and frequent collaborator Aaron Dessner. (The three share production credit with Jack Antonoff.) It’s a mournful, shimmering indie-pop post mortem on a failed relationship, and in the opening verse, Abrams alludes to an ex that her ex was never able to shake.
In the pre-chorus, Abrams seemingly compares their secret love affair to the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, an ancient wonder that, tellingly, may never have existed. (Shoutout to Genius user @icecreamicequeen for making this connection via annotation.)
Swift joins for the chorus, wherein Abrams asks her ex whether their relationship meant anything to him.
This romance clearly meant something to Abrams. Here she is in the second verse, using religious terms to describe the intensity of their bond.
On the bridge, Abrams hints at some of the masculinity issues this dude might’ve been facing. To wit: He gave her books by the late Robert Bly, who argued in works like 1990’s Iron John: A Book About Men that American men have become overly feminized, and that they need to reconnect with the masculine vigor prized in olden times. (Swift sings the line in italics.)
“all i can tell you for now is that some of the most fun i’ve ever had in my whole entire life was writing this song together,” Abrams wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “hands down.”
You can read all the lyrics to “us.” on Genius now.
