The Lakes (song)

"The Lakes"
Promotional single by Taylor Swift
from the album Folklore
Released	July 24, 2021 (2021-07-24)
Recorded	2020
Studio	Kitty Committee (Los Angeles) Rough Customer (New York City)
Genre	Indie
Length	3:31
Label	Republic
Songwriter(s)	Taylor Swift Jack Antonoff
Producer(s)	Taylor Swift Jack Antonoff
Lyric video
"The Lakes" on YouTube

"The Lakes" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, taken from the deluxe edition of her eighth studio album, Folklore (2020). Written and produced by Swift and Jack Antonoff, "The Lakes" is a midtempo indie ballad, set to acoustic guitar and strings, with themes of introspection and escapism that reflect on Swift's semi-retirement in Windermere, the largest natural lake in England.

An orchestral version of "The Lakes", which is the original demo, was released as a promotional single by Republic Records on July 24, 2021, to commemorate the first anniversary of Folklore. 7-inch singles of "The Lakes" were exclusively sold in independent record shops on April 23, 2022, as part of the 2022 Record Store Day limited-edition vinyl releases.

Upon release, "The Lakes" received universal acclaim from music critics, with compliments on its sophisticated, poetic lyrics, and melancholic instrumentals; many named it a highlight on Folklore and one of the best songs of Swift's discography. The song debuted in the top 10 of the Canadian Digital Song Sales and US Digital Song Sales charts; elsewhere, it peaked at number 21 in Scotland and on the UK Singles Downloads Chart and at number 27 in Hungary.