Taylor Swift is revisiting her childhood memories with a little help from Pixar.
The singer-songwriter released a new country song last week, titled “I Knew It, I Knew You,” from the Toy Story 5 soundtrack. However, as with any new Swift song, there’s a whole lot more to unpack.
Let’s start with the basics. Swift has been a fan of Toy Story from a young age, and her fandom was on full display at the movie’s Los Angeles premiere on Tuesday. She made a surprise red carpet appearance, posed with the stars and even asked Tom Hanks to sign her VHS copy of the original 1995 movie.
The musician also treated fans to a live performance of the song before duetting with Randy Newman, who soundtracked the OG film.
Swift’s new track, inspired by the franchise’s cowboy character Jessie (voiced by Joan Cusack), was released last Friday. It has already broken streaming records on Spotify, Apple Music and Amazon Music.
It is her first new material since last year’s album The Life of a Showgirl, as well as her first collaboration with longtime producer Jack Antonoff since 2024’s The Tortured Poets Department.
The release followed weeks of speculation from Swifties, who spotted a trail of Easter eggs, including mysterious billboards and countdowns, which hinted at Swift’s involvement with Toy Story 5 before the song was officially announced.
Here’s all you need to know about the song.
Swift’s nostalgic moment with Tom Hanks
Long before there was Disney+, there were VHS tapes, and Swift proved her fangirl status at the Toy Story 5 premiere when she arrived with a well-worn VHS copy of Toy Story — a true 90s throwback. She couldn’t resist asking Hanks, the voice of cowboy doll Woody, to sign it.
“I didn’t get a selfie, but I did sign her original VHS of the first Toy Story,” Hanks told USA Today. “I told her she should have brought an original VHS machine and we could have signed it. And that could go in the Smithsonian as well.”
Costar Tim Allen appeared to write “To infinity and beyond,” the catchphrase of his character, space ranger Buzz Lightyear.
The moment felt especially fitting, given how the evening ended. After the credits rolled, Swift took the stage to perform “I Knew It, I Knew You” before joining Newman for a rendition of “You’ve Got a Friend in Me,” the theme song from the original movie — completing her 30-year journey from Toy Story fan to part of the franchise.
The childhood video that got fans talking
To mark the track’s release, Swift posted a childhood home video of herself stomping her feet while sporting a red cowgirl hat and a western-inspired outfit. In a clear nod to Jessie, the video reinforces Swift’s Toy Story credentials.
Swift, who was five years old when the original Toy Story was released in 1995, said the ballad was inspired by Jessie’s journey, and described writing it as both “a musical departure and coming home at the same time.”
“Creating something for Jessie was a new challenge and also felt like second nature all at once,” Swift wrote in her Instagram caption. “And being a @toystory kid from the age of 5 til now … is an adventure I plan to be on, to infinity and beyond.”
The song was written “with so much adoration for these characters that made us laugh and helped us learn lessons” throughout childhood, she added.
Director Andrew Stanton reinforced Swift’s link to Jessie. “It’s incredible just how meaningful it’s been having Taylor write and perform this song,” he said. “Her connection to Jessie and the immediate way she understood what the character was going through was undeniable.”
Cusack told USA Today that the “beautiful” song “fits perfectly” into Toy Story 5. “I love this movie so much, so I’m so glad that it resonated with her and she wanted to write a song for it, because it means so many more people come to see the movie,” she said.
What ‘I Knew It, I Knew You’ means for ‘Toy Story 5’
Swift’s Instagram post also sparked speculation about how closely the song might tie in to Jessie’s story in Toy Story 5.
In Toy Story 2, Jessie belongs to a girl named Emily, who adored her as a child before eventually leaving her behind — an experience that left the doll with a lasting fear of abandonment. She later finds a new home with Andy, the boy at the heart of the Toy Story films.
Jessie’s character is widely expected to take center stage in Toy Story 5. The sequel “operates mainly as a Jessie movie,” according to Entertainment Weekly, and sees the doll revisiting parts of her past, including her connection to Emily.
‘I Knew It, I Knew You’ was inspired by the Toy Story character Jessie, voiced by Joan Cusack.
(Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures/Everett Collection)
The lyrics to “I Knew It, I Knew You” are about reconnecting with a friend after a long separation. In one verse, Swift sings: “I watched you drive around the bend for what I thought would be the last time I saw my friend.” In the chorus, she adds: “I remembered I loved you/Came back when it mattered, I saw you.”
The song “seems likely” to be played over a montage involving Jessie in the new movie, Variety said, much like Sarah McLachlan’s “When She Loved Me” from Toy Story 2.
Some fans have also begun wondering whether Swift could appear in the movie itself, with theories circulating online that she could voice Emily. Pixar has not announced any casting involving the singer, and it is likely that any acting role would have already been publicized.
Why the song is a return to Swift’s country roots
The track’s country sound marks a full-circle moment for Swift. She rose to fame in 2006 as a teenage country artist before reinventing herself as one of pop music’s biggest stars.
While traces of country storytelling have remained throughout her career, “I Knew It, I Knew You” is one of her clearest returns to the genre in recent years. The track marks a notable shift from last year’s The Life of a Showgirl, which saw her lean more into glossy pop.
Jessie’s story echoes the kind of emotional, vulnerable storytelling that made Swift a country star in the first place — which explains why she said making the song felt like “coming home.”
In a New York Times interview in April, Swift reflected on the country artists who shaped her into a storyteller. Citing the Chicks and Kenny Chesney as early influences, she said she was drawn to songs with plot twists and endings that bring listeners full circle.
Fittingly, Toy Story 5 will be released on June 19, the 20th anniversary of Swift’s debut single, “Tim McGraw.”
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