" Cowboy Like Me " is a song by American singer Taylor Swift from her ninth studio album, Evermore, released in 2020. She wrote the song with Aaron Dessner, the album's producer. The song is a slow, emotional ballad with soft music and combines styles of country, Americana, country rock, and blues. Taylor sings with a country accent, and Marcus Mumford provides background harmony vocals. The lyrics describe how two people who trick others for money unexpectedly fall in love while working together in their town.
Most music critics liked the story told in the song, though some found the music less interesting. Many praised it as one of the best tracks on Evermore and a favorite among fans. After the album was released, the song reached number 62 on the Billboard Global 200 chart and appeared on charts in Australia, Canada, and the United States. Taylor performed the song live during her Eras Tour in 2023 and 2024, while Marcus Mumford sang it regularly during a tour promoting his first studio album, Self-Titled, released in 2022.
Background and production
During the COVID-19 lockdowns, Taylor Swift created her eighth studio album, Folklore, with Aaron Dessner and Jack Antonoff. The album was released without warning on July 24, 2020. Folklore included new music styles for Swift, such as indie folk and indie rock, and received praise from many critics. In September 2020, Swift, Antonoff, and Dessner met at Long Pond Studio in upstate New York to film Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions, a documentary showing simpler versions of songs from Folklore and explaining how the album was created.
After filming, the three celebrated Folklore by drinking and continued writing songs while staying at Long Pond. This led to the creation of a new studio album, Evermore, which Swift called a "sister record" to Folklore. Swift wrote much of Evermore with Dessner and recorded the album at Dessner's Long Pond. One song they wrote together was "Cowboy Like Me," produced by Dessner and recorded at Scarlet Pimpernel Studios at Marcus Mumford's home in Devon, England. On this track, Josh Kaufman played lap steel guitar, harmonica, and mandolin. Justin Vernon played drums and electric guitar. Marcus Mumford of the band Mumford & Sons sang background vocals.
Music and lyrics
" Cowboy Like Me " is a song that lasts 4 minutes and 35 seconds. It is a slow, calm ballad with soft musical elements. The song includes a slow piano rhythm, guitar solos, light harmonica sounds, and gentle drum beats. One guitar part was compared by Ellen Pierson-Hagger of New Statesman to the melody of Taylor Swift’s first single, " Tim McGraw " (2006). Swift’s voice has a country-style tone, and Sarah Carson of The i Paper noted that she sings the same notes as in " Tim McGraw." Aaron Dessner called the song a country track, while some critics described it as country-styled and said it reflects Swift’s earlier country and Americana influences. Sam Sodomsky of Pitchfork said it was the most country-like song on the album Evermore, alongside " No Body, No Crime." Jason Lipshutz of Billboard described the song as a mix of country, folk, and "sun-kissed" alternative music. Mikael Wood of the Los Angeles Times noted its folk rock style, and Chris Willman of Variety compared its sound to the "laid-back early '70s" style. Hannah Mylrea of NME said the song would fit well on Lana Del Rey’s album Norman Fucking Rockwell! (2019). The song’s music was also compared to the styles of T Bone Burnett and the Civil Wars.
Swift said the song tells the story of two young con artists who fall in love while working at fancy resorts to trick wealthy people. The lyrics have a sad and story-like tone, showing two people who pretend to love others for money but later discover they have real feelings for each other. The narrator waits for a phone call from her love interest and feels heartbroken, using the Gardens of Babylon as a metaphor for the pain of the relationship. Carl Wilson of Slate said the story reminded him of the 1931 romantic comedy Blonde Crazy.
Release and commercial performance
Less than five months after the release of Folklore, Evermore was announced on December 10, 2020, and released the next day by Republic Records. "Cowboy Like Me" is number 10 on the track listing. After Evermore was released, "Cowboy Like Me" reached number 62 on the Billboard Global 200 chart, number 55 on the ARIA Singles Chart in Australia, number 71 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, and number 43 on the Canadian Hot 100. The song has been certified gold in Australia, Brazil, and New Zealand, and silver in the UK.
Mumford performed a solo version of "Cowboy Like Me" during his 2022 and 2023 concerts as part of a tour to promote his debut studio album, Self-Titled (2022). It was the second-to-last song in the set list, performed during the encore. On July 15, 2023, Mumford and Maggie Rogers performed a cover of "Cowboy Like Me" at the first Sommo Festival in Cavendish, Prince Edward Island.
Taylor Swift performed "Cowboy Like Me" four times on the Eras Tour. She and Mumford performed the song together live for the first time at a concert in Las Vegas on March 25, 2023. In 2024, she performed the song as part of mashups with other songs from her discography: with "Tim McGraw" on acoustic guitar on March 9 in Singapore, with "You Are in Love" on piano on July 5 in Amsterdam, and with "Maroon" on piano on November 2 in Indianapolis.
Critical reception
The song "Cowboy Like Me" received mostly positive feedback for its storytelling, but opinions about the music production were divided. Mikael Wood of the Los Angeles Times and Nate Jones of Vulture praised the lyrics but were not satisfied with the production. Wood noted that the musical arrangement "never gets up and goes anywhere," while Jones called the sound "anonymous" but appreciated the "lived-in cynicism" in the lyrics. Wilson said the lyrics were "great" but believed the music could improve by sounding more like what the song's characters might sing, and he described Mumford's vocals as "snoozy." Lipshutz ranked "Cowboy Like Me" as the 9th best track from the deluxe version of Evermore, calling it an "ambitious mix" of genres and one of the album's "most decadent listens." Sodomsky called the track "gorgeous," and Chris Willman of Variety praised Mumford's "lovely harmony vocal." Bobby Olivier of Spin said "Cowboy Like Me" was one of the standout tracks discovered upon listening closely to the album.
Other reviews focused on the lyrics. Alan Light of Esquire described the song as a "finely-etched grifter's tale," while Neil McCormick of The Daily Telegraph highlighted the "playfully noirish twists." Deborah Krieger of PopMatters selected it as one of the album's strong tracks with "immersive realism." Spencer Kornharber of The Atlantic praised the song for "[showing] how Swift's love for conspiratorial romances draws out her knack for detail and scenery." Alex Hopper of American Songwriter called "Cowboy Like Me" a fan favorite from Evermore and one of its "highpoints." Willman ranked the track among the best 75 songs by Swift, noting it was one of "the more obviously fictional narratives" in her discography.