In late April 2026, a mysterious 48-hour countdown appeared on Taylor Swift's official website, featuring the iconic blue sky and clouds from Andy's Room in Disney's Toy Story.

This countdown quickly disappeared, with members of Pixar's team suggesting that Taylor would not, despite all the speculation, be contributing the dramatic final song in the film.

But just when our hopes of this momentous Disney x Taylor collaboration were left in tatters, we started noticing TS billboards with that same cloud pattern across the US. And then, at the start of June, Taylor revealed that she'd be releasing ‘I Knew It, I Knew You’ on June 5th, a song she'd penned especially for Toy Story 5. The ‘Cruel Summer’ hitmaker wrote the track immediately after watching a private screening of the blockbuster new movie, which is released in cinemas on June 19th.

Much was made in the lead-up to ‘I Knew It, I Knew You’s release about the fact that this song would mark Taylor's long-awaited “return to country”. Opening with an undulating guitar riff and Taylor's charismatic vocals, ‘I Knew It, I Knew You’ is decidedly more pared-down than much of the material on The Tortured Poets’ Department.

It's refreshing to hear Taylor's vocals so lucidly without any of the hazy, atmospheric production she's been opting for in recent years, with much of ‘I Knew It, I Knew You’ pivoting around nothing more than the ‘Anti-Hero’ singer-songwriter's voice and the gently twangy guitar. We get the introduction of layered vocals and built out production as ‘I Knew You, I Knew’ approaches its conclusion, though, mirroring the increasing jubilation and excitement over the course of the song.

It's a subtly infectious ode to love, and the innocence and joy that permeates this stellar new offering from the global superstar will no doubt match the vibe of Toy Story 5 perfectly.

Although we inevitably won't know the specific context of ‘I Knew It, I Knew You’ in relation to Toy Story 5 until the film is out, the overarching narrative of the song is one of rekindling romance. The scene opens with a nostalgic recounting of running gleefully through the grass and feeling untethered by the worries of adulthood.

Taylor sings from the perspective of someone looking back on young love, assuming there's no future for the now-broken-up couple. But then, she sees her old flame standing before her, and all the wonderful emotions come flooding back. It becomes clearer than ever that this is true love - she knew it then, she knows it now.

Based on what Taylor has said around the song's release and the official Toy Story 5 trailer, we imagine she is singing from the viewpoint of Jessie being reunited with Buzz.

In a heartfelt social media post shared in tandem with the song's release, Taylor explained what inspired the track, “Writing this song felt like 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. 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 global pop phenom went on to express her sincere gratitude for the magic of Randy Newman's legendary Toy Story soundtracks, “Thank you to the brilliant Andrew Stanton for imagining me for this, all those years ago when you wrote this newest film. Thank you to the incomparable @randynewmanofficial for the gorgeous sonic tapestry of songs and scores you’ve meticulously woven over the years. You created the Toy Story musical world, and we are lucky to get to live in it”.

Swift concludes her post with a message of thanks to her longstanding co-producer and co-writer, Jack Antonoff, “By we, I mean myself and my pal @jackantonoff. We wrote this with so much adoration for these characters that made us laugh and helped us learn lessons and think outside the backyard all throughout our childhoods. “I Knew It, I Knew You” from Toy Story 5 is out everywhere now”.

Ahead of its arrival, Taylor shared, “You knew it! My new original song “I Knew It, I Knew You” for Disney and @pixar’s @toystory 5 will be yours on June 5th. I’ve always dreamed of getting to write for these characters who I’ve adored since I was a 5 year old kid watching the first Toy Story movie. I fell instantly in love with Toy Story 5 when I was lucky enough to see it in its early stages, and I wrote this song as soon as I got home from the screening. Sometimes you just know, right?”

“I knew you
Through the daze of the blades of the grass in summer
Parachutes for the free fall of being younger
-
I memorized the sound of your bare footsteps running wild
It's been a long time
Life has ways of leaving those days behind
But seeing you tonight
-
I remembered I loved you
Came back when it mattered
I saw you, standing there in the light of the window
Wearing that same smile
Man, it's been a while
But I knew it, I knew you
I knew it, I knew you
-
I knew you, all your blues like a mood ring changing colors
You did too, there were times we could fight like brothers
-
I watched you drive around the bend
For what I thought would be the last time I saw my friend
But love has ways of bringing things back to life
All you said was, "Hi"
-
And I remembered I loved you
Came back when it mattered
I saw you, standing there in the light of the window
Wearing that same smile
Man, it's been a while
But I knew it, I knew you
I knew it, I knew you
I knew it, I knew you
-
Oh, the rivers I cried when we said goodbye
Wondering if I'd made it up in my mind
But now you look me in the eye
-
And you told me I loved you
Came back when it mattered
I saw you, standing there in the light of the window
Wearing that same smile
Yeah, it's been a while
Oh
Wearing that same smile
Man, it's been a while
Wearing that same smile
Man, it's been a while
But I knew it, I knew you
-
I knew it, I knew you
Wearing that same smile
I knew it, I knew you
I knew it, I knew you
I knew it”

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Taylor Swift

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