Track Review: Ed Sheeran Taps Taylor Swift for "The Joker And The Queen" Remix

Top 40's favorite guitar-strumming singer-songwriters are back with yet another collaboration. Their third new duet following "Everything Has Changed (Taylor's Version)" and "Run," this remix of one of the few standout tracks on Ed's abysmal = (Equals) finds him getting back on track.

In a sea of forgettable and barely listenable tracks, "The Joker And The Queen" emerged as the torchbearer of the Ed Sheeran of years past. The uncomfortable attempts at synthpop are washed away by delicate strings, gentle acoustic guitar, and lyrics inspired by the imagery of a deck of cards. This new duet version of "The Joker And The Queen" finds Taylor returning to the whimsical starry-eyed schmaltz of Lover. Taylor Swift revises the song's second verse to speak from the perspective of the titular Queen. She is able to humanize the character ("I've been played before, if you hadn't guessed") while also revealing the reciprocity of the relationship's vulnerability from the opposite perspective ("And saw through all my tells / And then you went all in / And we left together"). Furthermore, the updated chorus flips Ed's original assumption of who the Queen may fall in love with into a moment of introspection for what his understanding of a king actually is. The changes in the remix are tasteful. From the updated lyrics to the additional background vocals in the cinematic bridge, this folk waltz gets a breath of new life and further nuance from a pair of artists that continue to bring the best out of each other. Sure, tapping Taylor for the remix was predictable, but she does her job well!

Score: 72