:So High School

Taylor Swift announced her eleventh original studio album, The Tortured Poets Department, at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards on February 4, 2024.{{cite news |last1=West |first1=Bryan |date=April 21, 2024 |title=Taylor Swift makes Grammys history with fourth album of the year win for Midnights |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/music/2024/02/04/taylor-swift-wins-grammys-2024-midnights/72425158007/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240205024530/https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/music/2024/02/04/taylor-swift-wins-grammys-2024-midnights/72425158007/ |archive-date=February 5, 2024 |access-date=April 21, 2024 |work=USA Today}} She had worked on the album shortly after finishing her tenth album, Midnights (2022), and continued writing during the early run of the Eras Tour in 2023.{{Cite magazine |last=Blistein |first=Jon |date=February 7, 2024 |title=Taylor Swift Reveals Tortured Poets Department Back Up Plan In Case She Didn't Win a Grammy |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/taylor-swift-tortured-poets-department-backup-plan-tokyo-1234963303/ |url-access=limited |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240207163624/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/taylor-swift-tortured-poets-department-backup-plan-tokyo-1234963303/ |archive-date=February 7, 2024 |access-date=April 19, 2024 |magazine=Rolling Stone}} The standard album was released on April 19, 2024, and a double album edition subtitled The Anthology was surprise-released two hours later.{{Cite web |last=Phillipp |first=Charlotte |date=April 19, 2024 |title=Taylor Swift Surprises Fans with Double Album — 15 More The Tortured Poets Department Songs — at 2 A.M. |url=https://people.com/taylor-swift-announces-tortured-poets-department-double-album-2-am-8635744 |access-date=July 16, 2024 |website=People |language= |archive-date=July 16, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240716171054/https://people.com/taylor-swift-announces-tortured-poets-department-double-album-2-am-8635744 |url-status=live }} "So High School" is taken from The Anthology and is track number 22 from the album.{{cite web|url=https://uproxx.com/pop/taylor-swift-the-tortured-poets-department-the-anthology-credits-songwriters/|title=Taylor Swift's The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology: Here Are The Full Album Credits With Songwriters|last=Rossingol|first=Derrick|date=April 19, 2024|website=Uproxx|access-date=April 27, 2024|url-status=live|archive-date=April 27, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240427182416/https://uproxx.com/pop/taylor-swift-the-tortured-poets-department-the-anthology-credits-songwriters/}}

From May 2024, Swift revamped the set list of the Eras Tour to include tracks from The Tortured Poets Department, including "So High School".{{cite web |last1=Logan |first1=Elizabeth |date=May 11, 2024 |title=Taylor Swift's Eras Tour Set List in Order: Here's Everything She's Changed So Far |url=https://www.glamour.com/story/taylor-swifts-eras-tour-setlist-in-order-heres-everything-shes-changed-so-far |access-date=May 13, 2024 |website=Glamour |publisher= |archive-date=May 13, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240513232926/https://www.glamour.com/story/taylor-swifts-eras-tour-setlist-in-order-heres-everything-shes-changed-so-far |url-status=live }} The track is performed in a truncated version during the outro of the number "But Daddy I Love Him".{{Cite web |last=Savage |first=Mark |date=June 8, 2024 |title=Taylor Swift Eras Tour Review: Pop's Heartbreak Princess Dazzles in Edinburgh |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cqlld2g4232o |access-date=June 11, 2024 |publisher=BBC |archive-date=August 7, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240807074407/https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cqlld2g4232o |url-status=live }}{{Cite magazine |last=Shafer |first=Ellise |date=May 10, 2024 |title=Taylor Swift Masterfully Reinvents the Eras Tour for Its European Version: See All the Changes |url=https://variety.com/2024/music/global/taylor-swift-eras-tour-changes-europe-tortured-poets-department-1235998418/ |access-date=June 12, 2024 |magazine=Variety |archive-date=May 12, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240512095745/https://variety.com/2024/music/global/taylor-swift-eras-tour-changes-europe-tortured-poets-department-1235998418/ |url-status=live }} Swift performed the track as part of the surprise song set on July 6 in Amsterdam, in a mashup with "Mary's Song (Oh, My, My, My)" and "Everything Has Changed".{{cite magazine |last1=Shafer |first1=Ellise |title=Taylor Swift's Eras Tour: Every Surprise Song She's Played So Far |url=https://variety.com/2024/music/news/taylor-swift-eras-tour-surprise-songs-list-1235578714/ |access-date=July 14, 2024 |magazine=Variety |date=July 8, 2024 |archive-date=July 22, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240722150906/https://variety.com/2024/music/news/taylor-swift-eras-tour-surprise-songs-list-1235578714/ |url-status=live }}

At 3 minutes and 48 seconds long, "So High School" was written and produced by Swift and Aaron Dessner, who provided drum machine programming and played bass guitar, bass synth, electric guitar, keyboards, percussion, piano, and synthesizers.{{Cite AV media notes |last=Swift |first=Taylor |title=The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology |date=2024 |type=vinyl |id=B0DK4N2CB1 |author-link=Taylor Swift |publisher=Republic Records}}{{Cite web |last=Swift |first=Taylor |author-link=Taylor Swift |date=April 19, 2024 |title=The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology |url=https://music.apple.com/us/album/the-tortured-poets-department-the-anthology/1742057774 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240423124605/https://music.apple.com/us/album/the-tortured-poets-department-the-anthology/1742057774 |archive-date=April 23, 2024 |access-date=December 6, 2024 |publisher=Apple Music (US)}} James McAlister also provided drum machine programming and played drums, electric guitar, and synthesizers; his performance was recorded by Bella Blasko at Hudson Valley. Benjamin Lanz used a sequencer for the track and played trumbone and synthesizers such as a modular synthesizer; he recorded his performance at Paris. Blasko and Jonathan Low recorded "So High School" at Long Pond Studios at Hudson Valley and Serban Ghenea mixed it at Mixstar Studios in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Bryce Bordone engineered the track. The song was mastered by Randy Merrill at Sterling Sound in Edgewater, New Jersey, where Ryan Smith mastered it for vinyl as well.

{{Listen

| filename = So High School by Taylor Swift (sample).ogg

| title = "So High School"

| description = "So High School" is an indie rock, slacker rock, and power pop song accompanied by strumming guitar.

}}

Backed by strumming guitar,{{Cite web |last=Ruggieri |first=Melissa |date=April 19, 2024 |title=Taylor Swift's Tortured Poets is hauntingly brilliant, even the 15 surprise songs |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/music/2024/04/19/taylor-swift-tortured-poets-department-review/73342235007/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240419174553/https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/music/2024/04/19/taylor-swift-tortured-poets-department-review/73342235007/ |archive-date=April 19, 2024 |access-date=May 14, 2024 |website=USA Today}} "So High School" is an indie rock,{{Cite web |last=Exposito |first=Suzy |date=April 19, 2024 |title=Taylor Swift's The Tortured Poets Department – And Its Surprise Companion, The Anthology – Mine The Darkness To Pop Perfection |url=https://www.vogue.co.uk/article/taylor-swift-the-tortured-poets-department-review |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240419194201/https://www.vogue.co.uk/article/taylor-swift-the-tortured-poets-department-review |archive-date=April 19, 2024 |access-date=April 20, 2024 |magazine=British Vogue}} slacker rock,{{Cite web |last=Rosement |first=Sophie |date=April 19, 2024 |title=The Tortured Poets Department : que vaut le double album surprise de Taylor Swift ? |trans-title=The Tortured Poets Department: what do we make of Taylor Swift's surprise double album? |url=https://www.lesinrocks.com/musique/the-tortured-poets-department-que-vaut-le-double-album-surprise-de-taylor-swift-615980-19-04-2024/ |access-date=2025-04-22 |website=Les Inrockuptibles |language=fr-FR}} and power pop song,{{cite magazine |last1=Sheffeld |first1=Rob |author-link=Rob Sheffield |date=April 21, 2024 |title=Taylor Swift Busts Out the Quill Pen and Delivers an Epic Double Album with TTPD: The Anthology |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews/taylor-swift-the-tortured-poets-department-the-anthology-review-1235007309/ |url-access=limited |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240419143957/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews/taylor-swift-the-tortured-poets-department-the-anthology-review-1235007309/ |archive-date=April 19, 2024 |access-date=April 21, 2024 |magazine=Rolling Stone}} with a pop rock arrangement and touches of dream pop.{{cite magazine |last1=Lipshutz |first1=Jason |date=April 19, 2024 |title=Taylor Swift's The Tortured Poets Department: All 31 Tracks Ranked |url=https://www.billboard.com/lists/taylor-swift-the-tortured-poets-department-tracks-ranked/i-can-do-it-with-a-broken-heart/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240421064740/https://www.billboard.com/lists/taylor-swift-the-tortured-poets-department-tracks-ranked/i-can-do-it-with-a-broken-heart/ |archive-date=April 21, 2024 |access-date=April 21, 2024 |magazine=Billboard}}{{cite web |last1=Richardson |first1=Mark |date=April 23, 2024 |title=The Tortured Poets Department Review: Taylor Swift's Songs of the Self |url=https://www.wsj.com/arts-culture/music/the-tortured-poets-department-review-taylor-swift-jack-antonoff-aaron-dessner-matty-healy-452feecb#:~:text=The%20pop%20superstar's%20lengthy%20new,lyrics%20that%20made%20her%20famous.&text=Since%20the%202020%20release%20of,her%20career%20has%20pointed%20up. |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240423210946/https://www.wsj.com/arts-culture/music/the-tortured-poets-department-review-taylor-swift-jack-antonoff-aaron-dessner-matty-healy-452feecb#:~:text=The%20pop%20superstar's%20lengthy%20new,lyrics%20that%20made%20her%20famous.&text=Since%20the%202020%20release%20of,her%20career%20has%20pointed%20up. |archive-date=April 23, 2024 |access-date=April 23, 2024 |website=The Wall Street Journal}} Craig Jenkins of Vulture and Jake Viswanath of Bustle believed that the track has a 1990s alternative rock feel,{{cite web |last1=Jenkins |first1=Craig |date=April 23, 2024 |title=The Performative Poets Department |url=https://www.vulture.com/article/the-tortured-poets-department-taylor-swift-album-review.html |url-access=limited |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240423211931/https://www.vulture.com/article/the-tortured-poets-department-taylor-swift-album-review.html |archive-date=April 23, 2024 |access-date=April 23, 2024 |website=Vulture}}{{cite news |last1=Viswanath |first1=Jake |date=April 20, 2024 |title=Taylor Swift's 'So High School' Will Make You Miss Your Teen Days |url=https://www.bustle.com/entertainment/taylor-swift-so-high-school-lyrics-meaning |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240421034439/https://www.bustle.com/entertainment/taylor-swift-so-high-school-lyrics-meaning |archive-date=April 21, 2024 |access-date=April 21, 2024 |work=Bustle}} while Rolling Stone{{'s}} Rob Sheffield said that its "light-hearted power-pop guitar jangle" evokes "Hits Different" from Midnights. Jack Irvin from People labeled the song a sonic throwback to Swift's 2008 album Fearless.{{Cite web |last=Irvin |first=Jack |date=April 19, 2024 |title=Taylor Swift Sings About Travis Kelce Relationship on 'So High School' |url=https://people.com/taylor-swift-lyrics-about-travis-kelce-so-high-school-8636042 |access-date=2024-05-14 |website=People |archive-date=January 31, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250131215440/https://people.com/taylor-swift-lyrics-about-travis-kelce-so-high-school-8636042 |url-status=live }} Other critics likened "So High School" to the music of other artists from the past; Beats Per Minute's John Wohlmacher called the song a "throwback at millennial soft rock" reminiscent of Third Eye Blind and Avril Lavigne,{{cite web |last1=Wohlmacher |first1=John |date=23 April 2024 |title=Album review: Taylor Swift – The Tortured Poets Department |url=https://beatsperminute.com/album-review-taylor-swift-the-tortured-poets-department/ |access-date=14 May 2024 |website=Beats Per Minute |archive-date=April 23, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240423190310/https://beatsperminute.com/album-review-taylor-swift-the-tortured-poets-department/ |url-status=live }} The Hollywood Reporter{{'s}} Ryan Fish compared its feel to that of 1980s and 1990s dream pop tracks like Simple Minds' "Don't You (Forget About Me)" and Tears for Fears' "Head over Heels",{{Cite web |last=Fish |first=Ryan |date=April 22, 2024 |title=Every Song on Taylor Swift's The Tortured Poets Department, Ranked |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lists/taylor-swift-the-tortured-poets-department-songs-ranked/ |access-date=May 14, 2024 |website=The Hollywood Reporter |language= |archive-date=April 23, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240423002656/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lists/taylor-swift-the-tortured-poets-department-songs-ranked/ |url-status=live }} and The Wall Street Journal{{'s}} Mark Richardson named the Primitives and the Sundays as reference points.

The lyrics of "So High School" revolves around careless teenage romance reminiscent of high-school love.{{cite web |last1=Miyashita |first1=Nina |last2=Waterhouse |first2=Jonah |date=April 24, 2024 |title=All the hidden meanings in Taylor Swift's The Tortured Poets Department album |url=https://www.vogue.com.au/culture/features/taylor-swift-the-tortured-poets-department/image-gallery/6d24952094c0b5fd2a02d1406bdf8a53 |access-date=May 13, 2024 |website=Vogue Australia |publisher= |archive-date=April 23, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240423150126/https://www.vogue.com.au/culture/features/taylor-swift-the-tortured-poets-department/image-gallery/6d24952094c0b5fd2a02d1406bdf8a53 |url-status=live }}{{cite news |last1=Bailey |first1=Alyssa |date=April 19, 2024 |title=Taylor Swift Sings About Wanting to Marry Travis Kelce in 'So High School' |url=https://www.elle.com/culture/music/a60547153/taylor-swift-so-high-school-lyrics-meaning-travis-kelce/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240421033942/https://www.elle.com/culture/music/a60547153/taylor-swift-so-high-school-lyrics-meaning-travis-kelce/ |archive-date=April 21, 2024 |access-date=April 21, 2024 |work=Elle}} The lover is portrayed as a football player, a lyrical motif that evokes Swift's Fearless songs like "You Belong with Me" or "Fifteen". Swift sings about youth experiences in the lines: "I'm watching American Pie with you on a Saturday night", "Truth, dare, spin bottles", and "Touch me while your bros play Grand Theft Auto".{{cite news |last1=Cappadona |first1=Bryanna |date=April 20, 2024 |title='So High School' lyrics: What does the Taylor Swift song mean? |url=https://www.today.com/popculture/music/so-high-school-taylor-swift-lyrics-meaning-rcna148574 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240421001029/https://www.today.com/popculture/music/so-high-school-taylor-swift-lyrics-meaning-rcna148574 |archive-date=April 21, 2024 |access-date=April 21, 2024 |work=Today}} Swift also hints at showing up during her love interest's football games and practices in the lyrics.

Positive reviews regarded "So High School" as a sonic standout on The Tortured Poets Department for its bright and nostalgia-inducing sound. In Billboard's ranking of all 31 tracks, "So High School" was placed seventh, with Jason Lipshutz writing: "obvious back-half highlight, simply by flexing a little muscle amidst the nostalgia trip." Fish ranked it tenth out of the 31 tracks, regarding it as one of the album's "bright spots" and complimenting its "sweeping feeling" akin to 1980s and 1990s dream pop songs. Richardson called it a highlight off of the album in his generally negative review, because "it serves as a temporary respite from the word-drunk confessionals that dominate the record". Jenkins praised the combination of 1990s alternative rock with "the gorgeous reediness of a Sheryl Crow or Aimee Mann". USA Today{{'s}} Melissa Ruggieri also found similarities to Sheryl Crow and lauded the production as "bouncy" and "breezy glow". Vogue Australia's Nina Miyashita and Jonah Waterhouse described it as an "all-American, feel-good love song" and compared it to Swift's "young and in love Fearless era". Mary Kate Carr of The A.V. Club dubbed "So High School" a "fun, poppy number" that prevents the album from being monotonous,{{cite news |last1=Carr |first1=Mary Kate |date=April 21, 2024 |title=Okay, so how about the second part of The Tortured Poets Department? |url=https://www.avclub.com/taylor-swift-surprise-double-album-ttpd-the-anthology-1851422409 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240421041547/https://www.avclub.com/taylor-swift-surprise-double-album-ttpd-the-anthology-1851422409 |archive-date=April 21, 2024 |access-date=April 21, 2024 |work=The A.V. Club}} and Jonathan Keefe of Slant Magazine thought that the track had potentials of becoming a radio hit.{{Cite web |last=Keefe |first=Jonathan |date=April 22, 2024 |title=Taylor Swift The Tortured Poets Department Review |url=https://www.slantmagazine.com/music/taylor-swift-the-tortured-poets-department-album-review/ |access-date=May 14, 2024 |website=Slant Magazine |language= |archive-date=April 22, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240422051544/https://www.slantmagazine.com/music/taylor-swift-the-tortured-poets-department-album-review/ |url-status=live }} Writing for the Los Angeles Times, Kaitlyn Huamani complimented the sentimental production set despite the cliché lyrics.{{cite news |last1=Huamani |first1=Kaitlyn |title=The best songs from Taylor Swift’s ‘Tortured Poets Department’ double album |url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/music/story/2024-04-19/taylor-swift-best-songs-tortured-poets-department |access-date=9 July 2024 |work=Los Angeles Times |date=19 April 2024 |archive-date=May 2, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240502160006/https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/music/story/2024-04-19/taylor-swift-best-songs-tortured-poets-department |url-status=live }}

Reception of the lyrics was not as uniformly positive. Some publications praised the lyrics for giving listeners a chance to reminisce about their teenage years. Slate's Carl Wilson wrote that the football imagery is "so weak and tossed-off as to be wholly extraneous".{{Cite news |last=Wilson |first=Carl |author-link=Carl Wilson (writer) |date=April 19, 2024 |title=The Problem With Taylor Swift's New Album |url=https://slate.com/culture/2024/04/taylor-swift-tortured-poets-department-album-review.html |access-date=May 14, 2024 |work=Slate |language= |issn= |archive-date=April 22, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240422002019/https://slate.com/culture/2024/04/taylor-swift-tortured-poets-department-album-review.html |url-status=live }} Wohlmacher wrote that the lyrics' rhyming is "clumsy", but he contended that it was fully intentional so as to make the song "fun". Exclaim!'s Alex Hudson lauded the sound as "vibrantly nostalgic" but said that some lyrics are "cringe-inducing", citing the lines that rhyme "Aristotle" with "Touch me while your bros play Grand Theft Auto". Hudson however added that its "awkward" sentiment also represents what teenage romance feels like.{{Cite web |last=Hudson |first=Alex |date=April 22, 2024 |title=Taylor Swift's The Tortured Poets Department Is Full of Sound and Fury, Signifying Nothing |url=https://exclaim.ca/music/article/taylor-swift-the-tortured-poets-department-album-review |access-date=May 14, 2024 |website=Exclaim! |language= |archive-date=April 22, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240422173604/https://exclaim.ca/music/article/taylor-swift-the-tortured-poets-department-album-review |url-status=live }}

When The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology was released, "So High School" debuted and peaked at number 24 on the US Billboard Hot 100. In Australia, it reached number 26 on the ARIA Singles Chart and made her the artist with the most entries in a single week with 29.{{Cite news |last=Gbogbo |first=Mawunyo |date=April 29, 2024 |title=Taylor Swift's New Album The Tortured Poets Department Smashes Chart Records in the US, UK and Australia |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-04-29/taylor-swift-tortured-poets-department-charts-uk-billboard-aria/103779382 |access-date=May 10, 2024 |publisher=ABC News |language=en-AU |archive-date=May 10, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240510010807/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-04-29/taylor-swift-tortured-poets-department-charts-uk-billboard-aria/103779382 |url-status=live }} Elsewhere, "So High School" opened at its peak of number 30 on the Billboard Global 200 and charted within the countries of Canada (28), New Zealand (33), and Portugal (82). The song also reached the United Kingdom's streaming and sales charts with respective peaks of number 35 and number 66, Sweden's Heatseeker chart at number five, and Greece's International Top 100 Digital Singles chart at number 53.

Credits are adapted from the liner notes of The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology.

{{div col}}

• Taylor Swift – lead vocals, songwriter, producer
• Aaron Dessner – songwriter, producer, bass guitar, synth bass, drum machine programming, electric guitar, keyboards, percussion, piano, synthesizer
• Serban Ghenea – mixing
• Bryce Bordone – engineer
• Jonathan Low – recording engineer
• Bella Blasko – recording engineer
• James McAlister – drums, drum machine programming, recording, electric guitar, synthesizer
• Benjamin Lanz – modular synthesizer, synthesizers, sequencer, trombone
• Randy Merrill – mastering
• Ryan Smith – mastering

{{div col end}}

{{Certification Table Top|caption=Certifications for "So High School"}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Australia|type=single|award=Gold|certyear=2024|access-date=September 27, 2024}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Brazil|type=single|award=Platinum|artist=Taylor Swift|title=So High School|relyear=2024|certyear=2025|access-date=May 23, 2025}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|type=single|award=Silver|artist=Taylor Swift|title=So High School|relyear=2024|certyear=2024|id=20516-1598-1}}

{{Certification Table Bottom|nosales=true|noshipments=true|streaming=true}}

{{reflist}}

{{Taylor Swift songs}}

Category:Taylor Swift songs

Category:2024 songs

Category:Song recordings produced by Taylor Swift

Category:Song recordings produced by Aaron Dessner

Category:Songs written by Taylor Swift

Category:Songs written by Aaron Dessner

Category:American pop rock songs

Category:American alternative rock songs

Category:American indie rock songs

Category:American power pop songs