No Body, No Crime

"No Body, No Crime" (stylized in all lowercase) is a song written and recorded by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, featuring guest vocals from American rock band Haim. It is the sixth track on her ninth studio album, Evermore (2020), released on December 11, 2020, through Republic Records. The National member Aaron Dessner produced the song.

"No Body, No Crime"
Single by Taylor Swift featuring Haim
from the album Evermore
ReleasedJanuary 11, 2021 (2021-01-11)
Recorded2020
Genre
Length3:35
Label
Songwriter(s)Taylor Swift
Producer(s)
Taylor Swift singles chronology
"Willow"
(2020)		 "No Body, No Crime"
(2021)		 "Coney Island"
(2021)
Haim singles chronology
"3 AM (Toro y Moi remix)"
(2020)		 "No Body, No Crime"
(2021)
Lyric video
"No Body, No Crime" on YouTube

Channeling noir storytelling, "No Body, No Crime" is an upbeat country, country rock and pop rock ballad that details the fictitious story of a woman named Este, who is murdered by her husband when she finds about his infidelity. Unable to prove the husband guilty of Este's murder, a friend of Este (the song's narrator) avenges Este's death by murdering her husband and erasing all evidences of the murder.

Upon release of Evermore, "No Body, No Crime" received rave reviews from music critics, who dubbed it a flashback to Swift's country roots, and praised the cinematic style and plot of its lyrics. It reached the top-20 region of record charts in Australia, Canada, Ireland, and the United Kingdom. In the United States, the track peaked at number 2 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, and number 34 on the Billboard Hot 100, marking Haim's first-ever Hot 100 entry. "No Body, No Crime" impacted US country radio as a single on January 11, 2021.

Background and release
Danielle and Este Haim (middle and right, respectively) of Haim provide backing vocals on "No Body, No Crime".

"No Body, No Crime" marks the first collaboration between Swift and Haim. The song was written by Swift on a rubber-bridge guitar. She forwarded her voice memo of the song to Aaron Dessner, her Evermore producer, who developed the song's instrumentation. Swift had specific ideas on how she wanted the song to feel, including Haim's vocals on the song. The Haim sisters recorded at engineer Ariel Rechtshaid's Los Angeles home studio, and sent it to Swift, who was at Dessner's Long Pond studio, filming Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions (2020). The harmonica and guitar riffs on the song were provided by Josh Kaufman, who also played the harmonica on "Betty" (2020), the fourteenth track on Folklore. JT Bates played the drums on "No Body, No Crime", who also contributed the drums on "Dorothea", eighth track on Evermore.[1]

Her classics are in rotation. I love that we have new music from her that is considered country enough for the format. Taylor never 'left' country. She is a star that had an opportunity to capture 100% of the world, and all genres, instead of just the piece that country is.

— Programming Director at WJVC Nassau, New York, Billboard[2]

On December 10, 2020, Swift revealed the track listing of Evermore, where "No Body, No Crime" placed sixth; the album was released on December 11, 2020. MCA Nashville released "No Body, No Crime" to United States country radio stations on January 11, 2021.[3][2]

Composition and lyrics

Opening with police sirens,[4] "No Body, No Crime" is a twangy[5] and cinematic,[6] country,[7] pop rock,[8] and country rock song,[9] with heavy harmonica.[10] It tells a macabre story[5] of a woman named Este, who confronts her cheating husband. She goes missing and the song's narrator suspects she was murdered by him in favor of his mistress. Without the body of the victim the husband cannot be tried for homicide. Este's friend takes justice into her own hands and kills the husband, dumps his body in a lake and frames the mistress.[6] Este is named after Este Haim.[11][12] The song drew comparisons to the Dixie Chicks' "Goodbye Earl" (2000) and Carrie Underwood's "Before He Cheats" (2006) among others.[13]

Critical reception

Brodie Lancaster of The Sydney Morning Herald opined that "No Body, No Crime" sees Swift and the Haim sisters "stomp through a saloon-style remake of Chicago's "He Had it Comin'" as they tell of a mad woman who covers up the murder of her cheating husband".[14] Bobby Olivier of Spin thought the song follows Carrie Underwood's model of taking "down a cheater with a catchy refrain and a sprinkle of … what's that? … murder?!".[15] Chris Willman of Variety found the song to be the album's "pure spirit of fun" moment, away from the ruminating themes of other tracks. He characterized "No Body, No Crime" as a dark "spirited double-murder ballad" inspired by The Chicks' 2000 single "Goodbye, Earl".[16]

Stereogum critic Tom Breihan defined the song as the "willfully silly murder narrative" that works as a take on "Goodbye Earl", and commended it as "the most country thing that Swift has done in years".[17] USA Today writer Patrick Ryan dubbed the song a "scorching" track that makes Swift's "mischievous return" to her country roots.[18] Describing the placement "No Body, No Crime" in Evermore, Jason Lipshutz of Billboard stated that the "delicious" song provides "hope and levity" amidst of the album's emotional "wreckage".[19] NME critic Hannah Mylrea noted the song's sonic direction, and described it as a "full-blown country revenge song that ends in the murder of a philandering husband", condensing a David Fincher film in a matter of few minutes.[20]

Commercial performance

"No Body, No Crime" debuted at number 34 in the United States, marking Haim's first entry and top-forty on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.[21] It also debuted at number two on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, marking Swift's second top 10 of 2020, following "Betty", and Haim's first appearance on the chart.[22]

In the UK, "No Body, No Crime" debuted at number 19 on the UK Singles Chart, shifting 22,875 units in its first week.[23] The track also debuted within the top 20 in Canada, Ireland and Australia peaking at number 11, 11 and 16 respectively.

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from Pitchfork.[24]

  • Taylor Swift − lead vocals, songwriting, production
  • Haim – featured artist
  • Aaron Dessner − production, recording, mandolin, synthesizers, piano, field recording and bass, acoustic and electric guitars
  • Josh Kaufman − lap steel, electric guitar, organ and harmonica
  • J.T. Bates − drum kit, instrumental recording
  • Jonathan Low − vocal recording, mixing
  • Ariel Rechtshaid − vocal recording
  • Matt DiMona − vocal recording
  • Greg Calbi − mastering
  • Steve Fallone − mastering

Charts
Chart (2020–2021) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[25] 16
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[26] 11
Billboard Global 200[27] 16
Ireland (IRMA)[28] 11
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[29] 29
Portugal (AFP)[30] 83
Singapore (RIAS)[31] 28
Slovakia (Rádio Top 100)[32] 98
UK Singles (OCC)[33] 19
US Billboard Hot 100[34] 34
US Country Airplay (Billboard)[35] 60
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[36] 2
US Rolling Stone Top 100[37] 12

Release history
Release dates and formats for "No Body, No Crime"
Region Date Format Label(s) Ref.
United States January 11, 2021 Country radio
[38][39]

References
  1. Shaffer, Claire (December 18, 2020). "Aaron Dessner on How His Collaborative Chemistry With Taylor Swift Led to 'Evermore'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved December 19, 2020.
  2. Trust, Gary (January 28, 2021). "Taylor Swift's 'Coney Island' and 'No Body, No Crime' Debut on Airplay Charts, Joining 'Willow'". Billboard. Retrieved January 30, 2021.
  3. "Future Releases for Country Radio Stations". All Access. Archived from the original on December 21, 2020. Retrieved December 21, 2020.
  4. Rodgers, Katherine (December 16, 2020). "Review – Taylor Swift, Evermore". The Quietus. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
  5. Lipshutz, Jason (December 14, 2020). "Every Song Ranked on Taylor Swift's 'Evermore': Critic's Picks". Billboard. Archived from the original on December 13, 2020. Retrieved December 14, 2020.
  6. Brodie, Lancaster (December 11, 2020). "Taylor Swift is back, stronger than ever before". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on December 11, 2020. Retrieved December 11, 2020.
  7. Mylrae, Hannah (December 11, 2020). "Taylor Swift – 'Evermore' review: the freewheeling younger sibling to 'Folklore'". NME. Archived from the original on December 11, 2020. Retrieved December 11, 2020.
  8. Crone, Madeline (December 11, 2020). "Taylor Swift 'evermore' Is Ready For Your Record Player, Radio Play Be Damned". American Songwriter. Archived from the original on December 11, 2020. Retrieved December 12, 2020.
  9. Petridis, Alexis (December 11, 2020). "Taylor Swift: Evermore – rich alt-rock and richer character studies". The Guardian. Archived from the original on December 11, 2020. Retrieved December 11, 2020.
  10. Pareles, Jon (December 11, 2020). "'Evermore,' Taylor Swift's 'Folklore' Sequel, Is a Journey Deeper Inward". The New York Times. Archived from the original on December 11, 2020. Retrieved December 11, 2020.
  11. Salem, Meryanna (December 13, 2020). "The Story Behind Taylor Swift's Murder Mystery Song 'no body no crime' Is Actually Friendship". Junkee. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
  12. Huff, Lauren (December 11, 2020). "Taylor Swift explains the story behind 'murder mystery song' 'No Body, No Crime'". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
  13. Curto, Justin (December 11, 2020). "Taylor Swift's Long-Overdue Haim Collab Tries to Be Cold-Blooded But Is Mostly Just Cold". Vulture. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
  14. Brodie, Lancaster (December 11, 2020). "Taylor Swift is back, stronger than ever before". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on December 11, 2020. Retrieved January 6, 2021.
  15. Olivier, Bobby (December 11, 2020). "Taylor Swift's 'Evermore' Is an Undeniable Folk-Pop Masterpiece". Spin. Archived from the original on December 22, 2020. Retrieved January 28, 2020.
  16. Willman, Chris (December 11, 2020). "Taylor Swift Has Her Second Great Album of 2020 With 'Evermore': Album Review". Variety. Archived from the original on December 11, 2020. Retrieved December 11, 2020.
  17. Breihan, Tom (December 12, 2020). "Premature Evaluation: Taylor Swift evermore". Stereogum. Archived from the original on December 11, 2020. Retrieved December 12, 2020.
  18. Ryan, Patrick (December 12, 2020). "Taylor Swift's 'Evermore' review: Pop star returns to the woods for a spellbinding 'Folklore' companion". USA TODAY. Archived from the original on December 12, 2020. Retrieved December 12, 2020.
  19. Lipshutz, Jason (December 12, 2020). "Taylor Swift's 'Evermore' is a Rewarding Journey Deeper Into the Woods". Billboard. Archived from the original on December 11, 2020. Retrieved December 12, 2020.
  20. Mylrae, Hannah (December 11, 2020). "Taylor Swift – 'Evermore' review: the freewheeling younger sibling to 'Folklore'". NME. Archived from the original on December 11, 2020. Retrieved January 6, 2021.
  21. "The Hot 100 Chart". Billboard. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
  22. Houghton, Cillea (December 22, 2020). "Taylor Swift returns to country charts with "No Body, No Crime"". ABC News Radio. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
  23. Masterson, James. "Charts analysis: Mariah Carey holds on at summit as battle commences for Christmas No.1". Music Week. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
  24. Minsker, Evan. "Taylor Swift Releases New Album evermore: Listen and Read the Full Credits". Pitchfork. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
  25. "Australian-charts.com – Taylor Swift feat. Haim – No Body, No Crime". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved December 19, 2020.
  26. "Taylor Swift Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved December 22, 2020.
  27. "Taylor Swift Chart History (Global 200)". Billboard. Retrieved December 21, 2020.
  28. "Official Irish Singles Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved December 19, 2020.
  29. "Charts.nz – Taylor Swift feat. Haim – No Body, No Crime". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved December 19, 2020.
  30. "Portuguesecharts.com – Taylor Swift feat. Haim – No Body, No Crime". AFP Top 100 Singles. Retrieved December 24, 2020.
  31. "RIAS Top Charts". Recording Industry Association Singapore. Archived from the original on December 22, 2020. Retrieved December 22, 2020.
  32. "ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: insert 20215 into search. Retrieved February 8, 2021.
  33. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved December 19, 2020.
  34. "Taylor Swift Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved December 22, 2020.
  35. "Taylor Swift Chart History (Country Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
  36. "Taylor Swift Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved December 22, 2020.
  37. "Top 100 Songs". Rolling Stone. December 17, 2020. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
  38. "Future Releases for Country Radio Stations". All Access. Archived from the original on December 21, 2020. Retrieved December 21, 2020.
  39. https://web.archive.org/web/20210121152053/https://musicrow.com/new-releases/#singletrack-releases
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