"Only the Young" is a song by Taylor. It was released by Republic Records on January 31, 2020, alongside "Miss Americana", a Netflix documentary that follows Taylor's life and career over several years, where the song is featured in the ending credits. Taylor wrote and produced the song with Joel Little.

BACKGROUND AND COMPOSITION

Taylor told Variety ahead of the song's release:

"It was hard to see so many people feel like they had canvassed and done everything and tried so hard. I saw a lot of young people's hopes dashed. And I found that to be particularly tragic, because young people are the people who feel the worst effects of gun violence, and student loans and trying to figure out how to start their lives and how to pay their bills, and climate change, and are we going to war — all these horrific situations that we find ourselves facing right now." -- Taylor Swift

Taylor wrote the song after the 2018 United States elections. Chris Willman of Variety termed the song as "an anthem for millennials who might've come away disillusioned with the political process". Prior to the elections, Taylor broke her political silence by endorsing two Democrats: Congressman Jim Cooper for re-election to the House of Representatives, and former Tennessee governor Phil Bredesen for the Senate. Taylor also criticized the voting record of Bredesen's opponent, Republican Marsha Blackburn.

In an interview with Willman, Taylor revealed that she held back "Only the Young" from being included on her seventh studio album "Lover" (2019). She also revealed that the song is co-written and co-produced with Joel Little, who worked with Taylor on four songs on the album including "Miss Americana & the Heartbreak Prince", from which the title of the documentary comes, and that it is not intended to be a single.

"Only the Young" incorporates political lyrics, urging young citizens to get involved in politics, alluding to President Donald Trump, the 2016 presidential election and mass shootings in the United States.