Swift, Civil Wars Combine Forces On New Song

Santa must have been paying attention, because we got a whopper of a present right before departing for the holiday break. On December 23, Taylor Swift released a new song called “Safe & Sound” to iTunes, which quickly became the digital retailer’s No. 1 seller. Featuring breakout duo The Civil Wars, “Safe & Sound” is the lead single from the soundtrack to the highly anticipated Lionsgate film The Hunger Games, based on the novel by Suzanne Collins. Swift wrote the song with Joy Williams, John Paul White and T Bone Burnett.

Taylor revealed the news exclusively to her fans via Twitter. Thirty minutes prior to the song’s release, she posted that she was very excited about something that was “going to be happening VERY soon,” then posted a link to the iTunes download. Listen to the track here.

Burnett is producing the soundtrack, which will be released by Universal Republic and feature all newly written songs. Also appearing on the collection will be The Decemberists and Grammy winners The Arcade Fire. The Hunger Games soundtrack will debut in advance of the film’s theatrical release on March 23.