“Only The Young” is a political anthem encouraging young adults and teenagers to use their voice for what they believe in. Swift first announced the song in an interview with Variety, then released it alongside her Taylor Swift: Miss Americana documentary in late January 2020.

According to Variety, Swift wrote the song following the 2018 U.S. midterm elections, in which Republicans won most votes. This was the first election where Swift broke her infamous political silence — she publicly endorsed two Democrats in a post on Tumblr and Instagram before Election Day.

The song debuted at #1 on the US iTunes chart, making it Swift’s 38th song to do this, and extending her record as the artist with the most #1s in US iTunes history.