On Friday, June 5, Taylor Swift posted rare childhood footage on X and Instagram to celebrate her new country track “I Knew It, I Knew You” from the Toy Story 5 soundtrack—fuelled by the Jessie-inspired dream she’s chased since she was 5.
Taylor Swift didn’t just drop a new song—she dropped a piece of her own past.
The singer, 36, shared rare childhood footage on X and Instagram on Friday, June 5, releasing “I Knew It, I Knew You,” from the Toy Story 5 soundtrack. In the playful clip, a young Swift rocks a cowboy hat and boots, moving around in a denim skirt with red trimming as she dances.
“I Knew It, I Knew You” is a country track co-written with her regular collaborator Jack Antonoff. Swift framed it as both a creative shift and a return, describing “a musical departure and coming home at the same time.”
“Creating something for Jessie was a new challenge and also felt like second nature all at once,” Swift wrote alongside the footage. Jessie, the cowgirl character, was first introduced in Toy Story 2.
Swift’s message landed on the idea of time—specifically, how long she’s been in this world. “And being a @toystory kid from the age of 5 til now… is an adventure I plan to be on, to infinity and beyond,” she added.
In her post, Swift also thanked the people behind Toy Story 5’s creative vision. She wrote that she wanted to thank director Andrew Stanton for imagining her years ago when he “wrote this newest film. ” and she thanked “the incomparable @RandyNewman” for the “gorgeous sonic tapestry of songs and scores” he has woven over the years.
She continued with gratitude for the larger musical universe. “You created the Toy Story musical world, and we are lucky to get to live in it. By we, I mean myself and my pal @jackantonoff,” Swift wrote. “We wrote this with so much adoration for these characters that made us laugh and helped us learn lessons and think outside the backyard all throughout our childhoods.”.
The excitement didn’t start with the video, though. Swift had announced she recorded an original song for the upcoming Disney-Pixar animation in an Instagram post on Monday, June 1, after weeks of social media clues teased by the movie studio.
Earlier speculation ran hot among fans. On Thursday, April 30, eagle-eyed Swifties noticed a 48-hour countdown on Swift’s website. An update account shared a screenshot on social media with the caption “NEW COUNTDOWN ON TAYLOR’S WEBSITE.”
In the earlier post that came with the countdown, Swift wrote: “It’s a *Toy* Story 🤠 You knew it!. My new original song ‘I Knew It. I Knew You’ for Disney and @pixar’s @toystory 5 will be yours on June 5th.” She added. “I’ve always dreamed of getting to write for these characters who I’ve adored since I was a 5 year old kid watching the first Toy Story movie.”.
She also said she fell for Toy Story 5 quickly: “I fell instantly in love with Toy Story 5 when I was lucky enough to see it in its early stages, and I wrote this song as soon as I got home from the screening. Sometimes you just know, right?”
Toy Story 5 is in theaters on June 19.
Taylor Swift I Knew It I Knew You Toy Story 5 soundtrack Jessie Jack Antonoff Andrew Stanton Randy Newman Disney Pixar X Instagram