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. Swift and The National member Aaron Dessner co-produced the song together.
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 out 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.
"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 "" (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".
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.
Composition and lyrics.
Opening with police sirens, "No Body, No Crime" is a twangy and cinematic, country, pop rock, and country rock song, with heavy harmonica in the key of G minor. It tells a macabre story 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. Este is named after Este Haim. The song drew comparisons to the Dixie Chicks' "Goodbye Earl" (2000) and Carrie Underwood's "Before He Cheats" (2006) among others.
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". 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?!". 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".
"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". "USA Today" writer Patrick Ryan dubbed the song a "scorching" track that makes Swift's "mischievous return" to her country roots. 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". "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.
Impact.
Gene Lee, the CEO of American casual dining restaurant chain Olive Garden credited Swift for gathering social interactions with the brand after she mentioned the name of the brand on one of her lyrics on the song, said that "Just think about what happened last week when Taylor Swift dropped the song with Olive Garden in it, and how we were able to capture that socially and create buzz around that. When Taylor Swift drops our name in a song, our brand becomes very, very relevant".
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. 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.
In the UK, "No Body, No Crime" debuted at number 19 on the UK Singles Chart, shifting 22,875 units in its first week. 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".