So It Goes

Taylor Swift released her fifth studio album, 1989, in October 2014. 1989's synth-pop production transformed Swift's sound and image from country-oriented to mainstream pop. The album was a commercial success, selling over five million copies in the United States within one year, and spawning three Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles. The BBC asserted that the success solidified Swift's status as a global pop star.

Swift was a target of tabloid gossip during the promotion of 1989. Her "America's Sweetheart" reputation, a result of her wholesome and innocent image, was blemished from publicized short-lived relationships and disputes with other celebrities, including a dispute with the rapper Kanye West and the media personality Kim Kardashian. Swift became increasingly reticent on social media, having previously maintained an active presence with a large following, and avoided interactions with the press amidst the tumultuous affairs. She conceived her sixth studio album, Reputation, as an answer to the media commotion surrounding her celebrity.

Swift and the Swedish producers Max Martin and Shellback wrote several songs for Reputation. During a songwriting session in Los Angeles, Swift came across an instrumental track produced by Oscar Görres that Shellback played on his computer. Swift heard the track and told him, "That’s special. I haven't done anything like that. Can we do that?" Swift then wrote the lyrics and composed the melody together with Martin and Shellback, and the three had a FaceTime call with Gorres to finalize the song, which became "So It Goes...". Görres recalled that it was a "strange" session for him because he had just gotten out of the shower wrapped in a towel, but he was "very thankful for that". Big Machine Records released Reputation on November 10, 2017; "So It Goes..." is track number 7.

Swift wrote "So It Goes..." with its producers, Max Martin, Shellback and Oscar Görres. It is an atmospheric trap-pop, synth-pop, and EDM-pop power ballad. "So It Goes..." is a love song about reflecting on how a new love interest might help her out of her fixations, but with concerns of fear and danger. Swift portrays herself as trapped and powerless against a greater force, while singing about leaving scratches on its back. Swift also makes confessions to the love interest in the song: "I'm so chill/ But you make me jealous." The title is a reference to a phrase popularized by Kurt Vonnegut's novel Slaughterhouse-Five (1969).

Taylor Maple of Bustle described "So It Goes..." as "reminiscent of a relationship that's endured despite public attention or the stresses that come along with it", connecting it to how Swift and then-boyfriend British actor Joe Alwyn met. Kayleigh Roberts and Samantha Olson of Cosmopolitan also drew connections to Swift and Alwyn's relationship. Wendy Michaels of Elite Daily described the lyrics of the song as sexual and steamy. Craig Jenkins of Vulture commended in his review of Reputation that the song "[weighs] the freedom of being single against the irresistible magnetism of a growing attraction". Ashley Iasemone, writing for Billboard, compared the song to "Mirrorball", from Swift's eighth studio album Folklore, further elaborating that both songs "present a sense of illusion, and an overwhelming feeling of being caught up in a moment". Chris Willman of Variety applauded the song as a "lipstick-smearing firebrand", Rob Harvilla of The Ringer finds the song "awkward and dorky", and Geoff Nelson of Consequence compared it to Lorde's sophomore album, Melodrama.

Several critics regarded "So It Goes..." as a weaker song in Swift's discography. Chris Richards of The Washington Post posted a negative review of the song, describing it as an attempt to "rap like Travis Scott". Alex Hopper of American Songwriter ranked the song as nine out of ten of the least streamed songs in every Taylor Swift album, further elaborating that it is "not as powerful as [other songs on Reputation]". Jamieson Cox of Pitchfork described "So It Goes..." as "replacement-level trap-pop". George Fenwick of The New York Herald deemed the song insignificant, but cringe-worthy. Hannah Mylrea of NME and Lindsay Zolatz of The Ringer considered the track "filler", the former also calling it "sleepy". Jane Song of Paste criticized its "lack of catchiness", and Nate Jones of Vulture wrote that the song "comes and goes without making much of an impact".

Swift performed "So It Goes..." on her Reputation Stadium Tour on select dates, both as a surprise song and in place of "Dancing with Our Hands Tied". The song was excluded from the set list for The Eras Tour, but was performed as a surprise song on the November 20, 2023 show in Rio de Janeiro.

Credits are adapted from the liner notes of Reputation.