1 Step Forward, 3 Steps Back

I was lucky enough to get that approved, and it's on the record now.Following the viral success of her debut single "Drivers License", on April 13, 2021, Rodrigo announced the title, track listing and cover artwork of her debut studio album, Sour; the fourth track was titled "1 Step Forward, 3 Steps Back".

[4] The album was released on May 21, 2021, via retail stores, digital music and streaming platforms, as well as on Rodrigo's website.

[7] The song interpolates the piano chords from Swift's "New Year's Day", the final track of her sixth studio album, Reputation (2017).

[10] She created the song's hook from a text message, stating that she "thought it would be a cool way to describe this toxic, sort of manipulative relationship".

The bird chirping heard at the beginning of the track was an idea by Dan Nigro, the song's producer and Rodrigo's musical collaborator on Sour, who recorded them through a window at his house.

Club critic Tatiana Tenreyro wrote that "1 Step Forward, 3 Steps Back" blends Swift's influences with that of Regina Spektor, "inviting listeners who may have mourned failed romances while listening to Begin To Hope to feel nostalgic, while also allowing a new generation of teenagers to recognize themselves".

[14] Writing for The New York Times, Jon Caramanica asserted that the song, like its fellow tracks, perfects "the precise language for an imprecise, complex emotional situation; and working through private stories in public fashion.

"[8] Pitchfork's Olivia Horn identified the song's "Swiftian" songwriting, in which Rodrigo "treats emotional turmoil like jet fuel, and laces her lyrics with specifics".