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Taylor Swift‘s music has delved into multiple genres over the years. Between that, her songwriting ability, and her desire to control her own business, she has become an inspiration to all her fans, specifically to young girls and to any artist wanting to follow in similar footsteps.
Taylor has also famously dated some of the biggest celebrities (one of them being Harry Styles, which was one relationship fans just adored), and they’ve inspired some of her most famous works. Currently, Taylor is dating Joe Alwyn who has inspired many of her best love songs. But her own love life isn’t the only thing that’s shaped her music. Taylor’s complicated relationship with her dad and mom, and, more importantly, their separation, has been a focus of her artistry whether fans know it or not…
Updated on January 1st, 2023 by Abigail Thomas: While the divorce between Andrea and Scott Swift is still rarely talked about in the music industry, Taylor Swift has continued to channel her personal life and struggles into her music. She has not written a song directly about her parents’ split since her album Red, however there are several songs from recent years that reference a parental figure and one song directly about her mother. Swift did take a break from writing about her personal life for the albums Folklore and Evermore, though the songwriter did include references to her past in the fictionalized musical stories. Swift’s relationship with her parents seems very positive today despite past trauma.
What We Know About Taylor Swift’s Parents, Andrea and Scott Swift
Andrea and Scott Swift got married on February 20th, 1989, and raised two wonderful children, Taylor Swift (born on December 13th, 1989, and Austin Swift (born on March 11th, 1992). Andrea and Scott were together for more than two decades before starting to have struggles in their relationship which ultimately led to their divorce in 2011. Despite the separation, however, it is no secret that they have shown a lot of love and support over the past decade toward their daughter Taylor Swift and her music career. This was all happening while Taylor Swift was at the peak of her career and was beginning to become the singing sensation, we all know her as now.
When Taylor Swift was preparing to go on her Fearless concert tour was when her parents were going through their separation and divorce. One can only imagine how Taylor Swift must have been feeling while on the tour, thinking it was her fault when it wouldn’t have been. It was Taylor’s mom Andrea who accompanied Taylor on her Fearless tour, leaving Taylor’s dad Scott behind. The distance put a lot of strain on Andrea and Scott’s marriage, especially considering they were already having relationship trouble. Scott came out to support Taylor at some of her shows to watch her perform and hand out guitar picks to fans in the audience. However, from the get-go, Scott Swift has always been less involved when it comes to her career in comparison to Andrea Swift.
Andrea Swift did not just accompany Taylor Swift throughout her entire Fearless tour but also joined her in many of her other tours as well. Andrea has also been seen being Taylor’s plus one at many awards and Scott has been absent at most of them. Back in 2019 at the American Music Awards when Taylor Swift won Artist of the Decade both of Taylor’s parents were there to support their daughter and watch her perform and accept the award with a memorable acceptance speech.
No divorce is easy on the child involved, this goes the same when it comes to Taylor Swift and her parents Andrea and Scott Swift. But much like her breakups, Taylor used her parents’ separation as inspiration for her music.
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How Taylor Has Used Her Parents’ Separation In Her Music
Taylor Swift notably uses her everyday life experiences as her inspiration for her songs on each of her albums. The main theme of her songs are about love, whether that means being in love, falling out of love, or loving someone who does not love you back. However, Taylor has also written songs about her family and even wrote a song about her parents’ separation.
Taylor Swift’s song, “The Best Day” was put on her Fearless album, an album that was released around the same time Taylor’s parents were going through their issues and getting a divorce. Swift wrote the song as a Christmas gift for Andrea. The songwriter said she “got the track I synced up all of these home videos from when I was a little kid to go along with the song like a music video and played it for her on Christmas Eve and she was crying her eyes out.” When re-recording the song in 2021, she shared the home videos on her YouTube channel. This song signifies her tight bond relationship Taylor and Andrea share, in comparison to Taylor’s relationship with Scott. Some fans have even wondered if Taylor blamed her father for the divorce and sided with Andrea. Swift also dedicated the song “Soon You’ll Get Better” from her Lover album to her mother, and she has yet to dedicate any songs to her father.
Another song Taylor notably has written about her parents’ divorce is her song “Mine” that was put on her Speak Now album, which came out after the divorce was finalized. In the song, Taylor wrote about her parents, Andrea and Scott arguing quite a bit at home and how it was affecting her and her brother Austin. She wrote in the perspective of being with her partner and how they are fighting, like how Taylor’s parents did when she was younger. Taylor refers to her parents’ arguments in the line, “You say we’ll never make my parents’ mistakes.”
Back in 2019, Taylor Swift wrote the song Christmas Tree Farm dedicated to the farm Andrea and Scott purchased together when Taylor was a little girl. Taylor has mentioned numerous times how the Christmas Tree Farm always felt like home to her, and she always loved spending time there with her family. She even referred to the Christmas Tree Farm as home in the song using lyrics, “when I’m feeling alone, you remind me of home oh baby, baby, Merry Christmas and when the world isn’t fair, I’ll pretend that we’re there.” During the feud with Kanye West, Taylor Swift wishes she could have escaped with her boyfriend Joe Alwyn to her family’s Christmas Tree Farm.
In her album Folklore, Swift also references a paternal figure in the songs “cardigan” and “seven.” This album comprises fictionalized stories, which is different to what Swift typically writes. However, Swift makes several references to her own life throughout the album, usually her past relationships. Fans assume the references to a father in these two songs are taken from Swift’s relationship with her father Scott.
What Is Taylor Swift’s Relationship With Her Parents Like In 2023?
There looks to be no bad blood between Taylor Swift’s parents’ Andrea and Scott Swift. Both show up to support their daughter at concerts and award shows when they can and are able to act civil when in the same room together. Taylor coped with the emotions she was feeling about her parents getting divorced the way Taylor does best, putting it into song. At least, for the most part, the separation remained out of the public media as much as possible allowing Taylor Swift and her family to adjust to the change in a private manner.
