Dad, please say yes.
Taylor Swift revealed in a new interview with The New York Times Magazine that she wrote her 2008 hit song “Love Story” during a conflict with her parents, Scott and Andrea Swift, over older men.
“I think the first time I felt like I didn’t care if people hated me because I loved it was when I was 17 years old and sitting in my bedroom, angry at my parents for not letting me go on a date, I wrote a song called “Love Story.”
Swift added, “I shouldn’t have dated a guy who’s too old for me anyway,” and joked, “That’s why we need to discipline our kids, because they might write a No. 1 song.”
Swift has been romantically involved with several older men through a number of high-profile relationships, including Jake Gyllenhaal, John Mayer, and Tom Hiddleston.
She is currently engaged to Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. He is only about two months older.
Swift has been profiled by the New York Times as one of the 30 Greatest American Songwriters, which also featured talents such as Dolly Parton, Carole King, and Mariah Carey.
In the interview, Swift talked about having been writing songs since the age of 12 and the creative process that produced some of her biggest hits.
The now 36-year-old pop star also reflected on some of her favorite works that fans didn’t fully embrace at the time, but eventually came to accept.
“I’ve learned that I don’t really know if other people are going to like it. But often when I love it to a certain extent, it tends to align with people,” she said, while also admitting that it doesn’t otherwise “align with how people feel” until years later.
“I loved the album ‘Reputation,'” she said of her 2017 album. “I said, ‘You guys say what you want. I know what I did, I love you. Go with God, I’m sorry. Come back if you want. It’s okay if you don’t.’
Swift then said, “And then after six or seven years, people are like, ‘Oh my god.'”
Next, the Grammy winner mentioned the second single released from Reputation, a song called “…Ready for It.”
“People were falling asleep listening to that song,” she said. “When I was making that song, all I remember was wanting to headbang to the wall.”
