A new Taylor Swift album is upon us, which means that fans are once again eagerly dissecting the lyrics in search of hidden disses and coded confessions.
Some of the most obsessed-over lines are featured in “Father Figure,” the song that — as Swifties correctly guessed when the track list was released last month — features an interpolation of the George Michael song by the same name.
As usual, Taylor’s sights seem squarely aimed at her haters — but there’s some debate over exactly which enemies she’s targeting this time.
‘Father Figure’ seems to be Taylor’s way of lashing out at multiple foes
The song sees Taylor spinning a yarn about an ambitious young singer and the mentor who winds up exploiting her.
“Your thoughtless ambition sparked the ignition / On foolish decisions, which led to misguided visions / That to fulfill your dreams, you had to get rid of me,” Swift sings.
So the most obvious targets here are Scooter Braun, who infamously purchased the rights to Taylor’s music, and Scott Borchetta, the former head of Big Machine Records, who cut the deal with Braun.
“This empire belongs to me,” Taylor sings in a later verse, seemingly celebrating the fact that she’s finally managed to buy her masters back.
So case closed, right? Well, there might be more to the story here.
How does Olivia Rodrigo factor into the ‘Father Figure’ narrative?
Back in 2021, a copyright dispute over Rodrigo’s song “Deja Vu” ended with Swift getting a songwriting credit and 50 percent of its royalties.
It’s been widely rumored that Rodrigo vented her frustration toward Swift — whom she’d once regarded as a mentor — on her 2023 song “Vampire.”
So when Taylor addressed an adoring protege and sang, “You remind me of a younger me” on “Father Figure,” it’s not surprising that many fans jumped to the conclusion that she was referring to Olivia.
“I showed you all the tricks of the trade / All I asked for is your loyalty, my dear protégé,” Swift sings on the track, later adding, “I saw a change in you / My dear boy / They don’t make loyalty like they used to.”
Perhaps in a moment of self-reflection, Taylor saw the similarity between the two situations.
Or maybe fans are once again delving much too deep into Taylor’s lyrics.