What is “Father Figure” about?
“Father Figure” is likely about Taylor’s early days in the music industry. The beginning of the song appears to be sung from the perspective of a record executive who is signing a new artist (presumably Taylor at the start of her career). The executive sings about how he’ll be a mentor and “father figure” to the artist, but as the song goes on, the relationship sours, and it becomes clear that the executive only cares about profits. Toward the end of the song, the perspective shifts from the executive to the artist, who reclaims her agency and proves herself to be even stronger and more powerful than the executive. Since the song is all about the exploitation young artists face in the music industry, some have speculated that it was inspired by Taylor’s fight to purchase the master recordings of her first 6 studio albums after leaving her original label, Big Machine Records.
Who is “Father Figure” about?
“Father Figure” could be about Scott Borchetta. Scott Borchetta is the CEO of Big Machine Records, the label that signed Taylor at the beginning of her career. When Taylor left the label in 2018, she was surprised and devastated to learn that Borchetta had sold the master recordings of her first 6 albums to Scooter Braun, even though Taylor had voiced her desire to buy them herself. With this situation as a backdrop to the past few years of Taylor’s life, fans were quick to speculate that it may have inspired “Father Figure.” Luckily, the story has a happy ending—Taylor was able to successfully purchase her masters in 2025, meaning she now owns all of her music. Note: Some listeners have suggested that “Father Figure” could be about another artist in the music industry who betrayed Taylor if you interpret the beginning of the song to be sung from the perspective of Taylor herself, rather than an executive. We don’t think this is the most likely interpretation, and we’ll go over why in our lyrical analysis below! Some fans specifically think the song is about Swift’s previous friendship/mentorship with Olivia Rodrigo, with Swift taking on the role of the “father figure.”
“Father Figure” Lyrical Analysis
The song is from the perspective of an executive taking an artist under his wing. The first verse opens with the lines, “When I found you, you were young, wayward, lost in the cold, / pulled up to you in the Jag’, turned your rags into gold.” These lyrics establish the power dynamic between the executive and the artist—he’s wealthy and powerful, and he holds the keys to the artist’s future success.
The relationship between the executive and the artist begins to sour. At first, the executive is kind and flattering, saying things like “you remind me of a younger me” and praising the artist’s potential. He promises to be the artist’s “father figure” and “protect the family,” but underneath the warm exterior, there’s a harsher truth. “This love is pure profit,” Taylor sings on the chorus, illustrating the fact that the executive only cares about the money the artist can make for him—their relationship is purely transactional. "The family" could be a metaphor for Swift's albums.
This point is illustrated again in a lyric from the second verse. Swift sings, “I showed you all the tricks of the trade / all I asked for is your loyalty, my dear protégé.” In other words, in order to get the mentorship and protection the executive talks about, the artist must continue to produce music and make money for him. As soon as she stops doing this, the executive won’t hesitate to throw her under the bus. This language is reminiscent of the open letter Taylor posted after Borchetta sold her masters: “This is what happens when you sign a deal at fifteen to someone for whom the term ‘loyalty’ is clearly just a contractual concept. And when that man says ‘Music has value,’ he means its value is beholden to men who had no part in creating it.” The line “I can make deals with the devil because my d*ck’s bigger” from the song’s chorus may also be an allusion to Borchetta’s willingness to sell Taylor’s masters specifically to Braun, a man Taylor had an extremely negative opinion of. “Any time Scott Borchetta has heard the words 'Scooter Braun' escape my lips, it was when I was either crying or trying not to. He knew what he was doing; they both did. Controlling a woman who didn’t want to be associated with them,” she wrote in her letter.
In the final chorus, the perspective shifts from the executive to the artist. The last chorus of the song takes on a whole new energy, with the artist reclaiming her power. “You made a deal with this devil, turns out my d*ck’s bigger,” she sings. The final lines drive home the artist’s victory: “Mistake my kindness for weakness and find your card cancelled / I was your father figure / you pulled the wrong trigger / this empire belongs to me.” In these lyrics, Taylor flips the original power dynamic between the artist and the executive. He’s no longer the boss in charge of her—she’s the one with the “bigger d*ck,” the one who owns the empire. And, now that she’s reclaimed her agency, the executive’s credit card is cancelled, meaning he can no longer make money off of her.
“Father Figure” Fun Facts
“Father Figure” was released on October 3, 2025. It is the 4th track on The Life of a Showgirl, Taylor Swift’s 12th studio album, which was released on the same date. The song was produced by Taylor Swift, Max Martin, and Shellback, and it was written by Taylor Swift, Max Martin, Shellback, and George Michael. George Michael received a writing credit for “Father Figure” because it interpolates his 1987 song of the same name. Michael passed away in 2016, but his estate released a statement about the track: “We were delighted when Taylor Swift and her team approached us earlier this year about incorporating an interpolation of George Michael’s classic song ‘Father Figure’ into a brand new song of the same title to be featured on her forthcoming album.”
Related Songs
Can’t get enough of Taylor Swift’s lyrics? We feel you! Luckily, we’ve got a few other lyrical breakdowns of Taylor songs for you to browse. Check them out below: “Look What You Made Me Do” “Fortnight” “Champagne Problems” “All Too Well (10 Minute Version)” All the songs from the Reputation Album Are you an expert on Taylor Swift lyrics? Test yourself with this fun quiz!
Comments
0 comment