Is Taylor Swift’s ‘Ruin the Friendship’ About Late Friend Jeff Lang? His Mom Weighs In
Taylor Swift left fans wondering about the subject of her new song “Ruin the Friendship” after releasing her new album The Life of a Showgirl on October 3. Many have speculated that her late friend Jeff Lang, who died in 2010, inspired the track.
Now, Jeff’s mom, Susan Lang, is weighing in on the speculation and giving more insight into her son’s friendship with the pop star. The two attended Hendersonville High School together before Swift left to pursue her music career.
Susan told The Tennesseean that she does think the song is about her son, adding, “After all this time, she hasn’t forgotten about him. She’s keeping his name alive.”
She also told the outlet, “They were really good friends. That’s rare these days. They hung out at her house a lot. They were always joking around with each other.”
While the two seemingly never had a romantic relationship, Swift’s “Ruin the Friendship” is about wishing she’d crossed the line with someone she considered a friend back in high school. “My advice is always ruin the friendship, better that than regret it all your life,” she sings at the end of the song.
The pivotal moment, though, comes in the bridge, when the singer reveals that the person she’s singing about had died. “When I left school I lost track of you, Abigail called me with the bad news, goodbye, and we’ll never know why,” she says. “It was not an invitation, but I flew home anyway, with so much left to say. It was not convenient, but I whispered at the grave, ‘Should’ve kissed you anyway.'”
Lang died on November 2, 2010. Just days later, Swift accepted the BMI Country Songwriter of the Year award and said in her speech, “It’s been a really emotional week for me. He was 21, and I used to play my songs for him first. So I would like to thank Jeff Lang.”
After graduating from Hendersonville High School in 2008, Lang attended the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. He was still a student, majoring in biology, when he died from inflammation of the lungs. Methadone was a probable contributing factor in his death, according to the Medical Examiner, per the Chattanooga Free Times Press.
