Over 15 years later, it looks like Taylor Swift, who is one of the biggest pop stars in the world, still remembers her time from high school in Tennessee– including her childhood friend, Jeffrey Lang.
In her new album, The Life of a Showgirl, Swift has a song called Ruin the Friendship, where she sings about a late friend from high school who she regretted sharing her true feelings for before his passing.
The song also has many references to Tennessee, where she grew up, likeGallatin Road in Nashville.
‘My advice is always ruin the friendship / Better that than regret it for all time / Should’ve kissed you anyway / And my advice is always answer the question, Better that than to ask it all your life,’ Swift sang in the new track.
Although the pop star does not name who she is singing about, the song is widely believed to be about Lang, who was good friends with Swift – and his mom, Susan, thinks so, too.
According to an obituary from The Hendersonville Memory Gardens and Funeral Home, Lang passed suddenly on November 2, 2010, at the age of 21.
At the time of his passing, he was a junior at the University of Tennessee Chattanooga, studying biology.
He was also agraduate of Hendersonville High School’s class of 2008, where Swift attended for two years.
Over 15 years later, it looks like Taylor Swift, who is one of the biggest pop stars in the world, still remembers her time from high school in Tennessee – including her childhood friend, Jeffrey Lang
According to an obituary from The Hendersonville Memory Gardens and Funeral Home, Lang passed suddenly on November 2, 2010, at the age of 21
‘My advice is always ruin the friendship / Better that than regret it for all time / Should’ve kissed you anyway / And my advice is always answer the question, Better that than to ask it all your life,’ Swift sang in the new track
In a new interview with The Tennessean, Lang’s mom, Susan, reflected on his special relationship with the pop star, telling the outlet that she believes Swift is keeping Jeffrey’s name ‘alive.’
She said that when she heard the song, it brought back ‘happy memories,’ and that she wished she could contact the singer to thank her for it.
‘That after all this time, she hasn’t forgotten about him,’ Susan said. ‘She’s keeping his name alive.’
She also told the outlet that her son was always the first to hear a song that Swift had written.
The outlet visited Susan at her home, where they reported that she keeps a photo of her son with Swift, when they were growing up.
In the picture, the pop star is wearing a camouflage shirt, and Lang is in a red t-shirt and backwards University of Alabama hat.
In the song, Swift said that her friend Abigail was the one who had called her with the bad news after his passing.
‘They were really good friends. That’s rare these days,’ Susan told The Tennessean about their relationship.
‘That after all this time, she hasn’t forgotten about him,” Susan said. ‘She’s keeping his name alive’
She also told the outlet that her son was always the first to hear a song that Swift had written
‘They hung out at her house a lot. They were always joking around with each other,’ she said.
Royale reached out to Lang’s mother for comment.
In 2010, at the BMI Country Awards Show, Swift mentioned her friend Lang in her acceptance speech for her award as ‘country songwriter of the year.’
‘Yesterday, I sang at the funeral of one of my best friends, and he was 21,’ Swift said at the time.
‘I used to play my songs for him first. So I would like to thank Jeff Lang and as always, all the creative minds in this room who inspire me every day.’
But ‘Ruin the Friendship’ isn’t the only one of Swift’s songs that’s been suspected to have been written about Lang.
In 2021, the star released ‘vault track’ Forever Winter, in which she shared her concerns for a loved one who is ‘breaking down’ feels like he is ‘getting pulled down by gravity.’
‘He says he doesn’t believe anything much he hears these days,’ she crooned. ‘He says, “Why fall in love, just so you can watch it go away?” He spends most of his nights wishing it was how it used to be.
But ‘Ruin the Friendship’ isn’t the only one of Swift’s songs that’s been suspected to have been written about Lang
‘All this time, I didn’t know; You were breakin’ down; I’d fall to pieces on the floor; If you weren’t around
‘Too young to know it gets better; I’ll be summer sun for you forever; Forever winter if you go.’
In it Taylor also sang of him ‘seeming fine most of the time’ and ‘forcing smiles and never minds’ – but fearing that he will ‘decide to leave’ because of the ‘darkness’ he feels.
Harking back to the noughties references in ‘Ruin the Friendship’ – from 50 Cent songs to ‘prom’ and ‘second period’ in school – listeners think both songs could be about Jeff.
Forever Winter is one of four songs of Taylor’s which have never been played live.
