NEED TO KNOW
The mother of Jeff Lang, Taylor Swift’s late friend from high school, is speaking out about Swift’s new song “Ruin the Friendship.”
Swift, 35, briefly attended Hendersonville High School in Hendersonville, Tenn. alongside Lang, who died in 2010. He was 21, and was a junior at the University of Tennessee Chattanooga, where he majored in biology, according to The Tennessean and an obituary from the Hendersonville Memory Gardens and Funeral Home.
On theThe Life of a Showgirl track “Ruin the Friendship,” Swift sings about how much she regrets never kissing a high school friend and classmate who later died. The song also references a road in the greater Nashville area, and a lake that likely refers to Old Hickory Lake, found along the Cumberland River.
“You drive 85 / Gallatin Road and the lakeside beach / Watching the game from your brother’s jeep / Your smile miles wide,” Swift sings on the track.
Jeff’s mother, Susan Lang, said she was amazed “That after all this time, she hasn’t forgotten about him,” in an interview with The Tennessean.
“She’s keeping his name alive,” Susan continued. Susan keeps a framed photo of her late son standing with Swift in her home in his honor, per the outlet.
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
“They were really good friends,” Susan told the outlet. “That’s rare these days. They hung out at her house a lot. They were always joking around with each other.”
In the song, Swift’s lyrics indicate that she went to prom with a different date, but acknowledge her lingering feelings for Lang.
“But I whispered at the grave, Should’ve kissed you anyway,” the song concludes, advising listeners to “ruin the friendship” given the unpredictable nature of life.
At the 2010 BMI Awards in Nashville, Swift was honored as country songwriter of the year, and thanked Lang in her acceptance speech. “Yesterday, I sang at the funeral of one of my best friends, and he was 21,” Swift began her speech 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.”
“Ruin the Friendship” is not the only track in Swift’s discography rumored to reference Lang. The vault track “Forever Winter (Taylor’s Version)” from her 2021 Red (Taylor’s Version) album describes the pain of watching a friend struggle, with lyrics that many fans connected to her late friend.
“All this time I didn’t know / You were breakin’ down,” Swift sings on the track. “I’d fall to pieces on the floor / If you weren’t around / Too young to know it gets better.”
Swift’s 12th studio album, The Life of a Showgirl, was released on Oct. 3.
