Inspiration can come in the most unlikely of places for Taylor Swift. The 36-year-old singer-songwriter is detailing the stories and process behind some of her biggest hits in a new profile for The New York Times Magazine.
From hits like “Love Story” to “Clara Bow,” the Grammy winner and chart-topper gets candid about the moments that led to the tracks and the meaning behind some of her best lyrics.
“There are so many different ways that a song begins in my world,” Swift says in the profile.
She then gives an insight into the song “Elizabeth Taylor” off her most recent studio album,The Life of a Showgirl.
“I’m riding in the car with Travis,” she began, referencing her fiancé, Travis Kelce. “I go on and on in explaining to Travis, like, why I love Elizabeth Taylor so much. She fought for artists’ rights. She was exploited in so many ways, and yet she kept her humanity. She kept her humor. She kept her passion for life.’ I was just going on and on.”
The impassioned rant continued, and Swift recalled, “I was like, ‘Her eyes were violet. Some people said they were blue. Some people said they were violet. I think they were violet.’ We get home. He gets out of the car and I’m just in my head just this intrusive melody…. And I’m just scrambling to open my record app on my phone.”
The song, which features the lyrics, “I cried my eyes violet, Elizabeth Taylor,” is the second track on the pop star’s 12th studio album, which was released in October.
During her album promotion, Swift shared that she’d reached out to Taylor’s estate to get permission to release the song, which features multiple lyrical references to the actress. Swift called the estate “lovely” during an interview on the Scott Mills on Radio 2’s Breakfast Show.
Speaking exclusively to PEOPLE, Taylor’s son Christopher Wilding praised the song, saying he listened to it “the day it became available.”
She and my mom do seem like kindred spirits. They are both the very embodiment of female empowerment,” he shared. “The way [Swift] has deftly captured the similarities and parallel tracks in their careers and personal lives is delightful.”
Much of Swift’s latest album is believed to be about her romance with Kelce, whom she started dating in 2023. The couple announced their engagement last August.
