What Are Taylor Swift's 'but daddy I love him' Lyrics About? The Meaning Explained
19 April 2024, 10:55 | Updated: 29 August 2024, 16:11
Taylor Swift’s ‘The Tortured Poets Department’ is all anyone is talking about. But one song in particular stands out, ‘but daddy i love him.’ So what are the lyrics and what do they mean? Here’s what we know.
Listen to this article
Loading audio...
The drop of Taylor Swift’s ‘The Tortured Poets Department’ has lit the internet afire. With the sneaky double album drop of ‘The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology’ Swifties now have more fresh content to play around with than they ever have before.
With Taylor, everyone knows, every song and every lyric has some sort of gorgeous symbolism or beautiful metaphor and this album was no different.
From the the farewell of her past relationship, Joe Alwyn, in ‘so long, London’, to ‘imgoingtogetyouback’ possibly being about Matt Healy, you gotta look hard and you gotta look deep. No detail is too small.
- Read more: Taylor Swift Fans Think Her 'The Alchemy' Lyrics Are About Travis Kelce
- Read more: Read Taylor Swift's 'The Tortured Poets Department' Prologue Poem In Full Here
So what are the full lyrics and what is ‘but daddy i love him’ about? Here’s what we know.
What are Taylor Swift's 'but daddy I love him' Lyrics About?
The most popular opinion online has been that the song title ‘but daddy i love him’ was a quote from Disney’s The Little Mermaid.
Ariel exclaimed this to her father, King Triton, referring to her love for Prince Eric, but because he was a human, King Triton did not approve.
Not only is Taylor a huge fan of the film, but she was even seen dressed as Ariel at a friend’s New Year’s Eve Party in 2019.
Other theories online claim it could be a reference to The Notebook, where Rachel McAdam’s character, Allie, iconically falls in love with a boy from ‘the wrong side of the tracks’ and has to defend him to her father saying the words, “Yes, daddy, I love him.”
Sensing a theme here? The song on a surface level is about Taylor dating a ‘bad boy’ or falling in love with the wrong type of man. But what the song really is about is the unfair judgement cast upon her when doing so.
The song is almost an anthem about how Taylor doesn’t need fans ‘permission’ to date anyone and she's been disappointed to see her fans turn to haters depending on the man she’s with.
She sang, “Thinking it can change the beat of my heart when he touches me, And counteract the chemistry and undo the destiny.”
Towards the end of the song she goes on to sing “I’ll tell you something about my good name, it’s mine alone to disgrace."
That message read that if her fans truly loved her for her, why would dating a man - a separate entity to her, change their opinions of her? And if she wants to do that, is she not entitled to it?
“I’m having his baby — no, I’m not, but you should see your faces,” she sang cheekily.
In the bridge, Taylor speaks directly to the listener as she says, “I’ll tell you something about my good name, it’s mine alone to disgrace,” she sings.
Despite expecting no judgment from her fans, she doesn’t claim to know what she’s doing, in fact, it's the total opposite.
“No, I’m not coming to my senses,” she sings. “I know he’s crazy, but he’s the one I want.” Taylor knows maybe her choices haven’t always been the best for her but she’s asking for the space to make those choices.
The ‘bad boy’ character in ‘but daddy i love him’ has been rumoured to be based on Matty Healy, lead singer of the band 1975.
Taylor was spotted with the singer for a brief few months after her split with Joe Alwyn in March 2023 and the tattooed, smoking, sardonic English musician wasn’t deemed a good match for Taylor by the general public.
In the song she described her lover as “He was chaos, he was revelry,” later singing “Me and my wild boy and all this wild joy.”
She and her ‘bad boy’ refused to bend to the judgement of others who thought they knew what was best, so she sings, “Sarahs and Hannahs in their Sunday best, clutching their pearls, sighing, 'What a mess.'"
Taylor later sings "Stay away from her, the saboteurs protested too much," explaining how people wanted her lover to stay away from her like it wasn’t the one in her control or it wasn't her choice.
“I just learned these people try and save you ‘cause they hate you…Too high a horse for a simple girl to rise above it.”
Taylor has always only ever wanted one thing, romantic freedom. But her entire career has been plagued by being defined by the men around her and now she’s done.
In ‘but i love him daddy’ she’s taken control of her own narrative. She’s done what she wants to do and loved who she wants to love and she couldn’t care less what people think of her any more.
Her rebellious spirit is captured in the song as her romance physically unravels her, going from "tendrils tucked into a woven braid" to running with her "dress unbuttoned."
The bridge may be the most powerful part of the song, filled with religious symbolism, she associates her judgemental fans with stuffy church-going housewives who think they’re better than everyone else.
“Don’t cater to all these vipers dressed in empath’s clothing…God save the most judgmental creeps who say they want what’s best for me.”
She then reminds her fans they dont “gotta pray for her.”
The song finishes with Taylor singing that these judgement folk can do all the judging they want but she’s not listening and she’s happy.
“If all you want is grey for me, then it's just white noise, then it's just my choice.”
Her ‘rebellious’ boy who didn’t have approval manages to worm his way into her family's heart and it’s all sunshine, rainbows and dancing in the sunlight.
“Now I’m dancing in my dress in the sun and even my daddy just loves him”
“I’m his lady and oh my God, you should see your faces”
Taylor Swift’s ‘but daddy i love him’ full lyrics
[Verse 1]
I forget how the west was won
I forget if this was ever fun
I just learned these people only raise you
To cage you
Sarahs and Hannahs in their Sunday best
Clutchin' their pearls sighing, "What a mess"
I just learned these people try and save you
'Cause they hate you
[Pre-Chorus]
Too high a horse for a simple girl
To rise above it
They slammed the door on my whole world
The one thing I wanted
[Chorus]
Now I'm running with my dress unbuttoned
Scrеamin', "But, daddy, I love him"
I'm having his baby
No, I'm not, but you should see your faces
I'm telling him to floor it through thе fences
No, I'm not coming to my senses
I know it's crazy
But he's the one I want
[Verse 2]
Dutiful daughter, all my plans were laid
Tendrils tucked into a woven braid
Growing up precocious sometimes means not growing up at all
He was chaos, he was revelry
Bedroom eyes like a remedy
Soon enough the elders had convened down at the city hall
[Pre-Chorus]
"Stay away from her," the saboteurs
Protested too much
Lord knows the words we never heard
Just screeching tires of true love
[Chorus]
And I'm running with my dress unbuttoned
Screaming, "But daddy I love him"
I'm having his baby
No, I'm not, but you should see your faces
I'm telling him to floor it through the fences
No, I'm not coming to my senses
I know it's crazy
But he's the one I want
I'll tell you something right now
I'd rather burn my whole life down
Than listen to one more second of all this bitchin' and moanin'
I'll tell you something 'bout my good name
It's mine alone to disgrace
I don't cater to all these vipers dressed in empath's clothing
[Bridge]
God save the most judgmental creeps
Who say they want what's best for me
Sanctimoniously performing soliloquies I'll never see
Thinking it can change the beat of my heart when he touches me
And counteract the chemistry
And undo the destiny
You ain't gotta pray for me
Me and my wild boy, and all of this wild joy
If all you want is gray for me
Then it's just white noise, then it's just my choice
[Verse 3]
There's a lot of people in town that I bestow upon my fakest smiles
Scandal does funny things to pride but brings lovers closer
We came back when the heat died down
Went to my parents and they came around
All the wine moms are still holding out
But fuck 'em, it's over
[Chorus]
Now I'm dancing in my dress in the sun and
Even my daddy just loves him
I'm his lady
And oh my God, you should see your faces
Time, doesn't it give some perspective
And no, you can't come to the wedding
I know it's crazy, but he's the one I love
I'll tell you something right now
You ain't gotta pray for me
Me and my wild boy, and all of this wild joy
(It was chaos, it was revelry)
It's all you want is gray for me
Then it's just white noise, it's my choice
[Outro]
It was chaos, it was revelry
Screamin', "But, daddy, I love him"
I'm having his baby
No, I'm not
But you should see your faces
And oh my God, you should see your faces
