Here's What Inspired Taylor Swift's But Daddy I Love Him Song

Taylor Swift’s latest album, The Tortured Poets Department, has been setting records, with fans eagerly anticipating another Grammy nomination for the artist. Among the album’s tracks, But Daddy I Love Him, has garnered significant attention from Swifties, who speculate that it draws inspiration from Disney’s The Little Mermaid movie. In the animated film, Ariel is depicted arguing with her father, King Triton and pleading, “Daddy, I love him," as she seeks permission to be with Prince Eric.

However, a recently resurfaced 2008 interview from the BMI Pop Awards reveals the true inspiration behind the song. In her acceptance speech, Swift recounted a heated moment from her teenage years when she defended her teenage date during an argument with her father, Scott. She recalled screaming the words “But daddy, I love him," before going back to her room, where she wrote Love Story, a song from her second studio album, Fearless.

Swift said, “This song, I wrote it right after my one epic teenage tantrum that I ever threw in my whole life. I remember screaming something like, ‘But daddy, I love him’ and running out, and storming into my room and slamming the door and then I sat down on the floor and wrote this song (Love Story)."

In Taylor Swift’s album The Tortured Poets Department, the song But Daddy I Love Him is about a story of forbidden love. The singer speaks about forming a strong bond with a man who is rejected by her parents and the people in town. She sings, “Now 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."

Over the years, there has been widespread speculation that many of Taylor Swift’s songs are inspired by her past relationships. When fans heard But Daddy I Love Him, some concluded that Swift was hinting at her brief relationship with Matty Healy, whom she dated for a month in 2023. However, others later got convinced that the singer was referencing her romance with Travis Kelce. Surprisingly, she also confirmed this speculation during her Eras Tour in Paris, as she sang, So High School, right after But Daddy I Love Him, which is also supposed to be about the NFL star.

Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce have reportedly been dating since September 2023.