CTR: This is a great analysis of Father Figure that an Anon sent to me on Friday. It explores how the song could be about Joe; he could be the recipe thief.
Highly recommended read. It makes a lot of sense to me.
ââââââââââââââââââââââââââ
I'll admit, I was on the fence about Joe for a long time. The ending of the contract felt messy - too soon, as if negotiations to extend it had fallen apart at the eleventh hour. The subsequent short-lived Matty thing, then TTPD and the introduction of Travis . . . I've been in this game a while, and it all had the smell of a pivot to me. Don't get me wrong - Taylor knows how to style out a pivot. She knows how to lean in and make it so you can't imagine a world without it. She's been doing it since the Rep era. She's a pro. But us old hands get to know the signs, and for me . . . let's just say, January 2023, I was feeling it. And the feeling only increased as the year went on.
Then we got đ's messages, and started discussing the potential identity of the recipe thief described in them. The person who left their post in the kitchen early, taking something with them, and fucked up the plan? A lot of people felt this was Joe, and that he'd quit the contract early because he felt it wasn't serving his career. At the time, I felt we didn't have enough evidence one way or the other, so I didn't want to join the voices condemning him.
And then came Father Figure. And I'm sorry, but I struggle to see how this song is about anything else.
Let's have a look at the lyrics.
When I found you, you were young, wayward, lost in the cold
Pulled up to you in the Jag', turned your rags into gold
The winding road leads to the chateau
"You remind me of a younger me" I saw potential
This is Taylor singing about her first meeting with Joe. She was on the hunt for someone who could be a convincing muse for the Karlie songs on Reputation. Someone who was willing to play the part for fame. Someone who didn't have too many skeletons in his closet.
Joe was perfect. He looked like a younger, male version of Karlie. (The "you remind me of a younger me" is in quotes, as if maybe it was an observation somone else made. I think it's Karlie talking, and then "I saw potential" is Taylor having a lightbulb moment.) Joe was a young actor struggling to break through, hoping to make it to Cannes with all the other big name actors. And the exposure provided by being "Taylor Swift's boyfriend" could give him that. Her offer would have been the bearding contract equivalent of a rags to riches fairytale.
But it would be a "winding road" to get there. This phrase evokes the Beatles song, The Long And Winding Road. The song is so well-known that your brain automatically fills in the "long" part here. We're being told that Joe should have known, this would be a long road. You don't go from nobody to Cannes star overnight. And the road might be winding - as in, it might take twists and turns. He was stepping into a production with a lot of moving parts, and might be required to pivot along with them.
I believe Joe lost patience with this and pulled the plug early on the contract, which meant Taylor had to scramble mid-Eras Tour to find new beards. I do think the plan was for him to stick around and maybe even get engaged to Taylor during this period. If you look at the tour dates, there were some notable headlines about how Joe attending Cannes coincided with Taylor bringing the tour to Paris. It would have been a perfect opportunity for some mutual PR. (Like an engagement announcement in the city of love? I guess we'll never know.)
I'll be your father figure
I drink that brown liquor
I can make deals with the devil because my dick's bigger
I dry your tears with my sleeve
Here, Taylor is taking a dig at Joe. She's stating what we already knew - that she was the big industry player when they met. She was daddy. She was the one with the power to make his career, and as we saw, she did. Almost every project he was attached to in the years to come had some connection to a friend of Taylor's. Emma Stone, Lena Dunham, the list goes on. We all noticed it. It was very obvious that if Taylor wasn't making the deals herself (which she may well have been), they were at the very least being made on the back of her name.
Taylor was the money maker. It was good for both of them to be seen together. "This love's pure profit". No need to cry over your struggling career. Just step into Daddy Taylor's office, and sign that contract. Agree to stay in the lavender haze.
This post-chorus is, I believe, both a reminder that Taylor will have his back if he joins her work "family", and a hint to the listener of the real Taylor's motives in all this. She wanted to protect her family. Karlie and the kids. That has been the ultimate purpose of all of these beards, and Joe was no exception.
There's also a hint of threat here. A mafia vibe we'll return to later.
I pay the check before it kisses the mahogany grain
Said, "They wanna see you rise, they don't want you to reign"
I showed you all the tricks of the trade
All I asked for is your loyalty, my dear protĂŠgĂŠ
Here we're being reminded of how Taylor bankrolled Joe. She always got the check, before he even had to ask. And on a personal level, we see that she tried to help him. She offered advice about how to handle fame and the scrutiny of the media. She even gave him writing credits on two of her albums, and allowed people to think he'd had a hand in her art. ("I showed you all the tricks of the trade.") And what did she ask of her "protĂŠgĂŠ" in return? Just loyalty. That's all.
Spoiler alert: she didn't get it.
I'll be your father figure
I drink that brown liquor
I can make deals with the devil because my dick's bigger
They'll know your name in the streets
The chorus repeats. The only difference here is the reminder of what it's all for: exposure. "They'll know your name in the streets." Taylor is reminding us she held up her end of the bargain. She put his name out there. He was supposed to be able to take it from there with his acting talent. But as we all know, it didn't quite work out that way.
(Ooh) I saw a change in you
(Saw a change, saw a change in you)
They don't make loyalty like they used to (Not like they used to)
Your thoughtless ambition sparked the ignition
On foolish decisions which led to misguided visions
That to fulfill your dreams, you had to get rid of me
No, it didn't work out. And here we're painted a clear picture as to why. Joe came to believe Taylor was holding him back. He got arrogant, wanted it all too fast and overstated his own abilities. Loyalty went out the window. Given the timeline all this was happening, Taylor badly needed a beard. She had a lot on her plate, and now she was facing more stress, because of Joe had decided to throw a teenage tantrum.
So out comes Taylor's inner mafia Don. It's time to protect the family.
We drank that brown liquor
You made a deal with this devil, turns out my dick's bigger
You want a fight, you found it
I got the place surrounded
You'll be sleeping with the fishes before you know you're drownin'
Whose portrait's on the mantel?
Who covered up your scandals?
Mistake my kindness for weakness and find your card cancelled
You pulled the wrong trigger
This empire belongs to me
I know most people will think this is just another Scott Borchetta song, but I don't think it is. The framing of her opponent as someone who was once a young protÊgÊ, the repeated mentions of her desire to protect the family . . . it all points to Joe. I don't think we're fighting the old SB² battle again. I think this is Taylor answering the question of what the hell happened with Joe, and who the recipe thief was.
And I am in awe, because wow. She just fucking bodied him. Even if almost no-one puts the pieces together and knows it's aimed at him, I have to imagine there are a circle of intimates laughing at this one.
