Sound familiar? Taylor Swift flips George Michael’s “Father Figure” into a song of defiance
Taylor Swift’s “Father Figure” from her newest album “The Life of a Showgirl” borrows bits from George Michael’s 1987 classic, but she gives it a new twist.
If you listened to “Father Figure” and thought it sounded familiar, you’re not crazy. In Taylor Swift’s newest album, “The Life of a Showgirl”, her song “Father Figure” uses bits of George Michael’s 1987 classic of the same name, including the lyrics, “I’ll be your father figure” as well as some of the melody.
However, the message Swift sends couldn’t be more different than the one Michael sent.
Not the “Father Figure” you remember: Taylor Swift rewrites a pop classic to confront her past
Taylor Swift flips George Michael’s iconic track into a cutting meditation on betrayal and power struggles, aimed squarely at her embattled past with former label boss Scott Borchetta. While Michael’s version painted the “father figure” as a source of intimacy and protection, Swift turns the phrase into a weapon, reframing Borchetta from industry protector to foil.
Swift, who was first signed by Borchetta as a teenager at Big Machine Records, uses the track to reclaim her narrative, turning a pop classic into a pointed statement about her own history. The song retraces her early discovery, their falling out over ownership of her masters, and the gut punch of watching her life’s work sold twice without her control.
But now, with her catalog finally back in her hands, Swift delivers the track like a victory lap disguised in confrontation. By interpolating a pop classic, she both honors George Michael and reclaims her story, proving once again that she knows how to turn personal history into universal anthems.
Micahels passed away in 2016, but the George Michael estate embraced the collaboration, calling it an honor and saying Michael “would have felt the same.”
Taylor Swift’s “Father Figure” 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
I’ll be your father figure
I drink that brown liquor
I can make deals with the devil because my dick’s bigger
This love is pure profit
Just step into my office
I dry your tears with my sleeve
Leave it with me
I protect the family
Leave it with me
I protect the family
I pay the check before it kisses the mahogany grain
Said, “They want to see you rise, they don’t want you to reign”
I showed you all the tricks of the trade
All I ask is for your loyalty
My dear protégé
I’ll be your father figure
I drink that brown liquor
I can make deals with the devil because my dick’s bigger
This love is pure profit
Just step into my office
They’ll know your name in the streets
Leave it with me
I protect the family
Leave it with me
I protect the family
I saw a change in you
My dear boy, they don’t make loyalty like they used to
Your thoughtless ambition sparked the ignition
On foolish decisions which lead to misguided visions
That to fulfill your dreams
You had to get rid of me
I protect the family
I was your father figure
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 drowning
Whose portrait’s on the mantle?
Who covered up your scandals?
Mistake my kindness for weakness and find your card canceled
I was your father figure
You pulled the wrong trigger
This empire belongs to me
Leave it with me
I protect the family
Leave it with me
I protect the family
Leave it with me
You know, you remind me of a younger me
I saw potential
George Michael’s “Father Figure” lyrics
That’s all I wanted
Something special, something sacred
In your eyes
For just one moment
To be bold and naked
At your side
Sometimes I think that you’ll never
Understand me (understand me)
Maybe this time is forever
Say it can be, whoa
That’s all you wanted
Something special, someone sacred
In your life
Just for one moment
To be warm and naked
At my side
Sometimes I think that you’ll never
Understand me (understand me)
But something tells me together
We’d be happy, whoa
Baby (I will be your father figure)
Oh, baby (put your tiny hand in mine)
I’d love to (I will be your preacher, teacher)
Be your daddy (anything you have in mind)
It would make me very happy (I have had enough of crime)
Please, let me (I will be the one who loves you)
‘Til the end of time
That’s all I wanted
But sometimes love can be mistaken
For a crime
That’s all I wanted
Just to see my baby’s
Blue-eyed shine
This time I think that my lover
Understands me (understands me)
If we have faith in each other
Then we can be strong, baby
Baby (I will be your father figure)
Oh, baby (put your tiny hand in mine)
I’d love to (I will be your preacher, teacher)
Be your daddy (anything you have in mind)
It would make me very happy (I have had enough of crime)
Please, let me (I will be the one who loves you)
‘Til the end of time
If you are the desert, I’ll be the sea
If you ever hunger, hunger for me
Whatever you ask for, that’s what I’ll be
So when you remember the ones who have lied
Who said that they cared
But then laughed as you cried
Beautiful darling
Don’t think of me
Because all I ever wanted
It’s in your eyes
Baby, baby
And love can’t lie, no
(Greet me with the eyes of a child)
My love is always telling me so
(Heaven is a kiss and a smile)
Just hold on, hold on
And I won’t let you go, my baby
Baby (I will be your father figure)
Oh, baby (put your tiny hand in mine)
I’d love to (I will be your preacher, teacher)
Be your daddy (anything you have in mind)
It would make me very happy (I have had enough of crime)
Please, let me (I will be the one who loves you)
‘Til the end of time
I will be your (I will be your preacher)
Father (I will be your father)
I’ll be your daddy, whoa!
I will be the one who loves you
‘Til the end of time
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