• Taylor Swift fans have been wondering who the Life of a Showgirl track “Ruin the Friendship” is about.
  • In a new interview, Susan Lang from Tennessee said that she believes that it is about her late son, Jeff Lang.
  • Taylor previously thanked Jeff at an awards ceremony in 2010 shortly after his death.

Taylor Swift’s The Life of a Showgirl is undoubtedly one of the singer’s more optimistic albums, full of songs celebrating her relationship with Travis Kelce. But there is one heartbreaking track about a love that never had a chance, and it left fans wondering who “Ruin the Friendship” is about.

In “Ruin the Friendship,” Taylor sings about having a crush on a friend in high school that she never took a chance on. “And it was not convenient, no / But your girlfriend was away / Should’ve kissed you anyway, hey,” she sings in the chorus.

Right away, fans began to theorize that the song was about Jeff Lang, a boy Taylor knew in high school who reportedly passed away in 2010, just a few days after the release of Speak Now (and who also reportedly inspired “Forever Winter,” a Vault track from Red: Taylor’s Version).

As Taylor sings on the track, “When I left school, I lost track of you / Abigail called me with the bad news / Goodbye, and we’ll never know why.” (FYI, any mention of Abigail Anderson, Taylor’s real life BFF, is generally a clue that whatever Taylor is singing about was inspired by true events.)

Now, a week after the album’s release, Jeff’s mother Susan Lang is confirming that she, too, believes “Ruin the Friendship” is about Jeff. “That after all this time, she hasn’t forgotten about him,” Susan told The Tennessean, noting that she wishes she could thank the singer. “She’s keeping his name alive.”

Jeff and Taylor were friends before the singer became a household name, back when she was just a teenager going to school in Tennessee. And according to Jeff’s mom, Taylor used to play her new songs for Jeff before anyone else. “They were really good friends. That’s rare these days,” Susan said. “They hung out at her house a lot. They were always joking around with each other.”

Though Taylor has yet to confirm that Jeff was the inspiration behind “Ruin the Friendship” (or “Forever Winter,” for that matter), she has spoken about him in the past. Back in 2010, while accepting a BMI Award in Nashville, the singer honored Jeff, revealing that she had just performed at his funeral, which is an experience reflected in the song lyrics, as Taylor sings, “It was not convenient, no / But I whispered at the grave / ‘Should’ve kissed you anyway.’”

And if you’ve got a crush on a friend? Taylor would like to offer some words of wisdom: “My advice is always ruin the friendship / Better that than ask it all your life.”