Taylor Swift’s latest song is more than just a sweet, soulful song. “Soon You’ll Get Better” is about her mother’s struggle with cancer. Andrea Swift is battling cancer for the second time, and while the Swifts are keeping the exact details of the 61-year-old’s diagnosis private, Taylor’s new song lays bare how painful and scary the battle has been for her.
In fact, the new song is so close to her heart that she struggled to sing it by herself. So she asked her friends and fellow artists the Dixie Chicks to collaborate with her. The result is a powerful song, with lyrics accompanied by acoustic guitars and a fiddle, that is sure to speak to anyone who has ever watched their loved one struggle with an illness.
“Holy orange bottles/Each night I pray to you/Desperate people ï¬nd faith/So now I pray to Jesus, too,” Taylor sings, sharing the painful reality of cancer and its impact on her family.
However, she admits that the song was so personal she wasn’t even sure if she should include it on her new album, “Lover.”
“That was really, really hard to write, and it was just a family decision whether to even put it on the album,” the 29-year-old said on YouTube Live, according to People. “We as a family decided to put this on the album, and it’s something I’m so proud of, but it’s just really hard. I can’t sing it. It’s hard to just emotionally deal with that song.”
This isn’t the first time the Swifts have been through this, and not just with Taylor’s mom. Her father, Scott, also fought cancer — and won.
“I’ve had to learn how to handle serious illness in my family,” Taylor wrote in the March issue of Elle. “Both of my parents have had cancer, and my mom is now fighting her battle with it again. It’s taught me that there are real problems and then there’s everything else. My mom’s cancer is a real problem. I used to be so anxious about daily ups and downs. I give all of my worry, stress, and prayers to real problems now.”
As painful as this process is for Taylor, her new music will no doubt uplift and comfort many fans who are dealing with similar health issues in their own family.
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