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Susan Lang<\/strong>, the mother of Jeffrey Lang<\/strong>, is speaking out after Taylor Swift<\/strong><\/a>\u2019s new song \u201cRuin the Friendship\u201d sparked speculation that it\u2019s about her late son.<\/p>\n \u201cAnytime Swift would write a song, Jeffrey Lang was the first to hear it,\u201d Susan told The Tennessean<\/em><\/a> in October 2025. So when she first listened to \u201cRuin the Friendship\u201d from Swift\u2019s 12th studio album The Life of a Showgirl<\/a><\/em>, she immediately recognized the story being told. \u201cThat after all this time, she hasn\u2019t forgotten about him,\u201d Susan shared. \u201cShe\u2019s keeping his name alive.\u201d<\/p>\n The song, a standout track on the new album, finds Swift revisiting her teenage years in Middle Tennessee. She reflects on a friendship she wishes had turned romantic, singing about \u201cglistening grass from September rain\u201d and driving \u201c85 \/ Gallatin Road and the lakeside beach \/ Watching the game from your brother\u2019s jeep \/ Your smile miles wide.\u201d In the chorus, she confesses that she should have kissed her friend, even though there \u201cwas not an invitation.\u201d<\/p>\n Although Jeffrey isn\u2019t mentioned by name, fans quickly began to connect the dots \u2014 and Susan agrees it\u2019s about him. Taylor and Jeffrey grew up together in Hendersonville, and their bond was special.<\/p>\n \u201cThey were really good friends. That\u2019s rare these days. They hung out at her house a lot. They were always joking around with each other,\u201d Susan recalled to the outlet. She even added that she wasn\u2019t sure if Jeffrey ever felt the same way romantically toward the now-global superstar, but the friendship was undeniable.<\/p>\n Tragically, Jeffrey died suddenly in November 2010 at age 21, just days after Swift released her album Speak Now<\/em>. At the 2010 BMI Awards in Nashville, where Swift was honored as Country Songwriter of the Year, she publicly thanked Jeffrey and spoke about his death. In \u201cRuin the Friendship,\u201d Swift recounts hearing the news from her close friend Abigail Anderson Berard<\/strong>: \u201cGoodbye \/ And we\u2019ll never know why,\u201d she sings, followed by the heartbreaking line, \u201cBut I whispered at the grave, Should\u2019ve kissed you anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n Hearing the song for the first time brought back a wave of emotions for Susan Lang. Her immediate instinct was to reach out to Taylor to express her gratitude. \u201cHer first thought was that she wished she could contact Swift to thank her for the song,\u201d the article noted.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n