Taylor Swift samples a very well-known song by George Michael

Today it was finally here: October third. No, not that holiday from Mean Girls, but the release of the latest Taylor Swift album: The Life of a Showgirl. One of the songs had a very familiar title; namely that of a George Michael song. Yes, who doesn't know the song from the legendary singer? Everyone scrolling through TikTok has probably heard it at least once through an edit of a well-known person: “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)…” Okay, okay. You've heard enough. Can you already guess which song Taylor Swift sampled?

First of all: what is sampling?

Sampling a song means taking a fragment from an existing song and reusing it in a new song. This can be a piece of singing, melody, bass line, or a drumbeat. It is usually used in covers or songs that pay tribute to the original, like now with Father Figure by George Michael.

Did George Michael's family think that was okay?

Absolutely. The singer's survivors are even happy that Taylor Swift has edited the song for her new album. “When we heard the song, we didn't hesitate for a moment to agree to this collaboration between two great artists.” Awh. Cute. “We know that George would have thought it was great.”

So no drama, folks. There was permission: and gladly so.

A bit about the original

How can we not talk about this great song? This is one of the biggest songs from George Michael, who passed away in 1987. He was known for his hits with Wham! like Last Christmas and Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go. Yes, you know that one, right?

And now Father Figure, one of his solo hits, is the blueprint for a new song. We've been singing along to this for 38 years, and it was so good that Taylor Swift wanted to make something beautiful out of it. Actually, this song has never really gone away: it got a revival through the movie Babygirl (2024), directed by none other than our Halina Reijn.

Do the two songs resemble each other?

Let me be honest: not really. It's not a cover but an ‘interpolation’. That's a song that sits between a cover and a sample. There are parts of the melody or some lines from the lyrics in it: the OG material is recognizable, but certainly not the same as the new version.

There are some similarities, but no literal parts of the song are taken over. Where George Michael's song takes a more sexy approach in how he can be a ‘father figure’ for a girl, Taylor sings about the music industry and how it can exploit girls. It starts with a father figure trying to convince her that he will take care of her: When I found you, you were so young, wayward, lost in the cold, Turned your rags into gold, This love is pure profit, Just step into my office and I dry your tears with my sleeve, leave it to me. The person makes her big, just like a music boss. He is ‘the family man who protects everyone’. He would arrange everything for her, because I can make deals with the devil because my dick’s bigger.

Then Taylor sings from her perspective, making it clear that she is singing for herself. 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 and You’ll be sleeping with the fishes before you know you’re drowning. She can take care of herself and she wants to tell that guy just that. He doesn't need to exploit her anymore. Later it even seems like she is singing about the fact that she has bought back all her masters: This empire belongs to me, I protect the family. Well, it’s clearly about her experiences in the music industry.

Very similar? No, but Taylor wanted to pay tribute to George Michael and respect him. That's why he even gets credits as a writer of the song. Have you listened to it yet?