Soon You'll Get Better
Written By Taylor Swift & Jack Antonoff
Produced By Taylor Swift & Jack Antonoff
Featuring The Chicks
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Track 12 on "Lover".
Swift dedicates this heartbreaking tune to her mother, Andrea, who was diagnosed with cancer in April 2015, then re-diagnosed some time in 2018. Swift previously spoke about her mother's illness in a March 2019 piece for Elle Magazine, calling it a "real problem" she needs to prioritize.
During her Lover's Lounge livestream the night before Lover's release, Swift admitted this was the hardest song on the album for her to write, as well as explaining that her family discussed whether she should put it on the record. She later told Billboard she wasn't sure whether she would ever play it live, though she ultimately did to help Global Citizen raise money for COVID-19 relief in April 2020.
This is the second song Swift has written for her mother — her 2008 song "The Best Day" describes their relationship through Swift's childhood and teenage years. Both "The Best Day" and "Soon You'll Get Better" are the twelfth tracks on their respective albums.
On a September 2019 interview, with BBC Radio 1, Swift revealed that she decided to include The Chicks on the track because they were her mother's favorite band and were one of her inspirations to start a career in country music.
Lyrics
[Verse 1: Taylor Swift]
The buttons of my coat were tangled in my hair
In doctor's office lighting, I didn't tell you I was scared
That was the first time we were there
Holy orange bottles, each night, I pray to you
Desperate people find faith, so now I pray to Jesus too
And I say to you...
[Chorus: Taylor Swift & The Chicks]
Ooh-ah
Soon, you'll get better
Ooh-ah
Soon, you'll get better
Ooh-ah
You'll get better soon
'Cause you have to
[Verse 2: Taylor Swift]
I know delusion when I see it in the mirror
You like the nicer nurses, you make the best of a bad deal
I just pretend it isn't real
I'll paint the kitchen neon, I'll brighten up the sky
I know I'll never get it, there's not a day that I won't try
And I say to you...
[Chorus: Taylor Swift & The Chicks]
Ooh-ah
Soon, you'll get better
Ooh-ah
Soon, you'll get better
Ooh-ah
You'll get better soon
'Cause you have to
[Bridge: Taylor Swift & The Chicks]
And I hate to make this all about me
But who am I supposed to talk to?
What am I supposed to do
If there's no you?
[Pre-Chorus: Taylor Swift]
This won't go back to normal, if it ever was
It's been years of hoping, and I keep saying it because
'Cause I have to
[Chorus: Taylor Swift & The Chicks]
Ooh-ah
You'll get better
Ooh-ah
Soon, you'll get better
Ooh-ah
You'll get better soon
Ooh-ah
Soon, you'll get better
Ooh-ah
Soon, you'll get better
Ooh-ah
You'll get better soon
'Cause you have to