Is Gracie Abrams’ track ‘Death Wish’ really inspired by Taylor Swift? Here’s the truth
Gracie Abrams‘ collaborator Aaron Dessner has dismissed the speculation surrounding one of her new songs.
Speaking to Billboard on Wednesday, the 50-year-old songwriter set the record straight about the true inspiration behind Gracie’s 2025 hit, Death Wish, which many Swifties believed is about pop sensation Taylor Swift.
“My love, you love your time machine, your power trips and diamond rings / The walls you built on teenage dreams, the well you dug for sinking things / Your words to kill are evergreen, so you must not feel anything at all,” Gracie sings. “But how’d you get so bulletproof? / You trade your time for inside truths / Trade your time for any clue of what to do or not to do / Hate to say, it’s nothing new, aside from those few girls you keep around”
Aaron now confirmed that the lyrics are “definitely not” about Taylor.
“Yeah, definitely not,” he asserted. “It was written at a time when [Gracie] was writing about a friend’s ex, being in a bad relationship.”
“So it was kind of about that person, I think. I wouldn’t even actually know who that person was,” added Aaron.
Aaron’s comments come a year after Gracie performed the song in London in March 2025. Before performing it, the 26-year-old songstress shared the meaning behind the track.
“This song is about a friend of mine who recently was dating, like, a mega narcissist,” she said at the time.
“A sincere friend of mine was recently dating someone who kind of sucked. And I was listening to them talk about it a lot, and so this song is about that!” added Gracie.
