{"id":563358,"date":"2026-07-22T23:31:13","date_gmt":"2026-07-22T23:31:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/563358\/"},"modified":"2026-07-22T23:31:13","modified_gmt":"2026-07-22T23:31:13","slug":"aaron-dessner-on-gracie-abrams-death-wish-not-about-taylor-swift","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/563358\/","title":{"rendered":"Aaron Dessner On Gracie Abrams’ ‘Death Wish’: ‘Not’ About Taylor Swift"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tAaron Dessner<\/a> and Gracie Abrams<\/a> have now made three albums together, with the pop star\u2019s third studio effort, Daughter From Hell, arriving July 17. But one song in particular has stirred up a few misconceptions, and in a recent conversation with Billboard, the producer cleared them up. <\/p>\n

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\n\tHopping on a Zoom call on Tuesday (July 21) \u2014 just days after joining Noah Kahan on stage in New York to perform one of The Great Divide songs he produced, a cameo that severe weather almost ruined<\/a> \u2014 Dessner addressed confusion over the production and subject of \u201cDeath Wish,\u201d one of the most talked-about tracks on Daughter From Hell. Some listeners have expressed surprise that the spritely album version sounds so different from the somber live piano version Abrams initially recorded and released amid her Secret of Us Tour, questioning why the duo would \u201cchange\u201d the \u201coriginal.\u201d (Spoiler alert: They didn\u2019t.)<\/p>\n

\n\tMeanwhile, others have speculated that Abrams\u2019 former Eras tourmate Taylor Swift inspired eviscerating lyrics such as \u201cAnd I used to pretend that it didn\u2019t feel evil\/ Your light of a million suns burns through people,\u201d even though the Gen-Z star has only ever praised the 14-time Grammy winner and even attended her wedding to Travis Kelce earlier in July. (Abrams has also said herself that \u201cDeath Wish\u201d is about \u201ca friend of mine who recently was dating, like, a mega narcissist,\u201d something doubters have either forgotten or ignored.) <\/p>\n

\n\tBut if the commenters won\u2019t listen to Abrams, maybe they will listen to Dessner. He sets the record straight in the condensed conversation below, while also telling Billboard about his ever-evolving dynamic with Abrams, whether she fills him in on the drama that may or may not inspire her songs, his cameo at Kahan\u2019s show and more. <\/p>\n

\n\tWhat\u2019s the story with \u201cDeath Wish\u201d?<\/p>\n

\n\tThe studio version predates [the live recording] by several months. We wrote it, actually, the week that we recorded \u201cThat\u2019s So True,\u201d \u201cI Told You Things\u201d and [other] songs that were on The Secret of Us deluxe. In the wake of [Daughter From Hell] coming out, people were like, \u201cWait, what about the original version?\u201d This is the original version.<\/p>\n

\n\tThere\u2019s been speculation online that it\u2019s about Taylor Swift.<\/p>\n

\n\tYeah, definitely not. It was written at a time when [Gracie] was writing about a friend\u2019s ex, being in a bad relationship. So it was kind of about that person, I think. I wouldn\u2019t even actually know who that person was.<\/p>\n

\n\tHow much do you and Gracie \u2014 or any of the artists you work with \u2014 talk about the real-life subjects of songs while you\u2019re working on them? <\/p>\n

\n\tUltimately, you just become friends. Like, Gracie and I have worked together for more than six years now, and you kind of grow together, and there\u2019s a lot of experience that has nothing to do with making songs. She\u2019s very aware of my personal life, and I\u2019m of course aware of hers \u2014 she\u2019s close with my kids, for example. So I think, naturally, if she writes something, I\u2019ll know. But we don\u2019t really talk about it. It\u2019s weird. It\u2019s kind of unsaid.<\/p>\n

\n\tI would say the same thing for other people I\u2019ve worked with. [I\u2019m] giving feedback at times, lyrically, but I tend to \u2026 you don\u2019t want to be like, \u201cWell, you\u2019re talking about this, right?\u201d It\u2019s more mysterious not to.<\/p>\n

\n\tGracie said recently that she tried to be less \u201ccareless\u201d<\/a> this time in terms of how songs might impact their subjects. Is that something you observed firsthand?<\/p>\n

\n\tI think she\u2019s probably referring to certain songs that were written about past relationships. [As] songwriters, we all deal with this. What\u2019s most compelling is to write about your own life or your experience, but \u2026 this record, to me, is more looking at herself. [She] was not editing [lyrics] after the fact, or writing and being like, \u201cOh, I gotta take that out. It\u2019s too painful for someone else.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tDo you have a favorite song on Daughter From Hell?<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWhat If It\u2019s Right?\u201d is one that when I listen to it, I\u2019m still just floored. The song \u201cHumming\u201d is one that we had written, and then Justin Vernon [of Bon Iver] joined us and helped finish it. It\u2019s just so magical.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cCold Goodbyes\u201d is just me playing this one synthesizer DX7 organ and Gracie\u2019s singing, and it\u2019s almost improvised in the studio. You could just tell that that was going to be the last song of the record. It still gives me chills.<\/p>\n

\n\tI was personally surprised that Daughter From Hell was even less pop-centered than The Secret of Us, especially at a moment when Gracie could easily start reaching for bigger chart hits. <\/p>\n

\n\tSome of the [songs] that we left off [the album] might be more obvious [pop hits], because they fit the bill of what someone might expect, but I think where she\u2019s coming from, who she is as an artist \u2026 her motivation is very pure. She\u2019s not trying to chase that kind of chart success or dominance. It\u2019s much more about what feels most compelling artistically, and this was the group of songs that felt closest, I think, to her heart.<\/p>\n

\n\tAlso, for us, they\u2019re all hits, you know? And I think that over time, my favorite records are ones that take time to reveal themselves, and this is one of those.<\/p>\n

\n\tYou performed with Noah over the weekend and have joined Taylor and Gracie on stage several times as well. As their producer, what goes through your head when you\u2019re up there with them? <\/p>\n

\n\tIf you would allow yourself to think for a second that the song you made in the quiet of your home was now in front of 90,000 people with their phones out, it can be pretty scary. But I love the feeling of when songs take on meaning for people \u2014 you work on them so hard, they finally get released to the world, and then you\u2019re hearing them sung back at you.<\/p>\n

\n\tGoing on stage with Taylor at the Eras Tour, there was nothing that could prepare you for that. Those are NFL stadiums \u2026 there was no way to really know what that would feel like until you\u2019re up there. Fortunately, she\u2019s really good at making you feel in the moment. It felt safe. Noah, he\u2019s so himself up there, the [same] way he is in the studio. [The Great Divide] is so loved, so the vibe is just really amazing. It felt very warm to go into that and join him.<\/p>\n

\n\tYou were originally supposed to perform with him the night prior, before that show was canceled due to severe weather, right?<\/p>\n

\n\tThere were constant meetings with meteorologists, basically. And they just figured out that, there was no safe way to do it. I was driving over there earlier in the day, and there was flooding everywhere. Even right around Citi Field, there was four feet of water.<\/p>\n

\n\tIt was a real bummer to be that close to performing, and then to cancel it. I was going to have to travel \u2014 the World Cup Final was the next day, which is very important to me [laughs] \u2014 but then we were like, \u201cIs there a way I could stay?\u201d And we figured it out.<\/p>\n


\"Billboard
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