Jack Antonoff reveals Bleachers’ new song ‘Hey Joe’ isn’t about Taylor Swift

nme.com:

Jack Antonoff has revealed the source of inspiration behind his new song ‘Hey Joe’, following Taylor Swift fans speculating that it was written about the singer’s ex.The new song is taken from Antonoff’s self-titled album with Bleachers, which is set to arrive next year.

However, upon sharing the title of the new track, fans have been quick to assume who the lyrics have been inspired by.The artist – who was recently nominated for a Producer of the Year Grammy Award – has worked alongside Taylor Swift for years, and has been credited as co-producer on some of her most famous songs, including chart-topping single ‘Anti-Hero’.

However, because of their relationship, some fans began theorising that the song was written about Swift’s ex-boyfriend Joe Alwyn.Swift was in a relationship with the Alwyn until earlier this year when the couple split after more than six years together.“There’s a community of people that will be pretty disappointed when they find out it’s a meditation on my father and his friends walking the Ho Chi Minh trail in their ‘60s,” Antonoff told The Guardian in a new interview, putting the rumours to rest.He also went on to recall how the album touches on his feelings of grief – particularly that of losing his younger sister Sarah to brain cancer in 2001 when she was aged just 13, and the death of his cousin who was fighting in the Iraq war.“It was about a character – myself, when I was sort of stuck – who wants to find something outside of this living-in-tribute, where every move in one’s life is for the person who can’t be here,” he told the outlet about what inspired the album. “ [I wrote] songs that were extremely present.