Taylor Swift is a big fan of Yellowstone?
The flagship series that really got the shows of the Taylor Sheridan Universe rolling has been off the air for almost two years now. Its spinoffs – like Marshals and Dutton Ranch – are keeping the story alive in many ways, but it’ll always be hard to match up with that five season run that Yellowstone went on from 2018 to 2024. Simply put, it’s some of the best television ever created.
And the series apparently acted as inspiration for Taylor Swift.
Though the Taylor Sheridan and Taylor Swift connection might be a bit of a shock, it seems as though the country-artist-turned-pop-star never gave up on western themes entirely. How do we know that? Well, during Swift’s induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame last week, the “Opalite” singer provided advice for younger artists… and quoted Kevin Costner’s John Dutton:
“It’s hard to harden yourself to certain brutal elements of this world. But allow me to now make a hard pivot and pull out a quote I love from the show ‘Yellowstone,’ when a father says to his son, ‘It’s the one constant in life, son, you build something worth having, somebody’s gonna try to take it.’”
Huge Yellowstone gal.
That quote actually comes from an episode in Season 2, where John Dutton tells his son Kayce (played by Luke Grimes) about how the Dutton family has fought to protect their Montana ranch across decades. Evidently, the wise words of Costner’s character stood out to Taylor Swift when she watched the show, and that line has always stuck with her.
The 14-time Grammy winner revealed later in her speech how she interpreted the quote and applied it to her songwriting and career:
“John Dutton was talking about a ranch, but I’m using this quote to refer to self-worth, peace of mind and singular vision as a creator.
If you make anything awesome, someone out there is bound to say horrible things about it. Or twist what you meant into something completely unrecognizable to you. You can be sensitive but also durable… take what’s useful and constructive and leave out what’s damaging to your creativity.”
How about that? Taylor Sheridan and Taylor Swift have something to talk about if they ever cross paths… if they haven’t already.
I’m not sure many people would have guessed that Swift loved Yellowstone, and likely indulges in other series from Sheridan, but here we are. During one of the biggest honors of her life, when 36-year-old became the second-youngest person to be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame (behind Stevie Wonder, who was inducted at 33 years old in 1983), the prolific songwriter and former country music singer quoted John Dutton.
Granted, Costner’s spewed a lot of wisdom during his time on the show. I’m sure Taylor Swift isn’t the only one to find inspiration in the words of the ruthless rancher and Dutton family patriarch. The only question I really have is… I wonder if all the Swifties will start tuning into the Yellowstone shows now like they did with the NFL?
