Taylor Swift gave fans an intimate look into her childhood in the new lyric video for her re-released song, The Best Day (Taylor’s Version), uploaded to YouTube on Friday.
The video pays special tribute to the 31-year-old singer-songwriter’s mother Andrea, 63, while also including footage of her father Scott, 69, and 29-year-old brother Austin through the years.
While also providing a rare glimpse into her idyllic upbringing, the Best Day visual documents Swift’s meteoric rise from just a toddler in West Reading, Pennsylvania to one of the world’s biggest pop stars.
Taylor even managed to unearth the exact video of her mom setting up a ‘paint set in the kitchen’ when she was three for fans to view for the very first time.
In the recording, she is wearing a white dress with flowers on the front as she stands proudly in front of an easel holding her fresh painting.
Among unseen and rare clips of her youth, the 11-time Grammy winner included more recent pictures with her mom, like one at the 2019 Billboard Music Awards.
Too cute: The sweet video tribute, which is full of sweet memories with her mom Andrea, 63, father Scott, 69, and 29-year-old brother Austin, follows her rise from just a toddler in West Reading, Pennsylvania to becoming one of the world’s biggest pop stars
Unbelievable: Taylor even managed to unearth the exact video of her mom setting up a ‘paint set in the kitchen’ when she was three, which were referenced in the sentimental lyrics‘Happy decoding!’ Taylor Swift posts a cryptic video for her fans
Her brother made a few appearances, in a childhood video of them reading a Where’s Waldo? book and a family photo, which appeared to be taken in 2014, in front of a Christmas tree not long after the release of her fifth album, 1989.
Taylor previously spoke about creating the song, which begins from her perspective as a five-year-old, for her mom.
‘[My mom] was my only friend when I was 13 and… my friends were being so mean to me,’ Swift told Taste of Country in 2011. ‘She would just take me on these adventures and we would drive around … My mom was my escape in a lot of ways.’
Precious: Taylor seen sleeping on her father Scott’s shoulder as a toddler with a pacifier in her mouth
Budding performer: At just 12-years-old, Taylor sang the national anthem at a Detroit Pistons game in her home state of Pennsylvania
Big sister: Taylor and her younger brother Austin can be seen snuggled up reading a Where’s Waldo? book together as kids
At the time, the Cardigan singer said she wrote it ‘without telling’ her mom.
‘I had this idea that I wanted to play it for her for Christmas. So, when I got the track I synced up all of these home videos from when I was a little kid to go along with the song like a music video, and played it for her on Christmas Eve and she was crying her eyes out,’ she told the outlet.
Last January, Taylor revealed to her fans that her mother had been diagnosed with a brain tumor while battling breast cancer.
Memories: Taylor has previously spoken about the song, which begins from her perspective as a five-year-old, being about her mom
‘ [My mom] was my only friend when I was 13 and… my friends were being so mean to me,’ Swift told Taste of Country in 2011. ‘She would just take me on these adventures and we would drive around … My mom was my escape in a lot of ways’
Sweet: At the time, the Cardigan singer said she wrote it ‘without telling’ her mom over the time as a Christmas present
‘I had this idea that I wanted to play it for her for Christmas. So, when I got the track I synced up all of these home videos from when I was a little kid to go along with the song like a music video, and played it for her on Christmas Eve and she was crying her eyes out,’ she told the outlet
The Lover singer said doctors made the tumor discovery when Andrea was undergoing chemotherapy.
The star opened up about how her family has been coping in an interview with Variety ahead of her new documentary Miss Americana, last year.
Andrea was first diagnosed with cancer in 2015. After treatment, she went into remission, but the disease came back last year during filming for the documentary.
Hard: Last January, Taylor revealed to her fans that her mother had been diagnosed with a brain tumor while battling breast cancer
Coping through music: The Lover singer said doctors made the tumor discovery when Andrea was undergoing chemotherapy
Pushing through: Andrea was first diagnosed with cancer in 2015. After treatment, she went into remission, but the disease came back last year during filming for the documentary
‘She was going through chemo, and that’s a hard enough thing for a person to go through,’ Taylor explained to Variety in 2020. ‘While she was going through treatment, they found a brain tumor.’
‘She was going through chemo, and that’s a hard enough thing for a person to go through,’ Taylor revealed. ‘While she was going through treatment, they found a brain tumor.’
And though the family has kept private about the matter, Taylor was candid in the interview, where she explained how ‘hard’ this new turn has been.
‘[Cancer] is a hard enough thing for a person to go through,’ making the tumor news even tougher,’ she reflected.
‘She was going through chemo, and that’s a hard enough thing for a person to go through,’ Taylor revealed. ‘While she was going through treatment, they found a brain tumor’
Close than ever: And though the family has kept private about the matter, Taylor was candid in the interview, where she explained how ‘hard’ this new turn has been
Brave faces: Taylor and her mom seen at the 2019 Billboard Music Awards
Now the family is dealing with a new host of symptoms.
‘The symptoms of what a person goes through when they have a brain tumor is nothing like what we’ve ever been through with her cancer before. So it’s just been a really hard time for us as a family,’ she explained.
The very private star said it was a big decision to speak about her mom’s illness, telling the outlet: ‘Everyone loves their mom; everyone’s got an important mom. But for me, she’s really the guiding force. Almost every decision I make, I talk to her about it first. So obviously it was a really big deal to ever speak about her illness.’
Open book: The performer said it was a big decision to speak about her mom’s illness, telling the outlet: ‘Everyone loves their mom; everyone’s got an important mom. But for me, she’s really the guiding force. Almost every decision I make, I talk to her about it first. So obviously it was a really big deal to ever speak about her illness’
Loving: Taylor also penned the track Soon You’ll Get Better, a touching tribute to her mom, in 2019
In her 2020 Netflix documentary cancer comes up in a light-hearted scene where Andrew Swift welcomes a ‘cancer dog’ into the family, as her way of saying ‘eff you’ to cancer.
Taylor also penned the track Soon You’ll Get Better, a touching tribute to her mom, in 2019.
In the song she sings lyrics like ‘I didn’t tell you I was scared,’ while also explaining how her mother was making ‘the best of a bad deal.’
