Before moving to Nashville at age 14 to pursue —and ultimately transcend— country and pop superstardom, Taylor Swift came of age in Reading, Penn. on an 11-acre Christmas tree farm. Though her family sold the farm when they relocated to Tennessee, it was an important part of Swift's childhood, especially around the holidays.
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Her father, Scott Swift, purchased Pine Ridge Farm from a client and operated it when he wasn't working at his finance day job for Merrill Lynch. The experience was so special to Swift that in 2019, she wrote a Christmas song about it. Longtime Swifties know how quickly the singer-songwriter can pull together a song, and she wrote, recorded and released a new one to fans in six days. That's right, "Christmas Tree Farm" came together in under a week.
"I actually did grow up on a Christmas tree farm. In a gingerbread house, deep within the yummy gummy gumdrop forest. Where, funnily enough, this song is their national anthem," Swift wrote on Instagram in 2019.
Despite her cheeky tweet, we know the Grammy winner grew up on an actual Christmas tree farm, not something out of the movie "Elf." The superstar told Elle Taiwan that growing up on the farm made Christmas her favorite holiday.
"Christmas is my most anticipated holiday," Swift said. "When Christmas is over, I'll start the countdown to see how long it is before the next Christmas. In September, I'll begin to celebrate Christmas by buying gifts for my friends, decorating the house, like if Christmas has come early. I am fascinated by this holiday, I grew up in a Christmas tree farm, so I like the spirit."
Around this same time, we learned through the song "Lover" that Swift loves Christmas lights so much that she's all about leaving them up until January.
"Christmas Tree Farm" and Its "Old Timey Version"
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Swift announced "Christmas Tree Farm" on Good Morning America on Dec. 5, 2019.
Swift released a feel-good music video for her holiday song that was comprised of old home movies showing the Swift family on their former Pennsylvania farm. Her parents Scott and Andrea were both featured as well as her younger brother Austin. You see footage of the family coming together to open presents on Christmas morning as well as playing around in the snow and walking through the uncut Christmas trees. Most notably, we see when Swift received her first acoustic guitar from Santa. Just watching the footage makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside. When Swift released her new song in 2019, Santa definitely came early for fans eagerly awaiting new music following her successful seventh studio album Lover.
Between the adorable home videos and the upbeat melody, "Christmas Tree Farm" is among Swift's best holiday songs. It just feels like the season and makes you want to sing along with your friends and family. This wasn't the first Christmas song that Swift has recorded. She previously released The Taylor Swift Holiday Collection in 2008 that included covers of multiple popular seasonal tunes including "Last Christmas" and "Silent Night." Hopefully Swift releases more content in the future inspired by her upbringing on the farm, as it seems like it was a place where the family enjoyed many happy memories together.
A behind-the-scenes video about the making of the song followed on Dec. 23. Swift performed the song live on her birthday (Dec. 13) at iHeartRadio Z100's Jingle Ball in New York City. That performance got released digitally on Dec. 19.
The one-off release got rerecorded in 2021 and rereleased as an "Old Timey Version." Originally issued on Nov. 22 as an Amazon Music exclusive, it was made available a day later to all streaming platforms.
As for its lasting legacy, in 2021, Hollywood Life named the original version of "Christmas Tree Farm" the second-best holiday song by a celebrity, finishing only behind Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas is You."
"Christmas Tree Farm" Lyrics:
Stress, and holiday shopping traffic
But I close my eyes, and I'm somewhere else
Just like magic
Where the people would come
To dance under sparkling lights
Bundled up in their mittens and coats
And the cider would flow
And I just wanna be there tonight
Mistakes are forgiven
And everything is icy and blue
And you would be there too
Watching the fire glow
And telling me, "I love you"
Just being in your arms
Takes me back to that little farm
Where every wish comes true
There's a light in the barn
We'd run inside out from the cold
In the town, kids are dreaming of sleighs
And they're warm and they're safe
They wake to see a blanket of snow
Mistakes are forgiven
And everything is icy and blue
And you would be there too
Watching the fire glow
And telling me, "I love you"
Just being in your arms
Takes me back to that little farm
Where every wish comes true
(Baby, yeah)
You remind me of home
Oh baby, baby, Merry Christmas
And when the world isn't fair
I'll pretend that we're there
Baby, baby, Merry Christmas
To you
Watching the fire glow
And telling me, "I love you"
Oh baby, baby, Merry Christmas (darling)
Baby, baby, Merry Christmas
'Cause I love you
Oh baby, baby, Merry Christmas
Oh baby, baby, Merry Christmas
May your every wish come true
I love you
