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The Conversation
The Conversation
Timothy McKenry, Professor of Music, Australian Catholic University

Taylor Swift’s Father Figure isn’t a cover, but an ‘interpolation’. What that means – and why it matters

Taylor Swift George Michael Aretha Franklin Pat Boone Beatles

On Taylor Swift’s highly-anticipated new album The Life of a Showgirl, track four, Father Figure, includes the late George Michael as one of the credited songwriters.

But Swift’s song is not a cover of Michael’s 1987 hit of the same name. Rather, it is an “interpolation”. What does this mean, and how is it different from a cover, or a song that uses sampling?

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