Eldest Daughter

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For eldest daughter syndrome, see parentification. For traits and terms related to birth order, see Birth order.

"Eldest Daughter"
Song by Taylor Swift
from the album The Life of a Showgirl
ReleasedOctober 3, 2025 (2025-10-03)
Studio
  • MXM
  • Shellback (Stockholm)
GenreSoft rock
Length4:06
LabelRepublic
Songwriters
Producers
  • Taylor Swift
  • Max Martin
  • Shellback
Official visualizer
"Eldest Daughter" on YouTube

"Eldest Daughter" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift from her twelfth studio album, The Life of a Showgirl (2025). Written and produced by Swift, Max Martin and Shellback, "Eldest Daughter" is a soft, melancholic soft rock piano ballad that revolves around the pressure and pain of being an eldest daughter, with familial expectations to be perfect. The song generally received mixed reviews from music critics.

Background and release

[edit]

The American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift announced her twelfth studio album, The Life of a Showgirl on August 13, 2025, during an episode of the weekly podcast New Heights – hosted by her fiancé, NFL player Travis Kelce with his brother Jason. "Eldest Daughter" was revealed on the same day as the album's fifth track.[1]

"Eldest Daughter" was released on October 3, 2025 along with album, through Republic Records.[2] Less than 24 hours of the album's release, an acoustic version subtitled, "Now You're Home" appeared as part of the tracklist of one of the album's deluxe CD editions, available for 24 hours on October 4, 2025, on Swift's webstore.[3] A separate original songwriting voice memo of the track was released on October 9, 2025 for digital download, subtitled "So Punk on the Internet".[4] On November 7, an Acoustic Collection edition of the album was released, featuring both the original and acoustic versions – including "Eldest Daughter".[5]

Composition

[edit]

"Eldest Daughter" is a soft and melancholic, minor-key soft rock[6] piano ballad[7] in a moderately-slow tempo of 77 BPM. As described by Swift in the Track by Track Version of The Life of a Showgirl (2025), the track is a "love song about personal roles in life".[8] The song reflects the effect of public and media criticism in Swift's life.[9] A subtle nod to the "eldest daughter syndrome",[10][11] it also revolves around the pressure and struggle to become a perfect individual before finally ending up with a happy relationship.[12][13][9]

Music critics associated "Eldest Daughter" to Swift's previous songs such as "The Archer" (2019) and "Mirrorball" (2020), respectively from her albums, Lover and Folklore having recurring themes of perseverance, desperation and perfectionism.[14] In contrary to the song being about Swift, Alyssa Bailey of ELLE pointed out that it's a vow her fiancé, NFL player Travis Kelce. Bailey cited certain lyrics of the song as Swift's early lessons of "cautious discretion" (When your first crush crushes something kind / When I said I didn't believe in marriage / That was a lie / Every eldest daughter / Was the first lamb to the slaughter / So we all dressed up as wolves and we looked fire) before finally moving on to the bridge in which she described the part where "Kelce made her believe in love once again" (Ferris wheel, kisses, and lilacs / And things I said were dumb / 'Cause I never thought I'd find that beautiful, beautiful life that shimmers the innocent light back / Like when we were young / Every youngest child felt / They were raised up in the wild but now you're home).[15]

Charts

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Chart performance
Chart (2025) Peak
position
Argentina (Argentina Hot 100)[16] 57
Australia (ARIA)[17] 10
Brazil (Brasil Hot 100)[18] 52
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[19] 9
Czech Republic (Singles Digitál Top 100)[20] 25
Denmark (Tracklisten)[21] 9
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[22] 30
France (SNEP)[23] 43
Germany (GfK)[24] 8
Global 200 (Billboard)[25] 11
Hong Kong (Billboard)[26] 19
Italy (FIMI)[27] 71
Latvia Streaming (LaIPA)[28] 12
Lithuania (AGATA)[29] 41
Luxembourg (Billboard)[30] 8
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[31] 10
Norway (IFPI Norge)[32] 14
Philippines (Philippines Hot 100)[33] 8
Portugal (AFP)[34] 12
Singapore (RIAS)[35] 9
Slovakia (Singles Digitál Top 100)[36] 38
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[37] 33
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[38] 7
United Arab Emirates (IFPI)[39] 11
UK Streaming (OCC)[40] 11
US Billboard Hot 100[41] 9

References

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  1. ^ Horowitz, Steven (August 11, 2025). "Taylor Swift Announces New Album 'The Life of a Showgirl'". Variety. Retrieved November 23, 2025.
  2. ^ Chau, Nicole (October 3, 2025). "Taylor Swift releases "The Life of a Showgirl" to much fanfare". CBS. Retrieved November 23, 2025.
  3. ^ Willman, Chris (October 4, 2025). "Taylor Swift Announces Eight Acoustic Recordings as Bonus Tracks for Four New 'Life of a Showgirl' CD Editions". Variety. Retrieved November 23, 2025.
  4. ^ "The Life of a Showgirl (Deluxe So Punk on the Internet Version)". Taylor Swift Official Store. Archived from the original on October 9, 2025. Retrieved October 9, 2025.
  5. ^ "The Life of a Showgirl + Acoustic Collection". Apple Music. Retrieved November 23, 2025.
  6. ^ Lamm, Olivier (October 3, 2025). "The Life of a Showgirl: Taylor Swift joue avec les tubes à excès" [The Life of a Showgirl: Taylor Swift Plays with Excessive Hits]. Libération (in French). Retrieved November 24, 2025.
  7. ^ Sheffield, Rob (October 6, 2025). "'Eldest Daughter' (2025)". Rolling Stone. Retrieved November 23, 2025.
  8. ^ Olson, Samantha (October 27, 2025). "A Definitive Ranking of Taylor Swift's Track 5 Songs, From Debut to 'The Life of a Showgirl'". Cosmopolitan. Retrieved November 23, 2025.
  9. ^ a b Withington, Katie (October 5, 2025). "How Taylor Swift Perfectly Captures The Pressures And Expectations Of Being The 'Eldest Daughter'". Elle. Retrieved November 23, 2025.
  10. ^ McClusky, Megan (October 3, 2025). "Making Sense of 'Eldest Daughter,' Taylor Swift's Emotional The Life of a Showgirl Track 5". Time. Retrieved November 23, 2025.
  11. ^ Tempera, Jacqueline; Luppino, Olivia (October 3, 2025). "Eldest Daughter Syndrome: What It Is And 12 Signs To Look For, According To Experts". Women's Health. Retrieved November 23, 2025.
  12. ^ Hodgkinson, Will (October 3, 2025). "The story behind every song on Taylor Swift's The Life of a Showgirl". The Times. Archived from the original on October 3, 2025. Retrieved November 23, 2025.
  13. ^ Breihan, Tom (October 3, 2025). "Premature Evaluation: Taylor Swift The Life Of A Showgirl". Stereogum. Retrieved November 23, 2025.
  14. ^ Mitchell, Madeline (October 3, 2025). "I thought Taylor Swift's 'Eldest Daughter' track would wreck me. It healed me instead". USA Today. Retrieved November 23, 2025.
  15. ^ Bailey, Alyssa (October 4, 2025). "Taylor Swift's 'Eldest Daughter' Lyrics Contain a Vow to Fiancé Travis Kelce". ELLE. Retrieved November 23, 2025.
  16. ^ "Taylor Swift – Chart History (Argentina Hot 100)" Billboard Argentina Hot 100 Singles for Taylor Swift.
  17. ^ "Taylor Swift – Eldest Daughter". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
  18. ^ "Taylor Swift Chart History (Brasil Hot 100)". Billboard.
  19. ^ "Taylor Swift Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard.
  20. ^ "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Digital Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select 41. týden 2025 in the date selector. Retrieved November 25, 2025.
  21. ^ "Taylor Swift – Eldest Daughter". Tracklisten.
  22. ^ "Taylor Swift: Eldest Daughter" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat.
  23. ^ "Top Singles (Week 41, 2025)" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved November 24, 2025.
  24. ^ "Taylor Swift – Eldest Daughter" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved November 25, 2025.
  25. ^ "Taylor Swift Chart History (Global 200)". Billboard. Retrieved November 25, 2025.
  26. ^ "Taylor Swift Chart History (Hong Kong Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved November 24, 2025.
  27. ^ "Top Singoli – Classifica settimanale WK 41 (dal 03.10.2025 al 09.10.2025)" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved November 26, 2025.
  28. ^ "Teilore Svifta plūc mūzikas topu uzvaras laurus arī Latvijā" [Taylor Swift also tops the music charts in Latvia] (in Latvian). TV Net [lv]. October 14, 2025. Retrieved October 15, 2025.
  29. ^ "2025 41-os savaitės klausomiausi (Top 100)" (in Lithuanian). AGATA. October 10, 2025. Retrieved November 26, 2025.
  30. ^ "Taylor Swift Chart History (Luxembourg Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved November 26, 2025.
  31. ^ "Taylor Swift – Eldest Daughter". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved November 25, 2025.
  32. ^ "Singel 2025 uke 41" (in Norwegian). IFPI Norge. Retrieved November 26, 2025.
  33. ^ "Billboard Philippines Hot 100 (Week of October 18, 2025)". Billboard Philippines. Archived from the original on October 15, 2025. Retrieved November 27, 2025.
  34. ^ "Top 200 Singles Semana 41 de 2025" (PDF) (in European Portuguese). Associação Fonográfica Portuguesa. p. 8. Retrieved November 27, 2025.
  35. ^ "The Official Singapore Charts Week 41 (3 - 9 Oct 2025)". RIAS. Archived from the original on October 14, 2025. Retrieved November 27, 2025.
  36. ^ "ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Singles Digital Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select 41. týden 2025 in the date selector. Retrieved November 27, 2025.
  37. ^ "Taylor Swift – Eldest Daughter" Canciones Top 50. Retrieved November 25, 2025.
  38. ^ "Taylor Swift – Eldest Daughter". Singles Top 100. Retrieved November 25, 2025.
  39. ^ "The Official MENA Chart | Weekly Chart – Week 41, 2025 – 03/10 to 09/10/2025". The Official MENA Chart (Select year 2025, week 41 and UAE chart to view peak.). Retrieved October 16, 2025.
  40. ^ "Official Streaming Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 27, 2025.
  41. ^ "Taylor Swift Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.