Who is Lucy Dacus? The Boygenius singer is a pro-choice activist who recently confirmed she’s dating bandmate Julien Baker – and that Taylor Swift name-checked her on The Tortured Poets Department

Apr 7 , 2025

Boygenius singer Lucy Dacus recently confirmed that Taylor Swift name-dropped her on her album The Tortured Poets Department. Photos: @lucydacus/Instagram; Instagram

Dacus has released several solo albums, including last month’s Forever is a Feeling, and won Grammys with Boygenius; she recently confirmed she is the Lucy referred to in a song by Taylor Swift

Lucy Dacus has confirmed that she is indeed the “Lucy” referred to by Taylor Swift on the title track of her 11th studio album, The Tortured Poets Department.

Taylor Swift with Phoebe Bridgers (left), Julien Baker (hidden) and Lucy Dacus of the group Boygenius at last year’s Grammy Awards. Photo: TNS

On the track, Swift sings: “Sometimes, I wonder if you’re gonna screw this up with me / But you told Lucy you’d kill yourself if I ever leave / And I had said that to Jack about you, so I felt seen”.

While it’s long been speculated that the song is about Swift’s brief relationship with The 1975’s frontman Matty Healy in 2023, and that “Jack” refers to her frequent collaborator Jack Antonoff, fans were still in the dark about who “Lucy” was. Now, in an interview with People, Dacus – a friend of Swift and Healy – has set the record straight.

Boygenius singer-guitarist Lucy Dacus recently confirmed she is the Lucy referred to by Taylor Swift on The Tortured Poets Department. Photo: @lucydacus/Instagram

“I think it’s fair game to say ‘yes’, she actually texted me and asked for my approval,” Dacus told the outlet. “I pushed play on the album just like, ‘Oh, this is so crazy,’” she said. “This is the first Taylor record to come out since meeting her, and listening to a friend’s record feels so much different than a stranger’s record.”

Here’s everything to know about Taylor Swift and Matty Healy’s friend, Lucy Dacus.

She’s a singer-songwriter

Lucy Dacus released a new album, Forever is a Feeling, last month. Photo: @lucydacus/Instagram

Originally from Richmond, Virginia, Lucy Dacus is a singer-songwriter. She signed with Matador Records in 2016 to release her critically acclaimed debut album No Burden, going on to put out Historian (2018) and Home Video (2021) on the same label.

Dacus was adopted as an infant, reports The New York Times. Her father is a graphic designer and her mother is a pianist who worked in musical theatre. She credits them with her interest in music, saying she found a love of Bruce Springsteen through her dad and an appreciation of Prince and David Bowie through her mum – though she grew up listening to Top 40 hits.