Who Is Jeff Lang? Meet Taylor Swift's Late Friend Who Reportedly Inspired 'Ruin the Friendship'

Taylor Swift's The Life of a Showgirl caused the internet to erupt with theories, including speculation that the song "Ruin the Friendship" is actually about Jeff Lang.

The 35-year-old singer and Lang attended Hendersonville High School in Tennessee before she left to pursue a music career. After graduation, he enrolled at the University of Tennessee to pursue a degree in biology but sadly passed away before completing his studies.

Lang died "from an inflammation of the lungs called acute bronchopneumonia" in November 2010, according to a medical examiner's report shared by the Chattanooga Times Free Press. He was 21.

The document added that methadone, a synthetic opioid used to treat Opioid Use Disorder (OUD), was a probable contributing factor in Lang's death.

One day after Lang's funeral, Swift attended the BMI Country Awards, where she won Country Songwriter of the Year. In her acceptance speech, the "I Bet You Think About Me" songstress opened up about her "really emotional week."

"Yesterday I sang at the funeral of one of my best friends. He was 21, and I used to play my songs for him first. So I would like to thank Jeff Lang," she told the crowd.

The sixth track of Swift's 12th studio album previously sparked buzz that it was about Blake Lively and their friendship. Reports suggested the pals "are not speaking" amid the actress' legal showdown with her It Ends With Us costar Justin Baldoni.

But upon release, the lyrics of "Ruin the Friendship" suggested otherwise.

"When I left school I lost track of you / Abigail called me with the bad news / Goodbye / And we'll never know why," Swift sang in the track. "It was not an invitation / But I flew home anyway / With so much left to say / It was not convenient, no / But I whispered at the grave / 'Should've kissed you anyway.'"

While Swift has not named the person who inspired the track, she said "Ruin the Friendship" is about a tender musing on fleeting moments in a person's life.

"'Ruin the Friendship' is a song that wistfully goes back in time to moments that you hesitated, moments that you were too scared or anxious to do something that you were really curious about," she shared in her "Track by Track Version" for Amazon Music. "The idea of if you told this person you have feelings for them, or if you kiss this person, you might ruin the friendship."

In addition to "Ruin the Friendship," Swifties believe Lang inspired other songs, including "Forever Winter (Taylor's Version)" and "Bigger Than the Whole Sky."