The Major Sacrifices Taylor Swift's Parents, Andrea And Scott, Made For Her Career

Taylor Swift's parents, Andrea Swift and Scott Swift, have dealt with their fair share of tragedies related to their personal lives and Taylor's career — raising a future music industry icon and pop culture juggernaut wasn't always easy. Taylor Swift's biggest fans know that she and her family used to live on a Christmas tree farm in Pennsylvania, but what they may not realize is how much her parents sacrificed to launch her career. For years, they made several long drives between Pennsylvania and Tennessee before eventually moving there so Taylor could grow her music career.

As a preteen, Swift decided she wanted to live in Nashville, Tennessee as she was inspired by musicians she admired moving there for their own careers — notably Faith Hill and Shania Twain. "From that point on, I began relentlessly nagging, begging, and pleading with my parents to take me on a trip there," she told Time. After lots of convincing, Andrea took Taylor and her younger brother, Austin, on a trip to the country music capital. Taylor told CMT in 2008, "It was on spring break, and I was 11 and I had this little demo CD — a karaoke CD of me singing songs by Dolly Parton and the Dixie Chicks and LeAnn Rimes." Taylor recalled distributing her demo along Music Row hoping it would lead to a record deal.

Back at home, Taylor learned to play guitar so she could stand out from other aspiring singers. Every couple of months, she and her family would visit Nashville again, and eventually Taylor's hard work paid off.

RCA Records offered Taylor Swift a development deal at 13. "A development deal is not a full-on record deal," Taylor explained to CMT. It's a trial run where the record company pays for an artist to record demos and later decides if they want to officially sign them. Taylor told CMT how happy she was about that, despite it not being confirmation of a full-on deal. "So we started coming to Nashville more and more and more, and eventually we just decided to move," Taylor continued. 

The "Snow On The Beach" singer didn't mind leaving Pennsylvania, since she admitted to not having friends there. "But my dad had to transfer his work to Nashville," Taylor said. "For a while, he was commuting back and forth and it was an incredible sacrifice for my parents to make and I've never forgotten it."

Scott Swift eventually ended up moving his company, the Swift Group at Merrill Lynch, to Tennessee so his family could be together. He would stay at home with Austin while Andrea and Taylor traveled for concerts and tours. 

When Taylor Swift's family moved to Tennessee, they lived in the suburb of Hendersonville, about 20 miles from Nashville. Taylor's parents never made her feel like she had to make it big. In an interview with Self, Taylor said they never made the move seem like a burden. "They were like, 'Well, we need a change of scenery anyway,' and 'I love how friendly the people in Tennessee are,'" she said (via E! News).

Andrea Swift echoed that sentiment in a 2008 Entertainment Weekly interview: "I never wanted to make that move about her 'making it.' Because what a horrible thing if it hadn't happened, for her to carry that kind of guilt or pressure around." Andrea said they instilled into Taylor that they were supportive no matter what and that she didn't have to continue her music career if she didn't want to.

Her mother's support meant a lot. When Taylor won the 2008 ACM Award for "Top New Female Vocalist," she dedicated it to Andrea, saying in her acceptance speech that was for "the person that used to love to go to lunch with her friends and cook dinner for her family and sleep in her bed every night." She added, "And she gave that all away and left it all behind to go on the road with her 16-year-old daughter." Andrea was visibly emotional and mouthed "I love you" back to her daughter. Without Scott and Andrea's support, Taylor might not have made it where she is today.