Sugarland Praises Taylor Swift’s Songwriting Skills in ‘Babe’

Sugarland famously included only one song they didn’t write on their latest Bigger album, which was “Babe,” written by Taylor Swift. But for the duo, made up of Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush, the song was so well-written, they knew they had to record it.

“‘Babe’ is a perfect representation of, I think, from a songwriting perspective, what Taylor Swift does very well,” Nettles explains. “It is very confessional and it is very much – you wanna talk about what we talk about, and being in the moment in your life and putting it out there. You know this is something whenever she wrote it that at the time was very much on her mind and on her heart, we shall say.”

Swift wrote the song with Train lead singer Pat Monahan, intending to include it on her 2012 Red album. But when she didn’t put it on the record, she reached out to Sugarland to see if they wanted to use it.

“It’s very authentic in that way in its offering,” says Nettles. “It is the story of a break-up. It is the story of a betrayal and it is the story of really getting to confront that person and to say like, ‘Well we’re not going to make it through this one, babe.’”

Although Swift wrote the song for herself, she certainly has no regrets about Sugarland recording the song instead.

“I just wanted to say thank you so much for all the nice things you’ve been saying about ‘Babe,’” Swift shares on Instagram. “It’s a song that I wrote with Pat Monahan when I was making the Red album. And I’m so happy that it gets its own life. I’m so happy that Sugarland wanted to record it, and has done such a great job with it. And I’m so stoked I get to sing on it, too.”

Swift not only sings on “Babe,” but she also came up with the idea and stars in the cinematic video, appearing as the other woman.

“She actually reached out to us and said, ‘I’ve got a great idea for the video,’ and she wrote the treatment,” Nettles tells PEOPLE.

“Babe” is available for download on iTunes. Sugarland is currently on the road, on their Still the Same Tour. Find dates at SugarlandMusic.com.

Photo Credit: Instagram/Sugarland