Seth Meyers Says Taylor Swift Wrote a "Perfect'"Monologue Ahead of Hosting SNL in '09
"We brought Taylor in Lorne’s office … [and] she sings this song which is not only a beautiful song by a beautiful singer, it’s a perfect ‘SNL’ monologue. Fully formed," Meyers raved about Taylor Swift's 2009 double-duty episode.
When October 28 Saturday Night Live Host Nate Bargatze visited Late Night with Seth Meyers ahead of his episode, Seth Meyers remarked that in his time at SNL, "the greatest feeling was when a stand-up would show up, because you knew they would handle their own monologue." (As Meyers predicted, Bargatze's nearly 10-minute stand-up monologue was well received with audiences.). And in an October 30 interview on The Howard Stern Show with Meyers himself, the former cast member recounted another incredible SNL monologue moment: Taylor Swift's song from her double-duty turn as Host and musical guest.
For those who may not recall every single detail of Swift's November 7, 2009 episode, the musician opened the show with a strummy acoustic guitar ballad. The song poked fun at her own penchant for skewering exes who she feels betrayed her, with Swift singing, "I like writing their names into songs so they're ashamed to go in public / but I'm not gonna say that, in my monologue!"
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As Meyers shared, an SNL monologue is often co-written by the show's writing staff, to varying degrees, depending on the Host. But Taylor Swift had it fully handled—and Meyers was absolutely blown away by how "fully formed" it already was.
Seth Meyers says Taylor Swift wrote her "perfect" SNL monologue herself
“She came to us and said, ‘I wrote a song for the opening monologue,’” Meyers told Stern. “So, we brought Taylor in Lorne’s office … [and] she sings this song which is not only a beautiful song by a beautiful singer, it’s a perfect ‘SNL’ monologue. Fully formed.”
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“To this day, I’ve [never] had a moment like that where someone brings you a fully gift-wrapped present and its exactly what you need it to be,” he continued. “When she finished I should’ve said, ‘Now Taylor, just for you, I want to look at you and read what we had written for you just so you know how much f---ing worse [our pitch] was,” he laughed.
Watch Taylor Swift's SNL monologue song above, and stream more sketches from her 2009 episode on Peacock.
