There were plenty of headlines about singer Taylor Swift’s last-minute performance on “The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon” on Monday night, as it was a truly emotional moment.
But it’s the backstory surrounding the lyrics that Swift sang that is perhaps most compelling. As you might know, Jimmy Fallon’s mom, Gloria, died on Nov. 4, and the comedian has been distraught; Monday was his first day back on the job.
So, his staff decided to ask Swift to perform in an effort to prepare something special for him.
What ended up happening, though, was a scenario that Fallon’s producer Mike DiCenzo called a “beautiful coincidence,” and it left his staff and the audience in absolute tears.
It all started when Fallon was paying tribute to his mom during Monday’s show. The comedian shared a story he had never previously told his staff about how, when he was a kid, his mom would squeeze his hand three times and say, “I love you” — and he said he would then squeeze back and say, “I love you too.”
He then shared how last week in the hospital, he grabbed his mom’s hand and, once again, told her that he loved her shortly before she died. Watch his touching remarks below:
Swift decided to debut her new song, “New Year’s Day” on the show.
Again, prior to Fallon’s on-air remarks she hadn’t heard the story about Fallon’s mom squeezing his hand three times, nor had Fallon’s staff. But once she started singing, she belted out a lyric that went as follows: “You squeeze my hand three times in the back of the taxi, I can tell that it’s gonna be a long road” — an astounding lyric considering what Fallon had just revealed about his mom.
The song goes on to encourage people to “hold on to the memories, they will hold on to you.” Watch Swift’s performance below:
The lyrics took Fallon’s staff as well as the audience by total surprise.
“I nearly gasped. Tears,” DiCenzo wrote of the moment. “I think everyone in the audience started sobbing.”
DiCenzo later took to Twitter to explain the story in its entirety:
A few words (i.e. a thread) about tonight's show. It was our first show back after Jimmy's mom passed away…
— Mike DiCenzo (@mikedicenzo) November 14, 2017
It was a really tough day for our whole staff. A lot of us knew his mom Gloria, and she was the best. The best. She loved the show, she loved all of us, and most of all, she loved Jimmy.
— Mike DiCenzo (@mikedicenzo) November 14, 2017
They talked on the phone every day. As Jimmy said, she was his biggest fan.
— Mike DiCenzo (@mikedicenzo) November 14, 2017
And as @Questlove said, Jimmy is not only our boss, he's our family. We love him. So we were devastated for him last week, and we were feeling for him today.
— Mike DiCenzo (@mikedicenzo) November 14, 2017
I'm sure today was especially tough for Jimmy. The fact that he came out, stood there, and did a normal monologue for the crowd is a testament to how strong he is.
— Mike DiCenzo (@mikedicenzo) November 14, 2017
Jimmy's words about his mom were beautiful. "Mom, I'll never stop trying to make you laugh. I love you." I was crying. We all were.
— Mike DiCenzo (@mikedicenzo) November 14, 2017
The story about his mom squeezing his hand 3 times to say "I love you" when he was a kid, and then him squeezing her hand in the hospital – he hadn't told any of us that story… More on that in a second.
— Mike DiCenzo (@mikedicenzo) November 14, 2017
First, a quick word about Taylor Swift. She was not scheduled to do our show today. But we wanted something special for this first show back, so we asked her on a complete whim, since she had been in town doing SNL. She said yes with zero hesitation.
— Mike DiCenzo (@mikedicenzo) November 14, 2017
She sang "New Year's Day." No one had heard it. Suddenly she sings the line, "Squeeze my hand 3 times in the back of the taxi." I nearly gasped. Tears. I think everyone in the audience started sobbing.
— Mike DiCenzo (@mikedicenzo) November 14, 2017
I could see Jimmy silhouetted at his desk dabbing his eyes with a tissue. We all lost it. It was a beautiful coincidence in a beautiful performance. "Hold on to your memories, they will hold on to you," Taylor sang.
— Mike DiCenzo (@mikedicenzo) November 14, 2017
That hug between Jimmy and Taylor after the song was 100% real emotion. Whatever you think of Taylor, she did something beautiful for Jimmy and our show today, and we're forever grateful.
— Mike DiCenzo (@mikedicenzo) November 14, 2017
DiCenzo is right: no matter what you think about Swift, this was a pretty cool moment. Some might also say it’s more than a “beautiful coincidence,” but that’s up to you to decide. Either way, it’s moving.