You Were Bigger Than the Whole Sky
By Nora Biette-Timons
In “You’re On Your Own, Kid,” a ballad about growing up and feeling alone, pop superstar Taylor Swift sings, “So make the friendship bracelets, take the moment and taste it, you’ve got no reason to be afraid… You’re on your own kid, yeah, you can face this.” The song was never released as a single, and never received much specific publicity, but it immediately became a hit among Swift’s fans (known as Swifties), who admire her emotional, descriptive lyrics.
Legendary singer-songwriter Stevie Nicks counts herself among those fans. At a concert in May 2023, shortly after the death of her best friend and Fleetwood Mac bandmate Christine McVie, Nicks thanked Swift for writing “You’re On You’re Own, Kid,” saying it captured “the sadness of how I feel.” When Nicks attended Swift’s Eras Tour in Dublin, Swift played the song, and fan videos showed Nicks tearing up.
The song also inspired what’s become a global trend: the trading of friendship bracelets between audience members at each show. Many bear messages related to Swift’s discography; some make references to her personal life; some are more on the funny and crude side. Importantly, these bracelets are not for Swift herself — rather, they’re a sign of community.
The combination of friendship bracelets and the message that “You’re On You’re Own, Kid” has for some navigating grief came when Evermore’s founder, Joyal Mulheron, and her daughters went to the Eras Tour opening weekend in March 2023 — their first Taylor Swift concert ever. While waiting in line, Swifties gave Mulheron two friendship bracelets: one that read “EVERMORE” (coincidentally, also the name of one of Swift’s albums, which came out years after Evermore was established), and one with a simple “E,” for Eleanora, her daughter who died.
Months later, this symbolic exchange took on new meaning. Mulheron connected with Lexie Manion, a mental health advocate, to brainstorm ways to memorialize Ana Clara Benevides Machado, a Swift fan who died of heat and exhaustion at the Eras Tour in Rio de Janeiro in November. Reflecting on this meaningful moment months later, Manion suggested, “friendship bracelets!” It became clear that friendship bracelets were a fitting way to keep Machado’s memory alive.
Ana Machado would have turned 24 on July 22, and on that day, Evermore will remember her memory with a hashtag campaign on social media: #LoveIsForEvermore. Among the tweets will be a video honoring Machado, set to Swift’s “Long Live,” a poignant song about remembering loved ones. In recent months, Evermore has been in contact with Machado’s parents, Adriana Cristina da Silva Benevides and Weiny Machado, about this event honoring their daughter.
“For me, she will always be here, she is just traveling. She went to the ‘show of her life’ that’s how she said it. She would come back and tell me all the news about shows. We always talked about everything; we had no secrets. My BeneVIDA, Ana, my beloved daughter, my best friend who will never be forgotten. She infected everyone with her joy,” Adriana Benevides shared with Evermore. “I know that God did the best for her, but my mother’s heart suffers greatly in her absence. I always tell her, the day your heart stopped, half of me left with you, and the other half only exists. I love you daughter.”
“To me, losing a daughter was like losing my soul. The pain tears me apart every time you come to mind; it tears me apart not being able to save you; it tears me apart never hearing your voice again. My beloved daughter, I miss you so,” Weiny Machado said in a statement shared with Evermore. “I want to meet you again, but I know that I still have much to do, so I go on. It is not easy, but I continue for your sake. … Ana, you are my great love – my precious daughter – and I thank God for the wonderful time He allowed me to have you in my life.