Every Surprise Song Taylor Swift Played on Eras Tour (Part I)
Taylor Swift kicked off the U.S. leg of her epic Eras Tour on March 17 with a career-spanning setlist that includes one to eight songs from each of her 10 studio albums. Adding to fans’ excitement, she has promised to perform two surprise songs during each three-hour show.
“The plan, the goal, would be to play different songs every single night and never repeat one. Right? So that when you heard one on this tour, you would know it’s the only time that I was going to play it in the acoustic set,” she said on the opening night at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. “Unless — caveat — unless I mess it up so badly that I have to do it over again in some other city. Send your best wishes towards me that I don’t do that.”
So far, Swift has kept her promises and performed a total of 106 surprise songs. Here is the list of every surprise song she played (Part I):
“Mirrorball” - folklore
Glendale, AZ (March 17)
“Mirrorball” was “one of the first songs” Swift wrote for folklore. “It was me writing about how badly I craved the connection that I feel from the care that you have directed in my way. I’m trying to tell you I love you, and I’m babbling,” she said to the crowd. “I was trying to think of sort of an eloquent way to say that I love you and I need your attention all the time, and I came up with ‘I’m a mirrorball.’”
"Tim McGraw" - Taylor Swift
Glendale, AZ (March 17)
“I was thinking about tonight and how special this is, so I thought it might be kind of fun to play the very first song I ever put out.” The song is also the only song from her first album included in her Arizona setlist.
“State of Grace” - Red
Glendale, AZ (March 18)
The opening track of Red has a stripped-down version included in Taylor’s re-recordings of the album.
‘this is me trying” - folklore
Glendale, AZ (March 18)
“I keep forgetting what key it’s in — one second. It’s lost all concept to me,”
“Our Song” - Taylor Swift
Las Vegas, NV (March 24)
Swift revealed that the idea of playing “Our Song,” which she wrote for her ninth-grade talent show was inspired by a Beabadoobe interview when the star said she wanted to hear this specific song. “So I figured, you know what, for her first show with us, I’ll play the specific song that she said she would want to hear,” she told the crowd.
“Snow on the Beach” - Midnight
Las Vegas, NV (March 24)
Swift performed the song in honor of Lana Del Rey’s new album, Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd. “It’s just extraordinary,” she said to the crowd. “I just think she’s the best that we have…She knows I’m obsessed with her, and she was kind enough to make a song with me on Midnights called ‘Snow on the Beach’ because she’s a generous king. She did that for me, and I’ll never forget how nice she’s been to me.”
“Cowboy like me” (with Marcus Mumford) - evermore
Las Vegas, NV (March 25)
Swift invited Marcus Mumford to the stage as “a special guest” that night to sing their evermore duet.
“White Horse” - Fearless
Las Vegas, NV (March 25)
“White Horse” was originally released as the second single of Fearless.
“Sad Beautiful Tragic” - Red
Arlington, TX (March 31)
“I love this one. When I love a song, I don’t care what anyone says.”
“Ours” - Speak Now
Arlington, TX (March 31)
The second song from Speak Now Swift played on The Eras Tour.
“Death By a Thousand Cuts” - Lover
Arlington, TX (April 1)
She previously played an acoustic version of the song in 2019 to celebrate the release of Lover. During her Texas performance that night, Swift messed up the bridge and promised that she’d “do it again on the tour.” She kept her promise and played it again on Aug. 5 in Los Angeles.
“Clean” - 1989
Arlington, TX (April 1)
Cowritten by Imogen Heap, the fan-favorite 1989 song was requested by Gracie Abrams, one of Swift’s opening acts. After fans took to TikTok to express disappointment that the song wouldn’t be repeated during the tour, Swift responded by saying, “I think I could probably have done it better in a higher key, so that’s technically a mess up.”
“Clean” was performed again in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
“Jump Then Fall” - Fearless
Arlington, TX (April 2)
Swift said she “fell in love” with the track while re-recording her sophomore album.
“The Lucky One” - Red
Arlington, TX (April 2)
She told the crowd the song was about “how horrible being famous is.”
“Speak Now” - Speak Now
Tampa, FL (April 13)
“I’ve been thinking a lot about one of my albums recently,” she hinted to the Florida crowd. “One of my albums has been on my mind a lot … lots going on in my brain about it. So I thought I might play the title track of that album.”
Later, Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) was released on July 7. 2023.
“Treacherous” - Red
Tampa, FL (April 13)
She performed the song on a piano, possibly for the first time ever.
“The Great War” - Midnight
Tampa, FL (April 14)
Swift brought out The National’s Aaron Dessner, who she said to be her “collaborative soulmate.”
“This song really took on a new meaning when you guys made enough jokes about how you trying to get tickets for this tour felt like surviving the great war.”
“You’re On Your Own Kid” - Midnight
Tampa, FL (April 14)
The track is the third Midnight song to be featured as a surprise song during The Eras Tour. “I can do it however many times I want. I’m feeling very Midnights-y.” She performed the song again on Aug. 5 in Los Angeles.
“mad woman” - folklore
Tampa, FL (April 15)
Dessner was invited on stage again to join Swift on the piano. “We wrote this song that I really love because it allowed me to get a lot off my chest, and now we’re gonna sing it for you — ’cause who doesn’t love a mad woman?”
“Mean” - Speak Now
Tampa, FL (April 15)
She said the song is "something that you would know and scream along with." “Just thought that would be nice, which is the opposite of mean.”
“Wonderland” - 1989
Houston, TX (April 21)
She said the song is a twisted version of Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland.
“You’re Not Sorry” - Fearless
Houston, TX (April 21)
The ninth track of Fearless is another Swift said she “fell in love” with while re-recording her version.
“A Place In This World” - Taylor Swift
Houston, TX (April 22)
She wrote the song when she was 13, but thought she “relate to it more now 20 years later.”
“Today Was A Fairytale” - Fearless
Houston, TX (April 22)
Swift originally wrote the song for the 2010 film, Valentine’s Day, in which she co-starred with Taylor Lautner. While on stage, she told the fans, “You make every day on this tour feel like a fairytale.”
“Begin Again” - Red
Houston, TX (April 23)
She described her 2012 album as an “epiphany” and a “rebirth.”
“Cold as You” - Taylor Swift
Houston, TX (April 23)
“No shade to the other songs on the album,” Swift joked. This is the first time in a decade the singer performed this song live.
“The Other Side of the Door” - Fearless
Atlanta, GA (April 28)
“When I was rerecording my album Fearless, I looked back and I was listening to this one … I remember when I wrote this one I was so obsessed with this sort of, like, rant I put at the end of the song,” she introduced the song. “And I never, I don’t think I really got to perform it live. If I ever I ever did, it was not enough times, so I’d really love to play the song.”
“Coney Island” - evermore
Atlanta, GA (April 28)
She debuted the live version of “Coney Island,” which he co-wrote with The National in honor of the band’s ninth studio album, First Two Pages of Frankenstein, released on the same day.
"This band has influenced me beyond my ability to verbalize how much they've influenced me — just lyrically, their ability to set a scene, their ability to tell a story," said Swift.
“High Infidelity” - Midnight
Atlanta, GA (April 29)
“Do you really wanna know where I was April 29th?”
“Gorgeous” - Reputation
Atlanta, GA (April 29)
The first song from Reputation to get an acoustic treatment.
“I Bet You Think About Me” - Red
Atlanta, GA (April 30)
First vault track from Red (Taylor’s Version) to be performed as a surprise song on The Eras Tour. Swift said she was inspired to sing the song when she couldn’t sleep till 3 a.m. the previous night.
“How You Get The Girl” - 1989
Atlanta, GA (April 30)
It’s a song about getting the girl back after messing up a relationship.
“Sparks Fly” - Speak Now
Nashville, TN (May 5)
Swift announced the release of Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) that night. “I’ve been planning something for a while. You know how I love to plan things. You know how I love to surprise you… It’s my love language with you. I plot, I scheme, I plan.”
“Teardrops On My Guitar” - Taylor Swift
Nashville, TN (May 5)
The song was written when Swift was still in high school. She reflected on her early years in Nashville. “I’d been writing songs since I was 12, but when I think about Nashville I think about writing all the songs that would end up on my first album.”
To be continued~
