In the early months of 2020, I decided to finally catch up on Taylor Swift’s discography. I had the Fearless CD when I was little, and I was familiar with the Red album, but I had never listened to Taylor’s other albums in their entirety. At the time, Taylor had seven albums to her name, with Lover being the most recent release. As 2020 progressed, the releases of folklore, the long pond studio sessions, and evermore encouraged me to dive deeply into Taylor Swift’s back catalogue, and I gained an appreciation for its lyrical, thematic, and artistic excellence. By the end of 2020, I was definitely a “Swiftie.”
Since Taylor Swift’s last concert tour, she has released four major albums: Lover, folklore, evermore, and Fearless (Taylor’s Version). That’s a lot of material for Taylor to choose from when she starts performing live again! In anticipation of what is sure to be an amazing show, I compiled a list of the songs from Taylor’s newest releases that I would most like to see performed live.
from Lover (2019):
IFTYE is the perfect song to open the album that is the perfect follow-up to Taylor’s sixth album, reputation. In addition to loving it’s thematic significance within a greater body of work, I feel a personal connection to this song, and I love its rhythm.
This is a great song to dance and sing along to, especially the bridge. I really want to sing/scream along with the crowd, “I DON’T WANNA KEEP SECRETS JUST TO KEEP YOU” and “I LOVE YOU AIN’T THAT THE WORST THING YOU EVER HEARD?”
This song is so theatrical, dramatic, and above all, JOYFUL. It’s also a great song to sing along to when you’re thinking of someone you love.
In my opinion, London Boy is the best happy Taylor song. The entire message is, “Look how much I love my British boyfriend!!!” I’ve seen in videos how excited Taylor is when she performs this song, so the energy of London Boy live would be unmatched.
from folklore (2020):
The first folklore song on my list is much, much, more depressing than all of the Lover songs that I picked. Still, my tears ricochet would be great to hear live because it is so rich in story, imagery, and emotion. And, the lyrics are on a whole other level. I love the lines “I didn’t have it in myself to go with grace” and “you can aim for my heart, go for blood, but you would still miss me in your bones.”
For august, I really want to sing out, “back when we were still changing for the better, when wanting was enough, for me it was enough, to live for the hope of it all, cancel plans just in case you’d call” It’s pretty sad when you think about it, but the music and lyrics are still light enough to be fun to sing along to.
This is a truly happy folklore song. The energy of invisible string live would be so fun. The lyrics are sweet, and I love the lines about time.
I knew from the first time I heard this song that betty is a masterpiece. The chorus, the bridge, the story, everything.
from evermore (2020):
This song is really sad, but in a way that speaks to me personally, so I find it cathartic. I love the increased desperation of the bridge. And I really want to scream/sing “SHE WOULD HAVE MADE SUCH A LOVELY BRIDE WHAT A SHAME SHE’S F*CKED IN THE HEAD”
This song has a really rocking, badass story, so I think it would be really fun to experience live.
This is another really, really sad song (a lot of songs from folklore/evermore are pretty sad). I feel emotionally connected to happiness though, and it can be the catalyst of a good cry.
My final selection from evermore is long story short. The imagery of this song is excellent, and the overall message is so freeing. It would feel great to hear, and sing along to, “LONG STORY SHORT I SURVIVED”
from Fearless (Taylor's Version) (2021)
I loved the song Fearless when I was a kid, and I still love it. It's sweet and authentic story about wonder and discovery is the perfect opening song for the whole album.
This is one of the songs that put Taylor Swift on the map. It’s a wonderful song, and it’s great to sing along to.
YBWM is every bit as iconic and exciting as Love Story, maybe even more so. It would be an amazing experience to sing along to either of those songs at a Taylor Swift concert.
Change has always had a special place in my heart, and I don’t think it gets enough love. It’s so strong and triumphant, and we could all use a little more triumph.
Four albums, sixteen songs. These are my top choices for songs I’d love to hear at Taylor Swift’s next concert. Are any of my choices the same as yours? Or would you chose differently? I’d love to hear what you think, in the comments, or on Instagram (@graceofstorytelling) or Twitter (@graceofstory)!