Will Taylor Swift perform every track from her studio albums before the Eras Tour concludes on Sunday in Vancouver, Canada? Will she invite special guests to join her? Will she include “You’re On Your Own, Kid” in her set one more time?
“Welcome to the acoustic part of the show,” Swift smiles, addressing a full house every evening of the tour.
Fans watching the livestream set timers, and dedicated followers receive notifications for when the acoustic segment starts. Each performance is unique, and most of them generate news coverage (I’ve written about 89 of them). Swift plays one song or mashup on the guitar and another on the piano.
Taylor Swift took the stage in Amsterdam on July 4.
Complete acoustic set list: Taylor Swift surprises her audience with additional songs at every Eras Tour show. Here are all the tracks she has performed thus far.
Occasionally, she’ll announce a new rerecorded album like “Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)” in Nashville or “1989 (Taylor’s Version)” in Inglewood, California. At times, she features surprise guests such as Sabrina Carpenter in New Orleans or Gracie Abrams in Toronto. Several songs convey a message to the audience, like during her last concert in America in Indianapolis when she fused “Cornelia Street” and “The Bolter” to form the line, “I don’t want to lose you / I hope it never ends / but she was leaving / and it felt like freedom.”
Among Swift’s eleven studio albums, six songs remain unperformed: “That’s When” and “Bye Bye Baby” from “Fearless (Taylor’s Version)”; “Girl At Home,” “Ronan,” and “Forever Winter” from “Red (Taylor’s Version)”; and “Soon You’ll Get Better” from “Lover.”
Considering she averages four songs per performance and has three remaining shows in Canada, the Eras Tour leader might not showcase every track before the confetti comes down on the audience in BC Place on Sunday. This is particularly true since she has mentioned one song she intends to keep off her live setlist.
‘Ronan’
In 2021, on the re-released version of “Red,” Swift included Track 21: “Ronan.” The song conveys a type of heartbreak that no parent should endure: losing a child.
“I never imagined ‘Ronan’ would appear on one of her albums,” Maya Thompson shares, “so receiving that call was just, I feel like I’m still in a moment of disbelief from it all. I think I’ll stay in a state of awe about that for life.”
Maya Thompson (left of center), with her sons Liam and Quinn, daughter Poppy, and husband Woody, takes a photo backstage with Taylor Swift after the Glendale, Arizona concert during her 1989 Tour in August 2015. That evening, Swift performed “Ronan” for only the second time, a song honoring Thompson’s 3-year-old son who passed away from cancer.
Thompson documented the journey of losing her 3-year-old son Ronald to neuroblastoma in May 2011. Swift discovered the grieving mother’s blog and crafted a song, using direct quotes from Thompson’s writings for the 4:26 track. During a Stand Up to Cancer telethon in 2012, Swift delivered a moving rendition of the song.
“I’m deeply honored that she decided to include it on such a significant album,” Thompson expresses, “and the fact that the song holds such value for her while she continually honors his memory and everything he stood for means everything to a mourning mother like me.”
Thompson will be attending one of the last shows in Vancouver and predicts that Swift would want her present if “Ronan” is selected as a surprise song.
“I’m not sure. I trust her judgment,” she says. “I think about it from the angle of concern for Taylor. … How is she doing? Will this be something she can handle? That being said, I would absolutely love it.”
‘Soon You’ll Get Better’
In March 2019, just five months prior to the release of Swift’s seventh album “Lover,” she shared 30 lessons she had learned in Elle magazine. Number 24 mentioned in part, “Both of my parents have faced cancer, and my mom is currently battling it again. It has taught me that there are significant problems and then there’s everything else. My mom’s cancer is a significant issue.”
Taylor Swift (L) accepts the 50th Anniversary Milestone Award from Andrea Swift onstage during the 50th Academy of Country Music Awards on April 19, 2015, in Arlington, Texas.
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During a YouTube live session with fans, Swift spoke about Track 12, “Soon You’ll Get Better,” an emotionally charged song featuring The Chicks that reflects on her mother, Andrea, being frequently hospitalized due to cancer.
“We as a family made the decision to include this on the album,” she stated in the livestream, “and it’s something I hold a lot of pride in, but it’s genuinely challenging. I can’t perform it. It’s difficult for me to cope with that song. You’ll understand what I mean soon.”
The artist emphasized the weight of the song during a SiriusXM Town Hall Q&A with fans.
“That’s a song I’m uncertain I’ll ever perform live,” she said. “It’s just really tough for me. Writing it was challenging. Singing it is hard. Even listening to it is difficult for me, but there are times when music encompasses that. Sometimes it’s not only about pleasant experiences.”
In 2020, Swift delivered a poignant performance of the song during the live broadcast of Global Citizen’s “One World: Together at Home” benefit concert aimed at supporting healthcare workers and the World Health Organization.
‘Forever Winter’ and ‘Girl At Home’
The two remaining songs from “Red (Taylor’s Version)” present markedly different themes. “Forever Winter” tells the story of a friend grappling with a profoundly dark and depressive period and the struggle to provide support as circumstances worsen. Swift expresses, “If I were standing in your apartment / I’d take that bomb in your head and diffuse it / I’d tell you I love you even in your bleakest moments / And please don’t leave.”
In “Girl At Home,” Swift employs dance club synths to narrate the experience of being flirted with by a man who has a girlfriend at home. Swift expressed to Yahoo! News in October 2014, “There’s a song named ‘Girl at Home,’ which discusses a guy with a girlfriend, and I found it revolting that he was hitting on other women.”
‘That’s When’ and ‘Bye Bye Baby’
The two unreleased tracks from “Fearless (Taylor’s Version)” that she hasn’t performed are “That’s When” and “Bye Bye Baby.” “That’s When” features a collaboration with country artist Keith Urban. He recounted to Ellen DeGeneres how he received a text from Swift while he was enjoying some mall food.
“I was at the shopping mall doing my Christmas shopping when I got a message from Taylor saying, ‘I have a couple of songs I’d like you to sing on, do you want to listen to them?’ and I replied, ‘Sure.'” She shared “That’s When” and “We Were Happy” with him.
“Fearless (Taylor’s Version)” is yet another re-recorded album by Taylor Swift released in 2021.
“Bye Bye Baby” could serve as a poignant concluding line for the last acoustic segment of the Eras Tour, although its theme revolves around departing from unreciprocated love and embracing hope for the future amidst uncertainty.
Other songs
“I’m not sure if any of the unreleased tracks are likely to be performed,” remarks Kayla Wong, a devoted fan who meticulously tracks statistics related to the superstar. Her Instagram account, @headfirstfearless, monitors the numbers behind the most frequently played acoustic songs. “The most probable outcome is her returning with major fan favorites.”
Wong highlights that the top five songs Swift has included in her acoustic set are:
11 times: “You’re On You’re Own, Kid”
Nine times: “Maroon”
Seven times: “Out of the Woods”
Six times: “Clean”
Six times: “Death By A Thousand Cuts”
“I wouldn’t be shocked if she performs ‘You’re On Your Own, Kid’ one more time on the final night,” Wong suggests. “I also believe ‘Long Live’ will be part of the lineup.”
Taylor Swift is set to perform in Amsterdam on July 5.
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When considering the odds, Wong notes that “Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)” and “Red (Taylor’s Version)” feature the most surprise songs, each performed at least four times. Additionally, it’s important to keep in mind Swift could invite special guests, make announcements, or surprise the audience with songs like “This Is What You Came For” on June 14 in Liverpool or “Crazier” on June 8 in Edinburgh.
In her official Eras Tour book, the artist stated, “It takes a significant amount of practice to perfect the mashups, but when the audience goes wild as I shift into a new song, it makes all the preparation truly worthwhile.”
