There are some songs in her catalogue that Taylor Swift opts not to play live. Throughout the pop star’s 149 shows on her global Eras Tour, she performed her biggest hits and some of her deepest cuts.
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The tracks in the latter category were often played during the surprise song portion of her set. That’s when she’d perform two different songs per night.
While she got through the vast majority of her songs during her 21-month-long tour, there are several that never made the cut. It turns out that those particular tracks are ones she rarely performs live at all, some for obvious reasons, others for unknown ones.
Keep reading for five songs that Swift rarely plays live.
“Bye Bye Baby”
One of the From the Vault songs included on Fearless (Taylor’s Version), “Bye Bye Baby” tells the story of a relationship that’s come to an end in a tragic way. Swift has never spoken about the track or provided a reason why she’s yet to perform it live.
“Girl at Home”
Swift has only really spoken about “Girl at Home” once, back in 2012 when it appeared on Red. At the time, she told Yahoo Music, “[It’s] about a guy who had a girlfriend, and I just felt like it was disgusting that he was flirting with other girls.” Years later, when it appeared on Taylor’s Version of the album, the production was totally different from the original. That was a surprise to fans, as it wasn’t the norm for Swift’s re-recordings.
“Forever Winter”
A Vault track off of Red (Taylor’s Version), “Forever Winter” is a song about Swift’s concern over one of her friend’s mental health. It widely thought to be about Jeff Lang, Swift’s high school pal who died in 2010. The tragic circumstances surrounding the song are likely why Swift opts not to perform it.
“Ronan”
Arguably one of the most devastating songs Swift has ever written, the singer penned “Ronan” after coming across Maya Thompson’s blog about her late son’s battle with cancer. Swift used Thompson’s published letters to her son as inspiration for the track. While Swift decided not to perform “Ronan” during The Eras Tour, she has played the song live twice. The first time was during cancer benefit in 2012, and the second was when the Thompson attended her 1989 tour in 2015.
“Soon You’ll Get Better”
“Soon You’ll Get Better” chronicles Swift’s feelings about her mom, Andrea Swift’s, battle with cancer. Swift told iHeartRadio that the emotional ballad, which features The Chicks, “was hard to write, because it’s something that I’m going through right now.”
“We as a family decided to put this on the album. It’s something I’m so proud of,” Swift said during a YouTube live, before admitting, “I can’t sing it. It’s hard to emotionally deal with that song.”
Despite saying she wouldn’t perform it live, Swift broke that promise one time when she performed it during Global Citizen’s One World: Together at Home telecast amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Photo by JEFF PACHOUD/AFP via Getty Images
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