Taylor Swift brought The National’s Aaron Dessner out on stage for another “Surprise Song” duet on the Eras Tour. For a show in her latest stop in Pittsburgh, Swift opted to dust off a Folklore favorite, “Seven.”
Videos by American Songwriter
“Seven” is a wistfully nostalgic track about childhood and the sense of freedom we lose as we age. Please picture me / In the weeds / Before I learned civility / I used to scream ferociously / Any time I wanted, she sings in the second verse.
Dessner came out to play the piano while Swift, of course, took on lead vocals.
“A lot of you just screamed incredibly loudly, so a lot of you know who this man is,” Swift told the crowd. “This is what I would categorize as a soul-mate collaborator. Without him, Folklore wouldn’t have happened.”
Swift then gave a shoutout to the “amazing dads” who attend the Eras Tour in light of Father’s Day. In the lyrics for “Seven,” Swift remembers a friend’s father who was less amazing and frames it through the lens of naivety.
And I’ve been meaning to tell you / I think your house is haunted / Your dad is always mad and that must be why, she sings.
Given that lyrics, Swift felt it particularly important to sing “Seven” during the tour stop in Pittsburgh.
“I was thinking about the song we were gonna play, and I actually – not trying to brag – have a really incredible dad,” she explained. “The song we’re gonna play has to do with really fond memories of childhood and growing up in Pennsylvania.”
“It also happens to mention a friend’s father – someone who doesn’t have a good dad – and how hard that can be for them,” she continued. “I know people can have complicated relationships with their dad so, think of the people who have played a father figure in your life tonight. I’m always thankful for my dad, for [Aaron], and for all the people that spent hours preparing for this concert with their kid.”
The crowd immediately ramped up their screams once they deciphered which song Swift was playing and kept the energy up for the entirety of the ballad.
Check out a fan-shot clip from the moment, below.
(Photo by John Shearer/TAS23/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management)
