Singer, songwriter, actress, icon, legend, and cat lover Taylor Swift made an announcement on her Instagram yesterday, March 16th, that she would be releasing four songs at midnight in honor of her upcoming tour. Three of the four songs she released were re-recordings of some of her old hits, (now branded with Taylor’s Version, of course). Those included, “Eyes Open (Taylor’s Version),” “Safe & Sound (featuring Joy Williams and John Paul White) (Taylor’s Version),” and “If This Was A Movie (Taylor’s Version).”
Both “Eyes Open” and “Safe & Sound” were originally featured on the soundtrack for the 2012 book to movie adaptation The Hunger Games, and have now been placed onto Red (Taylor’s Version). Many fans were wondering if Swift decided to drop these two tracks due to the fact that The Hunger Games has been trending recently, with both the addition of all four original movies to Netflix, and the highly anticipated prequel, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, coming out later this year. Regardless, if you were a tween or teen girl between the years of 2010 and 2014, last night was a big night for you. (It was for me.)
Fans also have been talking about how Swift was able to reunite Joy Williams and John Paul White, who once performed under the name The Civil Wars, for “Safe & Sound” (and who were featured on the original version of the song.) This was no small feat, as The Civil Wars had broken up in 2012 due to “internal discord and irreconcilable differences of ambition.” But, as we know, if anyone has the power to bring people together (and make miracles happen in music,) it’s Swift.
The third re-release Taylor gifted us last night was “If This Was A Movie (Taylor’s Version)” which originally appeared on Swift’s 2010 album Speak Now. However, Taylor’s Version of the song has now been placed onto Fearless (Taylor’s Version), which of course, has caused speculation. Many Swifties are wondering if this means Swift will be dropping her third re-recorded album Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) soon.
As a recap, Swift began re-recording her first six albums in 2020, after her master’s were sold away from her from Scott Borchetta to Scooter Braun. Swift is the first musician to ever embark on this journey, and she has sparked a ton of conversation about artist’s rights to their own work.
Finally, the last song that Swift released last night was “All Of The Girls You Loved Before”, which was a song meant for her 2019 album Lover. (No Taylor’s Version is attached to this song, as Swift already owns the rights to every track on Lover). This was a track Swifties had never heard before (unless you count the leaked snippet on TikTok, which I don’t.) Its bright chords, catchy chorus, and introspective lyrics perfectly encapsulate the Lover era, and we’re so excited that we got some new Taylor content even when she’s so busy preparing for her tour. The question still remains as to whether or not Swift ever sleeps, and right now we’re leaning towards no.
We’re hoping Swift will perform some (or all) of these new tracks on The Eras Tour, which begins today (!!!) in Glendale, Arizona. Fittingly, the mayor of Glendale has temporarily renamed the city to Swift City.
Top photo: Screen grab from “Safe & Sound (Taylor’s Version)” from Taylor Swift on YouTube
