Completely obsessed with the Patient Zero piano and acoustic versions. The piano version is my favorite there is just something about her voice and the stripped back piano notes/keys. These tracks made me think how much we need another Long Pond Studio Sessions type of release just her playing these stripped down versions and some other tracks from evermore, ttpd , and tloasg !!

This is my take on my analysis of the song "Babylon", which to me feels like a sister song to "Dorothea" and "Tis the Damn Season". Contrasting mundane with famous environments or a before and after. In the beginning, the casino line may refer to the music industry not liking Taylor Swift’s extreme success. Competitive balance, some people have said. Taylor sets up more imagery with the lines about the electric fence and the fleeing stallion, and more importantly the box being a cage despite being wrapped up nicely. The protagonist feels trapped in a gilded cage. 

"And that small town's even smaller now in your rear view
You ran with all the wild things
A liberated libertine who then longed for home"

This feels similar to “Tis the Damn Season” where the protagonist of that song misses the small town of origin. The “wild things” may relate to “Where the Wild Things Are”. A libertine is someone who has challenged moral principles. Despite the supposed fun of celebrity or the interesting experiences of youth, the protagonist wanted to go back home. This can be compared to “And the road not taken looks real good now/And it always leads to you and my hometown” in “Tis the Damn Season”. 

" 'Cause it's where you're from
Aunt Virginia with a church dress on
No elbows on the table
And the neighbor's lawn always looked better
Your hand-me-down sweater should've been from the mall"

This further sets up the imagery of the small town location where the protagonist is from. This could be compared to Dorothea where small-town family issues can often be memorable, as seen in  “Do you ever stop and think about me?
When it was calmer/Skipping the prom/Just to piss off your mom/And her pageant schemes”. In both cases, there is something endearing about the towns where they came from. Taylor does very well with making a scene vivid by adding key details. The “hand-me-down sweater” should’ve been from the mall could mean that the sweater given to her wasn’t very good, and a mall-bought one would be of higher quality. Maybe it’s the thought that counts. 

"And you hate this song
But you wake up on the train with your headphones gone
Then that melody is all you want
You never knew that it was Babylon
'Til it was gone."

The song about not realizing what you had until it’s gone does seem to have some similarities with “I Bet You Think About Me” except that “Babylon” is not meant to be a playful jab. At first, the familiar nostalgic song seems annoying, and the main character hates it. That will change later.

"Give the people what they want, then you keep it movin'
Make your plans and friends, a stranger's makeup on your tie
Twenty watches in the safe 'cause your time is money
Love is ice upon the ladder that you need to climb
She captured your attention, so free of all pretension
It stopped you cold."

The main character is moving up in the societal ladder and getting famous. Some people think this is allegorical for Travis Kelce’s NFL career, but many people think what a story is about matters more than who a story is about. Regardless, the societal structure had little room for an actual love because the main character was very focused on job issues. Until now. 

"Because she loved you so
Pretty as a picture that you didn't post
Looking at you like you're made of solid gold
Never official
You mention you're single to the girls at the bar."

This may be an unrequited love situation similar to “Teardrops On My Guitar” or “Hey Stephen” at least at first. She was very appealing and loved the main character, but it couldn’t be official perhaps due to job concerns. The main character may be downplaying said relationship because it’s not official, hence “you mention you’re single…”

"You're using nostalgia as a weapon to hurt yourself
But darling, you end up hurting everybody else
The self-harm of never being where you are
It's bedtime, but you're sitting in your car
You're missing all the best parts."

Nostalgia for home, and perhaps an unwillingness to commit to an official relationship, has hurt everyone else. Looking into the past instead of the present and future may be a form of self-harm. The main character needs to actually enjoy life. 

"And they're all at home
She's hanging Christmas lights with your son
Sneak into the bathroom to call her mom
And say, "It's not working
It's just not worth it if we're not what he wants"

This may have been a flash forward to a possible future. Their relationship may not have worked after all. (I don’t really know what to make of this). 

"But you love this song
You wake up on the train with your headphones gone
Then that melody is all you want
You never knew that it was Babylon
And now, it's almost gone."

The melody that the main character once hated is now loved. It is a memory of home, which the main character didn’t realize was precious or beautiful until it was almost gone. Babylon here is metaphorical for something beautiful due to the ancient city’s grandeur, especially with the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. There are also similarities to “Cowboy Like Me”, where Taylor uses the hanging gardens metaphor in “now you hang from my lips like the Gardens of Babylon”, which is an interesting call-back. There is a biblical interpretation of “Babylon” as a symbol of hubris or pride, but this does not make sense with the context of Taylor Swift.  

I turned all 12 of Taylor Swift’s albums into 6 track EPs. Here’s how they turned out:

Taylor Swift
1:Teardrops On My Guitar
2:Our Song
3:Should’ve Said No
4:Picture to Burn
5:Cold As You
6:Tim McGraw

We open up with unrequited love in Teardrops On My Guitar. In Our Song, we’re in love and we’re happy. In Should’ve Said No, Taylor is cheated on and confronting him. Picture to Burn is her being so over him while Cold As You is our track 5 and Tim McGraw leaves us on a more reflective outro. The pre release would be Our Song

Fearless
1:Fearless
2:You Belong With Me
3:Love Story
4:Mr. Perfectly Fine
5:White Horse
6:Fifteen

The first 3 tracks explore romance and love. Mr. Perfectly Fine is about an ex moving on while Taylor is left miserable, but acknowledges how she’ll be okay someday. White Horse is that day where Taylor is okay and moving on. Fifteen works as a vulnerable yet comforting ballad. The pre release would be Love Story

Speak Now
1:Enchanted
2:Mine
3:Back To December
4:Mean
5:Dear John
6:Long Live

So the first 3 kinda work as a narrative. Enchanted is about meeting someone. A love at first sight thing and wondering if the feelings mutual. Mine works as a song where the feeling was mutual and now they’re together and happy. Back To December works a song where they’ve broken up and Taylor is deep in regret. She wishes she could go back. Mean is Taylor addressing her hate in a playful way while Dear John is her confrontation with John Mayer while Long Live serves us a natural closer. The pre releases would be Mine and Back To December

Red
1:State Of Grace
2:22
3:I Knew You Were Trouble
4:We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together
5:All Too Well (10 Minute Version)
6:Red

State Of Grace is a rush of new love. 22 is sadness wrapped in fun, upbeat pop. I Knew You Were Trouble and We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together are about toxic relationships and their endings. All Too Well is a must have for obvious reasons, serving as our track 5 while Red is a reflection of the relationship. The pre release would be We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together

1989
1:Style
2:Blank Space
3:Bad Blood
4:Shake It Off
5:Wildest Dreams
6:New Romantics

1989 marks her complete transition into pop music, so we want bangers after banger. Pop hits non-stop. We open up with Style because it instantly sets the tone, works amazingly as an opener, and that intro. Blank Space has to be track 2, it’s non-negotiable. You could do either Bad Blood —> Shake It Off or the other way around, but I think BB into SIO is just a better choice narratively. Wildest Dreams is really the only song on here that works as a track 5, but either way, it’s still an amazing track 5. New Romantics closes the EP. And I do know that some ppl don’t like Bad Blood, and I was in fact, considering doing Out Of The Woods or Wonderland instead, but Bad Blood made it to 1989’s set on The Eras Tour, so… yeah.. but R.I.P those two, especially Out Of The Woods for me. The pre release would be Shake It Off

reputation
1:…Ready For It?
2:Look What You Made Me Do
3:I Did Something Bad
4:Don’t Blame Me
5:Delicate
6:Getaway Car

…Ready For It? is the only correct opener, I refuse to believe otherwise. I like my track trilogy with the “Look what you made me do; I did something bad. Don’t blame me.” It’s probably stupid, but I like it. Delicate is our perfect track 5 and Getaway Car closes. Pre release would be Look What You Made Me Do

Lover
1:Cruel Summer
2:The Man
3:You Need To Calm Down
4:Lover
5:The Archer
6:Daylight

I honestly just put in the Lover setlist from the Eras Tour + Daylight because I felt that sequence is good, so ye. Pre release would be Lover

folklore
1:the 1
2:betty
3:august
4:illicit affairs
5:my tears ricochet
6:cardigan

the 1 is everybody’s perfect intro, from what I’ve seen; everybody believes it is the best folklore opener. I also have seen a lot of betty hate, but it’s apart of the love triangle and it was on the Eras Tour, so I’m keeping it. august into illicit affairs because yes. my tears ricochet is the track 5 because it is one of the best track 5s. cardigan is a great outro as well

evermore
1:champagne problems
2:gold rush
3:willow
4:marjorie
5:tolerate it
6:evermore (feat. Bon Iver)

I’ve always felt like willow wasn’t the right option to open evermore. Some people have said gold rush should be track 1, and while I think it’d make a better opener than willow, I do think champagne problems sets the tone better. But after that, we do get gold rush which is followed by willow and marjorie. tolerate it as our track 5 and evermore bringing the first song with a feature on it in this alternate Taylor discography

Midnights
1:Lavender Haze
2:Maroon
3:Bejeweled
4:Karma
5:Anti-Hero
6:You’re On Your Own, Kid

Lavender Haze gives us a nice, fun intro while Maroon is more serious. Coming after that, we get the final triumphant moments with Bejeweled and Karma before reality smacks us with Anti-Hero at track 5 and You’re On Your Own, Kid closing us out

THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT
1:My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys
2:The Tortured Poets Department
3:Down Bad
4:I Can Do It With a Broken Heart
5:So Long, London
6:loml

Me and plenty of other people agree My Boy… is a great opener, especially with the “Oh, here we go again” lyric. The title track keeps us inside the relationship while Down Bad is the aftermath. She’s been left, but she’s still down bad as the title says. Then we get I Can Do It With a Broken Heart where she’s pushing through it and putting on a show, but it still hurts. She’s starting to move on once we get to So Long, London, and then we close on loml. I think ending on “You’re the loss of my life,” is a great end.

THE ANTHOLOGY
1:The Black Dog
2:Chloe or Sam or Sophia or Marcus
3:So High School
4:I Hate It Here
5:How Did It End?
6:The Manuscript

Idk if it’s cheating to separate these, but idrc coz yeah. The Black Dog is watching an ex move on which I think works great right before Chloe and the Gang. I just knew those 2 had to be early. So High School, I Hate It Here, and How Did It End? is the greatest 3 track run I’ve ever seen. It’s amazing, and I will die on that hill. So High School also works as a mid-EP break before we get into the rest of the EP.

The Life of a Showgirl
1:Elizabeth Taylor
2:The Fate of Ophelia
3:Opalite
4:Father Figure
5:Babylon
6:The Life of a Showgirl (feat. Sabrina Carpenter)

You could do either Elizabeth Taylor into Ophelia or the other way around, but I wanted Elizabeth Taylor into Ophelia. Opalite keeps the romance and energy from Ophelia, pushing it further before we get serious in Father Figure. Babylon is our new track 5 while Showgirl with Sabrina closes out the EP

What are your thoughts on this? What would you change?

Sparks Fly: Kiss me on the sidewalk, take away the pain

State Of Grace: We learn to live with the pain, mosaic broken hearts

ivy: My pain fits in the palm of your freezing hand

Midnight Rain: He wanted it comfortable, I wanted that pain

You’re Losing Me: I know my pain is such an imposition

Evermore: I had a feeling so peculiar, this pain wouldn’t be for evermore

Historically, every Hot 100 #1 Taylor has has been a part of Taylor's setlists (with the exception of "Is it over now?")

Red tour (first tour to include a #1 hit)

- We are never ever getting back together

1989 tour

- WANEGBT

- Bad Blood

- Blank space

- Shake it off

Reputation tour

- WANEGBT

- Bad Blood

- Blank space

- Shake it off

- Look what you made me do

Eras tour

- WANEGBT

- Bad Blood

- Blank space

- Shake it off

- LWYMMD

- Cardigan

- Willow

- Cruel Summer (became a #1 during the tour)

- Anti-hero

- All too well

- Fortnight (became a #1 during the tour)

Since the end of eras, she has added four new #1s: Fate of Ophelia, Opalite, I knew it, I knew you, and Patient Zero.

If she includes every #1 song in a future tour, that will mean 16 set songs for the setlist (approximately 1/3 of the eras setlist and almost the same length as the reputation tour, which was 19 songs). This doesn't include other songs she consistently plays either - Love Story, You Belong with me being the two mainstays throughout her whole career.

Curious to know if people think she will continue her tradition of playing every #1 song on her setlist or if she'll cut a few in order to make way for an album-specific tour, i.e. a Showgirl tour.

The title is self-explanatory. What are songs that you forget about for whatever reason?

As a longtime Swiftie who has tuned in to her releases since Speak Now, I have always held the opinion that "Treacherous" is one of her best songs ever (or at least top 5). RED is a critical darling, of course, but most attention has been given to either "All Too Well" or "State of Grace" (another one of her best).

Recently, I was talking to a few other Swifties who insisted that "Treacherous" is not impressive at all and that she has much better songs. When I asked what some of these better songs were, they mentioned tracks from her recent albums (I will not mention which ones!). I could not believe my ears.

Of course, everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but here is mine: "Treacherous" is the antithesis to a major issue in some of her recent work. In newer songs, she tends to over-explain using "big" and "fancy" words. While those words may read well in prose, they are often too clunky for music. In contrast, "Treacherous" has an effortlessness, one that I think has been missing for quite some time. I will focus just on the first verse rather than going through the entire song to illustrate my point.

The song opens with what I consider her most sensual lines:

"Put your lips close to mine
As long as they don’t touch
Out of focus, eye to eye,
‘Till the gravity’s too much"

No "big" or "difficult" words are used here. The sentence structure is very simple, yet the imagery is remarkably potent. It depicts two lovers who are extraordinarily close together without quite touching, capturing the anticipatory moment right before everything comes together. Two lips are so close that they can feel each other's breath and the heat emanating from each other's face. The narrator wants to feel her lover, but knows she cannot fully give in yet. In the next line, their vision is "out of focus" because their extreme proximity makes it impossible to focus visually. This highlights the thematic idea that falling in love can be dangerous and unpredictable. These few lines capture that split second of intimacy – that moment right before "the gravity" becomes too much – in a way that is wonderfully sensual, romantic, tactile, and vivid, all without using any complex vocabulary.

The next few lines are equally great:

"And I’ll do anything you say
If you say it with your hands
And I’d be smart to walk away
But you’re quicksand"

The first two lines here are more self-explanatory: the narrator has almost fully given herself to her lover. She is willing to do anything, provided the instruction comes through physical touch. It is the culmination of the preceding lines. Where we were previously shown the moment of anticipation, we are now shown the aftermath of gravity taking over: the narrator has fallen, hard. The pre-chorus reinforces the song's central theme: the awareness that this budding relationship is potentially dangerous. The lover is quicksand, and she is already trapped.

"Treacherous" showcases Taylor Swift's best artistic impulses: an acute perception of human emotion, an ability to paint vivid pictures, precise vocabulary, and just the right amount of personal storytelling without becoming overly specific or unrelatable. It is sparse, unhurried, and refined. Every word contributes to the larger picture. She lets the lyrics breathe without rushing the verses, chorus, or bridge. To me, "Treacherous" is the perfect Taylor Swift song.

I recently posted a mashup album of The Life of a Showgirl and reputation. After that, I decided to make more. I took Debut and Fearless and combined them into 1 alternate debut album. I took these 2 because she only has 4 country albums, and I think Debut’s closest match is Fearless. Anyways, I’ll now share the tracklist + singles rollout

Change
1:Tim McGraw
2:Fearless
3:Love Story
4:Our Song
5:Fifteen
6:Teardrops On My Guitar
7:You Belong With Me
8:Should’ve Said No
9:Forever & Always
10:Cold As You
11:You’re Not Sorry
12:Picture to Burn
13:Mr. Perfectly Fine
14:A Place In This World

Track 1 introduces you to the world. It shows the themes and vibes and narratively works as a girl who’s just gotten out of a relationship.

Fearless —> Our Song show a new relationship. Taylor is happy and she’s in love

Fifteen explores the vulnerability, naivety, and heartbreak. It’s an emotional but slightly comforting track. Kinda like You’re On Your Own, Kid.

Teardrops On My Guitar & You Belong With Me show Taylor wanting someone she can’t have. At the end of the You Belong With Me music video, it shows Taylor actually ending up with the guy

Should’ve Said No —> You’re Not Sorry work as the breakup. Taylor finds out she gets cheated on (SSN) and confronts him, she’s alone now and sad/angry about how they were supposed to be forever and always (F&A). She’s then reflecting on the relationship and how cold he was (CAY), and finally, we get You’re Not Sorry where she’s detached from him

Picture to Burn and Mr. Perfectly fine is Taylor completely moving on while A Place In This World shifts outside the relationship story and focuses on her dreams of being a musician

Singles
Pre-album Singles:
Lead Single: Love Story
Second Single: Teardrops On My Guitar

With-album Single:
Third Single: You Belong With Me

Post-album Singles:
Fourth Single: Our Song
Fifth Single: Picture to Burn

Promo Singles:
• Should’ve Said No
• Tim McGraw

What do you guys think? Would you listen to this? Are there any songs you’d replace or anything you’d change at all? I personally am mourning Change and White Horse. I think they would be good additions, but I wanted to keep it tight, so I just did 14.

Hello!

I don’t know if anybody else has this “thing” I have with albums that sometimes, I have to listen to them in a specific place. Folklore is my favorite album in the whole world.

I’ve been going on artist dates with myself (re: Julia Cameron’s “The Artist’s Way) and been listening to my favorite albums while I do so. Obviously Folklore is one I’m looking forward to because it’s my number one and I want it to be special.

What are your favorite places to listen to Folklore? Or any TS album you that you’d like to bring it up.

I live in Los Angeles. Any local places suggestions would be fantastic! I thought of the Huntington Gardens but I think I might need to listen to Deeper Well by Kacey Musgraves there (another one on my list).

Thanks in advance!

Hi! Wanted to share my Taylor Halloween House! Last year I did the Sc-Eras Tour with every album/outfit, New Frights Podcast, etc. this year, I did her wedding with replicated outfits and details the we know. The other half of my yard is a “group therapy for the uninvited guests- exes and ex best friends.” 😆. 21 skeletons and 250 pumpkins and one giant friendship bracelet! Come see us if you’re in Orlando in Baldwin Park!
lots more photos/parts but unable to add!

I feel it'd have to be something iconic, probably a bridge.

The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived and Cruel Summer's bridges I feel are really strong contenders.

The edible hit yesterday and apparently galaxy brain was like "let's do our own alternate universe album" LMAO and it's actually pretty solid, although it didn't get any further than putting together the songs and making that basic cover for the playlist. So um, feel free to roast High Me's lack of photoshop skillz. 24 tracks because "24 hours of spiraling" was the logic, with Dear Reader acting as the intermission.

Spotify Playlist

The two 2 sister albums converge into.. 2 albums? That was confusing.

Hopefully, the storyline makes sense in my head on both albums.

Enjoy!!!

I really wanna know Swifties opinion on which album would be the most experimental she has put out until today, and I’m sure a lot of you guys would say it’s Folklore but I don’t feel like it, Folklore was a new direction, a complete turn of genere but it doesnt feel a lot experimental to me meanwhile feel like it’s midnights it’s cause it has a lot of various items like the Deep Voice, synth pop, various instrumentals. Anyways what’s your opinion?

— The Life of a Showgirl
- Album of the Year
- Best Pop Vocal Album
- Best Album Cover
- Best Engineered Album

— The Fate of Ophelia
- Record of the Year
- Best Pop Solo Performance
- Best Music Video

— The Life of a Showgirl (feat. Sabrina Carpenter):
- Best Pop Duo/Group Performance

— I Knew It, I Knew You
- Song of the Year
- Best Song Written for Visual Media
- Best Country Song
- Best Country Solo Performance

— The Eras Tour: The Final Show
- Best Music Film

My friends birthday is coming up and she’s a huge swiftie (she also recently converted me, I’m now a huge 1989 enjoyer). Anyways I wanted to make her something to go with her other gifts, and I wanted to make something Taylor related that was subtle so I went for a small trinket tray since I don’t think she has anywhere to store her everyday jewellery. I ordered some dice that I thought were more ‘Lover’ colours (cruel summer reference with the dice) but they turned out a bit more green than blue. I’m not too sure how I feel on the outcome and whether I’ll still give it to her lol, but wanted to share incase it inspired anyone else :)

Today, while listening to my Taylor playlist, Highway Don’t Care came on reminding me of one of Taylor’s banger collabs. The song was a collab with Tim McGraw and Keith Urban and was released to the country charts in the thick of the Red era.

During the Red era, Taylor generally put out a country release and a pop release. Begin Again went country, while I Knew You Were Trouble went pop. Red went country, while Everything has Changed went pop. 22 went pop while Highway Don’t Care was the country release.

This pattern got me thinking, what if Taylor put out another country single from Red to mirror 22 on the pop charts instead of Highway Don’t Care? Which song deserved the single treatment at country radio back in 2012?

I know we already got 6 other singles, but what’s one more? :)

A Swiftie friend told me she kept switching between livestreams during the Eras Tour to see the show from different angles.

That gave me an idea for a fun personal project: a way to switch between fan cams while rewatching a concert.

Just added a London Eras Tour show!

It’s free, doesn’t require a login, and all the videos are sourced from YouTube. Love to hear what you think!

You can try it here: https://www.everyseat.vip/c/taylor-swift-london-2024-08-20

Shared with permission from the mods (thanks for letting me share my fun project!)

As the title says, I’m fully in my autumn-love era, and all I want to do is listen to folklore and evermore on repeat.

Folklore feels like watching the leaves drift to the ground while thinking about a love that was beautiful but just a little heartbreaking. Exile gets me every single time.
I NEED another Taylor Swift and Bon Iver collaboration. Give me the melancholic lyrics, the soft instrumentals, and that feeling of being in love while somehow still a little sad.