Dream Setlists

All bets are off as Taylor Swift’s feverishly anticipated The Eras Tour — her first roadshow unbeholden to a particular album release — prepares to embark March 17 in Glendale, Arizona. 

It stands to reason that Swift would heavily showcase the heap of music she’s produced since her record-setting Reputation Stadium Tour wrapped in 2018 — those projects being Lover (2019), Folklore and Evermore (2020), Fearless (Taylor’s Version) and Red (Taylor’s Version) (2021), and Midnights (2022). 

But as the Eras Tour has been promoted by Swift as a “journey through all of my musical eras,” it’s understood that each of her 10 studio albums will be highlighted in some manner. Couple that with the fact that Swift has not publicly performed more than 70 new or previously unreleased songs since her last tour a whopping half-decade earlier, and Swifties’ imaginations have rightfully run wild. What on Earth will the setlist look like?

We’ve already put forth what her dream Eras setlist could resemble. But what about all that’s left on the cutting room floor? There are dozens upon dozens of songs that likely won’t be performed (at least with any regularity) on this tour, even if many would make for wondrously intimate moments or booming show-stoppers.  

So that’s what we have here: all the songs Swift probably won’t play this spring and summer, but should sincerely consider — at least for a night or two. We’ve chosen two cuts per album; let’s break it down as we all count the minutes to opening night.

“Mary’s Song (My, My, My)” 

From: Taylor Swift (2006)

Swift’s hierarchy for self-titled revisits likely goes something like this: “Tim McGraw,” “Our Song,” “Should’ve Said No,” “Teardrops on My Guitar” … then a big drop-off … then everything else. But oh, my, my, my, what a moment this would be. As she told Billboard about a million years ago, Swift wrote “Mary’s Song” when she first moved to Nashville, and her new neighbors were an older couple who’d been together since they were children. It’s a song of hope and innocence, and it’s adored by the ride-or-die fans, none of whom have heard Taylor play it live since 2008. To bring it back 15 years later, with so much more texture and maturity in her voice, would be unforgettable. 

“A Place in This World”

Image Credit: Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic

From: Taylor Swift (2006)

At the end of the day, aren’t we all just girls trying to find our place in this world? This vulnerable track, written when Swift was a young teen still living in Pennsylvania — driving with her mom back and forth to Nashville in search of a record deal — plays like a diary entry, glancing back to the very outset of her career. Swift has only played the track once since 2009 (in Pittsburgh in 2018), and we’d love to see another acoustic solo roll-out, from the now-33-year-old woman who’s very much cemented her spot. 

“The Way I Loved You”

From: Fearless (2008)

Of course, “Love Story,” “You Belong With Me,” “Fifteen” and the title track will earn their keep before the deeper cuts off Fearless, but how about working “The Way I Loved You” into a medley, reintroducing that big, impassioned chorus into the mix? It’d make for a banner throwback, especially since Taylor hasn’t played the song since the Fearless Tour wrapped in 2010. And it would surely separate the newer fans from the elder diehards. 

“The Best Day” 

From: Fearless (2008)

On Sunday, May 14, Swift will be in Philadelphia — the closest thing to a true hometown show, as she grew up an hour west of the stadium. You know what else Sunday, May 14 is? Mother’s Day. If Taylor doesn’t roll out this nostalgic cut, written for her mom, there is no justice in the world of live entertainment. And fans would be seeing a real rarity, as she’s only played the highly emotional song — which she’s previously said is the most difficult to sing in her whole catalog — a half-dozen times live. 

“Dear John” 

From: Speak Now (2010)

For maximum emotional carnage, Swift would do well to slip “Dear John” between “Mine” and “Mean” and tear down the house with her towering ballad of reflection and regret. At the first sound of that slow guitar trill, fans would grip each other and sob through the soaring chorus, which Swift hasn’t performed live since 2012. Now’s the time!

“Ours” 

Image Credit: Ed Rode/Nashville Rising/Getty Images for Nashville Rising

From: Speak Now (Deluxe Edition) (2010)

Then, if she wanted to build the crowd back up — and re-establish some belief in true love — she’d knock out “Ours,” the sweet and steadfast deluxe-version tune. There’s no way a solo acoustic version of “Ours” would make regular setlists, but as Taylor played the song once on the Reputation tour, let’s hope for at least one spot this time, too. If any shrewd boyfriend brought a ring to the stadium, waiting for the right moment to propose, this would be it.

“Treacherous” 

From: Red (2012)

As the Red catalog ballooned to 30 songs (including vault tracks) in 2021, there’s only so much Swift can play from the magnum opus: “All Too Well,” “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” and “I Knew You Were Trouble” all feel like locks, and maybe we get “Nothing New” on the nights Phoebe Bridgers opens. But remember on the Red Tour in 2013, when during the breathtaking “Treacherous” bridge, the stage’s center ramp began to lift and Taylor toed across it, rising higher and higher in melancholic triumph? Yeah, let’s find a way to get that feeling again. 

“Holy Ground” 

From: Red (2012)

Let’s pretend the hyper-catharsis of a stadium singing all 10 minutes of “All Too Well” has just died down. Everyone, Swift included, has emptied their emotional tanks. They need a song to pump them back up — and then the band begins the familiar guitar chug of “Holy Ground,” painting the room in a new, re-energized shade of crimson. It’s a light, fun and vibrant rocker, boosted by the breezy backing vocal, which of course would be sung by all in attendance: “blew away, blew away, oh, oh.”

“Out of the Woods” 

From: 1989 (2014)

Of all the songs on this list, “Out of the Woods” might be the closest to actually appearing semi-regularly in the Eras set, as it was indeed a single (the sixth off 1989, but still). Either way, the propulsive thump of this electro-pop banger would be such a killer retread. And if she’s really marking eras on this tour, why not include the first track she ever made with superproducer pal Jack Antonoff, who’s become such a fixture in her catalog ever since? 

“You Are in Love”

Image Credit: Michael Tran/FilmMagic

From: 1989 (Deluxe Edition) (2014)

There’s plenty from Swift’s planet-smashing pop crossover that she’s more or less obligated to play. At least snippets of “Shake It Off,” “Blank Space,” “Wildest Dreams” and “Bad Blood” are all likely to make appearances. But anyone who saw the 1989 tour in 2015 knows how spectacular this romantic bonus cut became when Taylor played call-and-response with the titanic crowd: “You can hear it the silence (silence) silence (silence).” Maybe I’m biased, as my wife walked down the aisle to this song, but I can’t imagine anymore being upset if “You Are in Love” was somehow worked back in. 

“Dancing With Our Hands Tied” 

From: Reputation (2017)

As the globe-trotting Reputation Stadium Tour was, of course, Swift’s last roadshow, the album likely stands to receive as little attention as any this time around. That’s too bad, because spectacular tracks like “Dancing With Our Hands Tied” probably won’t make it — a shame, considering the acoustic version from the last tour was so affecting. We’d love to see it return, for at least a few nights. 

“King of My Heart”

From: Reputation (2017)

Swifties will remember the monster treatment “King of My Heart” received on the last tour, with oversized tribal drums, full-troupe choreography and a golden throne looming behind. While the song will likely be excluded in favor of “Delicate,” “… Ready For It” and/or “Look What You Made Me Do,” all we’re asking for is the awesome acoustic rendition Taylor whipped up for a lucky couple’s engagement party surprise in 2019. 

“I Think He Knows”

From: Lover (2019)

As 2020’s pandemic-spoiled Lover Fest was never able to showcase all the sugar-pop wallops of Swift’s seventh LP, Lover should get plenty of love on this tour. But “I Think He Knows” will likely be left off, especially since Midnights’ “Lavender Haze” — which features a similar melody in its chorus — will surely be included. But here’s hoping for at least a mash-up, mainly so we can hear Swift pull off that killer bridge, which crests from the breathy flirt “where we gonna go” into the belting “I think he knows!” The image is good enough for goosebumps. 

“Paper Rings”

Image Credit: Theo Wargo/GI for iHeartMedia

From: Lover (2019)

While “Paper Rings” doesn’t get a ton of love from Swifties when stacked against powerhouses like “Cruel Summer” or “Death by a Thousand Cuts,” it’s such a delightful, candy-coated bop. And with a little live rock n’ roll magic — bigger guitars could morph it into a pop-punk winner — “Paper Rings” would be a beast, and an easy blast of romantic levity between the more heartsick anthems.

“Illicit Affairs”

From: Folklore (2020)

Considering 99.9% of Swifties have never seen anything from world-beating Folklore performed live in-person, there’s surely other songs Swift will get to first — “Cardigan,” “Mirrorball,” “August” and “Betty” all being obvious contenders. But here’s hoping she engages in the stark drama of walking with her guitar to center stage, strumming a few clandestine chords and crooning: “Make sure nobody sees you leave.” Oh, the shrieks of unadulterated, adultery-related joy and rapture that would follow. 

“The Lakes”

From: Folklore (Deluxe Edition) (2020)

Same thing: “The Lakes,” a bonus track, is undoubtedly low on the priority list, but were Taylor to bust out that doleful, melodramatic poetry before such a massive crowd, it would be an unforgettable, intimate moment. As soon as the scratchy strings began, it’d be emotional bedlam in every section. 

“‘Tis the Damn Season”

From: Evermore (2020)

Let’s be real, Swift is almost certainly not going to spend her spring and summer playing a song about weather so cold it fogs up the windshield glass. But hey, if Bruce Springsteen can play “Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town” in May, why should Taylor restrict herself? The truth is “‘Tis the Damn Season” is a subtle banger, and if Swift was out in the center of the stadium, unraveling this ballad of homecoming trysts solely on her guitar, it’d be epic. 

“No Body, No Crime” 

Image Credit: Neilson Barnard/Getty Images

From: Evermore (2020)

Yes, this would only work for one of the nine shows HAIM is opening, but imagine Taylor welcoming her pop-rock pals back to the stage for this felonious feature, jamming on some rediscovered twang. If Swift wanted to play something from Evermore that wasn’t so sad or draped in frosty atmosphere, this would be a heap of fun — assuming everyone is cool with getting away with murder.

“Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve” 

From: Midnights – 3am Edition (2022)

Since all of Midnights is surely on the table for this tour, the odds of getting anything off the 3am Edition appendix are likely very low. But if Taylor was to roll out anything, “Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve” has to be the obvious choice. Not only is this pseudo-sequel to “Dear John” the most popular track off the extension (based off internet buzz and streaming totals), but the hypnotic chug of the drum sample and her monster bridge — maybe the most affecting on all of Midnights — would soar in the stadium. You can already hear the diehards wailing with abandon: “Living for the thrill of hitting you where it hurts/ Give me back my girlhood, it was mine first!” 

“Bigger Than the Whole Sky”

From: Midnights – 3am Edition (2022)

Oh, what’s that — “Bigger than the Whole Sky” is too soft, slow and ethereal to factor into a stadium set? Wrong! Picture this: It’s late in the show, the entire stadium is dark. But there’s one spotlight fixed on Taylor as steps onto the crane apparatus that lifts her 100 feet in the air and carries her around the stadium. The track begins to play, 60,000 LED wristbands twinkle in white to create the starry sky. And Taylor sings with sorrow, mourning the lost relationship: “Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye…” Maybe they fit a keyboard on the platform so she can play along. The power of that moment would rival any of the booming hits.