After completing a total of 149 shows on The Eras Tour, Taylor Swift managed to play almost every song from his discography live, as well as 8 notable songs. Swift's fixed setlist alone consisted of 44 songs at the end of the tour, not including the acoustic section where Swift challenged herself to play different songs every night. By the end of the tour, Swift also made an effort to not only play new songs, but also create new mashups, typically totaling about 4 songs in that section per night.
At the start of the tour, Swift set specific rules for herself in this section, in that she would not and could not repeat songs unless she made a mistake in playing them and therefore had to redo them later. As the tour progressed, however, Swift began to break her own rules, opting to repeat some things on her own before launching into mashups later. A lot of this had to do with the fact that Swift would simply run out of new songs to play, but even so, Swift still skipped these 8 songs.
8
I heart?
Album: Taylor Swift (Best Buy Digital Download Edition) (2006) / Beautiful Eyes EP (2008)
Given the fact that “I Heart?” is one of 13 songs that Swift has never performed live before, so it's no surprise that this song wasn't played on The Eras Tour. This song is not even available on streaming platforms at the time of writing. “I heart?” was originally added to the digital downloadable edition of Taylor Swift at Best Buy during the first week of its release, but otherwise did not have an official release until being added to Swift's Beautiful eyes EP in 2008, released before Fearless.
Fans have long wondered if Swift will add “I Heart?” to Taylor Swift (Taylor's version)but if Swift's choices on her Eras Tour “Surprise Songs” are anything to go by, then it seems pretty unlikely at this point. Again, this is not entirely surprising as “I heart?” It was barely released and is clearly not one of Swift's favorites — especially as a song Swift wrote when she was thirteen. Still, it has some appreciation from fans, which makes it quite disappointing that it never made it to the acoustic section.
7
That's When (feat. Keith Urban) (Taylor's version) [From The Vault]
Album: Fearless (Taylor's version) (2021)
The first of two unplayed songs from Fearless (Taylor's version)“That's When” has another pretty solid reasoning behind why it was never played on The Eras Tour. In duet with Keith Urban It could be that Swift simply didn't want to play this song without Urban singing with herregardless of the fact that Swift replaced missing collaborators on other songs during the acoustic section. It's easy to imagine this particular one was special for Swift, given Urban's early influence on her as an artist.
Another fact that is difficult to deny is how long Fearless (Taylor's version) is, and that Swift had already performed almost every track on the album – both the original songs and those that were added to Taylor's version. It is reasonable to assume, then, that Swift chose to play Fearless (Taylor's version) tracks that were most requestedand didn't go out of her way to play every song on the album when she could have dedicated those spaces to her other albums to make it a more complete experience. Regardless, it would be nice to hear this played live one day.
6
Bye Bye Baby (Taylor's Version) [From The Vault]
Album: Fearless (Taylor's version) (2021)
Another unplayed track from Fearless (Taylor's version) is “Bye Bye Baby”, although the latter's absence, particularly near the end, was more surprising to some fans. When final guesses were made about what Swift would play during her final three shows, “Bye Bye Baby” was one of the most theorized, as it hadn’t been played live before, and thematically it made sense to say goodbye to The Eras Tour. Of course, ultimately Swift didn't choose to play this one, focusing instead on other thematically appropriate songs.
It could simply be a case of Swift wanting to prioritize other songs over this one, perhaps due to her personal preference.
It's harder to understand why “Bye Bye Baby” was never performed by Swift on The Eras Tour, especially when it's not even one of the least-streamed songs from Fearless (Taylor's version). There are a variety of other songs that have fewer streams than “Bye Bye Baby,” from the same album as Swift he did playing on The Eras Tour, such as “Superstar” and “Today Was a Fairytale”. It could simply be a case of Swift wanting to prioritize other songs over this one, perhaps due to her personal preference.
5
Ronan
Album: Red (2013) / Red (Taylor's version) (2021)
There's no surprise why “Ronan” wasn't played on The Eras Tour. A song written about the true story of a child named Ronan Thompson who sadly died at the age of 3 after a battle with neuroblastoma, This is not a song Swift would choose to perform live without a good reason for doing so. The only two times Swift has performed live include her initial performance at a Stand Up 2 Cancer marathon and at a 1989 tour show that Ronan's mother, Maya, was attending.
It is very easy to understand, then, why “Ronan” was never played on The Eras Tour. The song clearly carries a heavy and significant weight, meaning Swift wouldn't have considered playing it for any audience. It's a similar justification for her never playing another song from this list on The Eras Tour, as it also carries a similar meaning. As lovely as it was to hear this heartfelt song, fans certainly understand why it never appeared on stage at The Eras Tour.
4
Forever Winter (Taylor's version) [From The Vault]
Album: Red (Taylor's version) (2021)
Another very personal song by Swift, “Forever Winter”, has a similar reason for not being included during The Eras Tour. In this song, Swift sings about a close friend who is going through something difficult, and fans have since theorized that — given the corresponding timelines — this song is likely about a friend of Swift's who ended up passing away at a young age. This very real emotion would undoubtedly make it difficult for Swift to bring this song to lifeseeing as she hasn't sung live before.
While The Eras Tour certainly had its important and emotional moments, Playing this track in particular may have been a step too far for Swift if she actually chose to do so.. Not only that, but there was also greater demand for some of the other songs on the Red (Taylor's version)and since she also chose to keep two songs from Fearless (Taylor's version) not played, she may have adopted a similar approach with Red. This is evidenced by the fact that there is another song from this album that Swift did not perform on The Eras Tour.
3
girl at home
Album: Red (2013) / Red (Taylor's version) (2021)
Although Swift chose to re-record “Girl At Home” for Red (Taylor's version)is still quite a controversial track for its fans. Opinions about this song have been divided for many yearswith some insisting that the lyrics were written in poor taste, while others simply don't care for its overall melody and upbeat melody. Of course, there are also fans who are dedicated to loving this track, mainly for its more playful lyricism and its easy-to-sing-along melody.
In the end, though, this track didn't make it onto the acoustic section of The Eras Tour — and, in fact, has yet to be performed live by Swift. Apparently, Swift had previously insisted that she would never play this song live, due to the controversy it generated among her fans.although this is just word of mouth belief around the fandom as of now. With “Ronan” not being performed for a different reason, it appears that “Girl At Home” joins “Forever Winter” as both Red (Taylor's version) trails sacrificed for the good of others.
2
Soon You'll Be Better (feat. The Chicks)
Album: Lover (2019)
“Soon You'll Get Better” shares a similar meaning with “Ronan” for Swift, as the song was written while Swift's mother, Andrea, was fighting her own battle with cancer. Without a doubt, an extremely difficult and turbulent period in Swift's life, It's easy to imagine why she wouldn't want to remember those difficult times in something as light-hearted as The Eras Tour. While the song itself isn't too depressing, it's the beginning of the thing and it's especially sensitive when you consider the fact that Swift's mother was present at every show.
Music simply carries a lot of weight, and with Swift striving to play as much of her discography as possible, she prioritized songs that both she and her audience could fully enjoy.
Another factor behind why Swift never chose to perform this song is that it, like “That's When,” features The Chicks, and she may not have wanted to perform it without them there to do their part. It seems much more likely, however, that Swift didn't play this one for the same reason she didn't play “Ronan.” Music simply carries a lot of weight, and with Swift striving to play as much of her discography as possible, she prioritized songs that both she and her audience could fully enjoy.
1
Christmas Tree Farm
Album: Christmas Tree Farm (Single) (2019)
Finally, there is another option that some fans predicted for the final shows, given the approach of the holidays: “Christmas Tree Farm”. A song that recalls Swift's childhood where she was raised on a Christmas tree farm, this is one of the many Christmas-themed tracks that Swift chose not to perform on The Eras Tour. Interestingly, however, it sounded like Swift was joking about the fact that she was going to play it during the acoustic section at some point, based on an artwork change.
For a limited time, a friendship bracelet has been added to the cover of the “Christmas Tree Farm” single, which is, of course, heavily associated with The Eras Tour itself. After the final shows, however, it becomes clear that this was more of a tribute than anything else, and was not a true indication that Swift intended to perform the song on her tour. This song has been performed live before at iHeartRadio's Jingle Ball 2019, a version that Taylor Swift it has also been set up on streaming platforms.