Four New Songs in “Taylor’s Version”

Jocelyn Kim, Staff Writer

Last week, Taylor Swift announced that she will be releasing four new songs to kick-off her Eras Tour. The Four songs are “Eyes Open,” “Safe and Sound,” “If This Was A Movie,” and “All The Girls You Loved Before.” Three of these new songs are re-recordings of her original songs as“Taylor’s Version.” These re-recorded songs come from one particular source—TAS Rights Management (Taylor Swift’s Management)—which represents Swift’s songs as her own rather than from her former record label.

“Eyes Open” and “Safe and Sound” are both songs that were from The Hunger Games official soundtrack. “Eyes Open” was written by Swift for The Hunger Games despite it not being played in the movie. The song appears to represent the relationship between Katniss, the protagonist in the movie, and the Capitol, the antagonist in the movie. The lyric “Everybody’s waiting, Everybody’s watching, even when you’re sleeping, keep your eyes open” represents how Katniss cannot trust anyone around her, especially the Capitol. The song is meant to show that Katniss needs to always have her guard up and make sure to keep her “eyes open.” “Safe and Sound” was also written by Swift for The Hunger Games. “Safe and Sound” was featured in the movie when Katniss sings it in the form of a lullaby to her younger sister Prim. The song goes, “You’ll be alright, no one can hurt you now. Come morning light, you’ll be safe and sound.” The lyrics are meant to comfort Prim as Katniss tries to promise her that she will keep her safe.

“If This Was A Movie” was originally released on Swift’s Speak Now Deluxe album. “Eyes Open,” “Safe and Sound,” and “If This Was A Movie” are the three songs that were re-recorded by Swift. “If This Was A Movie” was originally released on October 25, 2010 and was about Swift’s daydream about one her “lost loves” finding his way back to her. The lyrics go, “I just want it back the way it was before, and I just wanna see you back at my front door.” This song is presented like a scene from a movie where the lost lover ultimately comes back to the main character. In this case, that character is Taylor Swift.

Out of the four songs, “All The Girls You Loved Before” is the most special because it is the only song that has not already been released. Interestingly enough, it is not exactly a “new” song either as it was recorded by Swift in 2019 when she released her Lover album. The song was meant to be included in her album but it was never shown to the public until now. The song appears to be for Joe Alwyn, Swift’s current boyfriend. The song is about how Swift is grateful for all of the women in  her lover’s past relationships that made him the man he is today. The lyrics go, “Every dead-end street, led you straight to me. Now you’re all I need, I’m so thankful for all of the girls you loved before. But I love you more.” Although grateful for his past relationships, Swift follows those lyrics with “But I love you more.” as all of his “dead-end” relationships led him to find her. She is essentially saying that she loves him more than all of the other girls before her.

Swifties are obsessed with these new songs and these songs only increased excitement for Taylor Swift’s tour. Fans are eager to see the singer on stage soon and while they await the day she performs in their area, they can satiate their hunger by listening to these four new songs.