Taylor Swifthas two re-recordings left and there are a few songs I would love to hear as vault tracks. Swift has moved through four re-recordings, finally owning many of her hits and giving fans some never-before-heard tracks.The vault tracks have been the most exciting part of the re-release process. Songs like “All Too Well (10 Minute Version)” have taken the world by storm.
A few less popular vault tracks have still made fans happy andgiven extra context to what Swift was going throughwhile writing her albums. WithreputationandTaylor Swiftcoming next, Swift still has many more vault tracks to send out into the world. While there are likely to be a lot of songs fans have never heard before, there are a slew of previously heard tracks that deserve to be revisited.
10This Is What You Came For
Released By Rihanna (2016)
In 2016, Rihanna released “This Is What You Came For,” featuring Calvin Harris. At the time, Swift and Harris were dating, and it didn’t take long for Swifties to notice a very familiar voice singing backup on the track.There was also an unheard-of artist named Nils Sjöbergcredited as a co-writer. It would soon come out that Swift used a pseudonym to co-write the song with her then-boyfriend. The singer sang the song live on her own a few times, including at a 2016 Formula 1 Grand Prix concert and another timeat the Eras Tour.
While the song was released between 1989 andreputation, it didn’t make the1989vault track list, making it likelyit will fall ontoreputation. Swift made a similar move with “Sweeter Than Fiction.” The song was released for the filmOne Chanceinbetween her albumsRedand1989but landed as a bonus track on1989 (Taylor’s Version).While Rihanna did wonders with “This Is What You Came For,” it’s always great to hear Swift’s vocals singing the song, too.
9Crazier
Hannah Montana: The Movie Soundtrack (2009)
Based on Taylor Swift’s initial releases, it was unclear if the singer had plans to rerecord her songs that had been included on movie soundtracks. While “Today Was A Fairytale” made it ontoFearless (Taylor’s Version), “Safe and Sound” and “Eyes Open” fromThe Hunger Gamesdidn’t make it ontoRed (Taylor’s Version.)Instead, Swift released the two songs separately. While"Crazier" was released in 2009 forHannah Montana: The Movieduring theFearlessera, it was left off the album’s re-release.
However, it’s likely Swift has plans to include it on her debut album. When Swift releasedThe Hunger Gamestracks, she also released “If This Was A Movie” on its own, with aFearless (Taylor’s Version) Spotify coverdespite the original song being onSpeak Now.It’s likely that since Swift wrote “Crazier” when she was 13, she is instead placing it on her debut album. While it initially seemed Swift had forgotten about the track, she played it asan Eras Tour surprise songhinting a rerecording might be on the way.
8I’d Lie
An Unreleased Swift Track
“I’d Lie” has become such a popular song that it feels as though Swift actually did release it. Unfortunately, this is not the case, though she has performed it live a few times.“I’d Lie” is certainly Swift’s best-known unreleased trackand it would be shocking if it didn’t end up onTaylor Swift (Taylor’s Version.)I even witnessed it on a song list at a karaoke venue once, despite never getting an officially released recording.
“His sister’s beautiful
He has his father’s eyes
And if you asked me if I loved him
I’d lie.”
The song is incredibly catchy and chronicles a crush Swift had on her classmate.She even admitted she sang it at a school talent show, which made things incredibly awkward between the two. However, all these years later, it’s just as good as it was when it first leaked. It would be a shame if Taylor Swift left it in the dust instead of finally giving it its long-deserved moment to shine.
7I Don’t Wanna Live Forever Featuring Zayn Malik
Fifty Shades Darker Soundtrack (2017)
Another track Taylor Swift released between1989andreputationis “I Don’t Wanna Live Forever” featuring Zayn Malik. The song may have come beforereputationbutit had a much darker tone than1989, especially with the music video. The song has Swift questioning whether she should have stayed in a relationship or if she made the right decision by leaving. The song was recorded forFifty Shades Darker, the sequel toFifty Shades of Grey, andSwift wrote it with Jack Anotnoffand Sam Dew.
Why Taylor Swift’s Next Taylor’s Version Re-Release Should Be Reputation, Not Debut
With only two Taylor’s Versions left to release, Taylor Swift has a tough choice in front of her, but she ought to choose Reputation over Debut.
The singer-songwriterperformed the track at DirecTV’s Super Saturday Night pre-Super Bowl concertin 2017. She later performed it asa surprise song for the Eras Tour. The dark tone of the song fits perfectly withreputation’s aesthetic and Swift’s mature vocals would sound even better than the original recording.
6Your Anything
Another popular unreleased track from Taylor Swift’s early days in the music industry is “Your Anything.” The song floated around on YouTube and Tumblr for years but never made it onto any of her albums. However,Swift performed the track at a few of her early career performances. It has the same teenage innocence that a lot of her debut album tracks have.
The song findsSwift analyzing the things that her crush likes and letting him know she’s willing to be anythingthat he needs her to be. Swift is certainly skilled at changing herself to appeal to others; sheadmits this on herfolkloretrack"mirrorball." Though, she may not have had the self-awareness back then. The track is as catchy as “Our Song” and would be the perfect addition toTaylor Swift (Taylor’s Version).
5Beautiful Eyes
Beautiful Eyes EP (2007)
After stepping onto the country scene, Taylor Swift wanted to stay on top of everyone’s minds as long as she could.Instead of waiting untilFearlessto drop more music,the business-savvy musician dropped a few EPs, one of them beingBeautiful Eyes.The subject of the album’s title track is another one of Swift’s school crushes and his eyes are the focus of the song.
It’s one of her simpler tracks and not her strongest lyrically or production-wise. However, it’s still a defining song in her career as it contributed toher reputation as the go-to girl for schoolgirl crush songs.Swift may have made much more significant work as her career continued, but “Beautiful Eyes” is still a part of her journey and belongs on her debut vault tracklist.
4Best Days Of Your Life
Kellie Pickler (2008)
Swift has become accustomed to writing with other artists for their albums, as she’s done a few times with Big Red Machine. However, “Best Days of Your Life” was one of Swift’s earlier songs she wrote with and for another artist. Back when she was still country music’s princess,Taylor Swift was close friends with fellow country singer and formerAmerican Idolcontestant, Kellie Pickler. The two wrote “Best Days of Your Life” together for Pickler’s self-titled sophomore album.
“Cause I’ll be there in the back of your mind
From the day we met to you making me cry
And it’s just too bad
You already had
The best days, the best days of your life.”
The song is about a breakup where the singer copes with her sadness by realizing the best days of her ex’s life were the ones spent with her. Now that their relationship is over, he doesn’t have much to look forward to.Swift sang backup on the song and appeared in the music videoplaying the electric guitar alongside Pickler. While the song has mostly been forgotten, it would be great to see Swift revive it on debut and take lead vocals this time around.
3I Heart ?
Another track from Taylor Swift’sBeautiful EyesEP is “I Heart ?” whichfalls in line with debut’s angry breakup songslike “Picture To Burn” and “Should’ve Said No.” However, it’s arguably even more petty than the latter two. In the song, Swift sings about the end of a relationship and what she had to endure coping with the loss of that love.
Swift feels as though her former partner doesn’t understand or credit her for how she had to pick herself back up after their split.Swift sings about how her ex might want her backbut the phrase “I heart ?” written on her hand signifies that she’s moved on. Like “Beautiful Eyes,” it isn’t Swift’s strongest song, but it certainly shows off her sense of humor and would be a great throwback if included onTaylor Swift (Taylor’s Version).
2Dark Blue Tennessee
Of all the unreleased songs I used to see floating around online back in the day, “Dark Blue Tennessee” was one of the most beloved. The song only exists in leaked audios, and Swifties have wanted an official recording for over a decade.“Dark Blue Tennessee” is peak country Taylor Swiftand it’s still shocking that the song never made it onto an official Swift album. The song feels similar to “Tim McGraw” as it’s a country breakup song but is arguably even sadder than Swift’s first single.
The song is very piano-heavy and showcases two perspectives of a breakup. One party has moved away to the city while the other party is home in Tennessee hoping their ex will come back to them. The yearning in Swift’s voice makes the song truly heart-wrenching andher modern vocals would make “Dark Blue Tennessee” even more beautiful.It would be an incredible loss if Swift didn’t include the fan-favorite unreleased track on her debut album’s re-recording.
1You’ll Always Find Your Way Back Home
One of the most highly anticipated potentialTaylor Swift (Taylor’s Version)vault tracks is “You’ll Always Find Your Way Back Home.” While Swift recorded “Crazier” for theHannah Montana: The MovieSoundtrack and performed it in the film,she gave “You’ll Always Find Your Way Back Home” to Miley Cyrus. Cyrus sang it in Hannah Montana form at the end of the movie.
The song was inspired by the film’s message that no matter how famous and successful Hannah Montana got, she could always go back home to her family in Tennessee.Swift wrote the song with Boys Like Girls frontman Martin Johnson,likely around the same time they wrote “Two Is Better Than One.” Not only would it be exciting to hear Swift sing the song herself, but it would be very fitting as a debut vault track.
“You can change your hair
And you can change your clothes
you’re able to change your mind
That’s just the way it goes
You can say goodbye and you can say hello
but you’ll always find your way back home.”
Swift left country music behind a long time ago, but as Jason Aldean once said at the CMT Awards, it will always be her home. The re-recording and re-release process has been like coming back home for Swift. Since herdebut album is suspected to be the final re-release,the perfect way to commemorate the era would be for Taylor Swift to include “You’ll Always Find Your Way Back Home” as a vault track. Bonus points if she features Miley Cyrus on the song.
