Breaking Down All of Taylor Swift’s ‘Eras Tour’ Surprise Song Mash-Ups

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Breaking Down All of Taylor Swift’s ‘Eras Tour’ Surprise Song Mash-Ups and What They Could Mean

Updated on: March 9, 2024

Taylor Swift. Marcelo Endelli/TAS23/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management
Some Swifties have been luckier than others when it comes to the surprise songs set of Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour.

Since launching her record-breaking tour in March 2023, Swift has used the penultimate section of her show to perform songs across her entire discography that aren’t included in the concert’s expansive setlist. On occasion, however, Swift has used the portion of the show to debut special mash-ups of her most famous tracks.

Swift began the trend during a November 2023 show in Buenos Aires, combining “Is It Over Now?” and “Out of the Woods” from 1989 (Taylor’s Version). That same month, Swift revealed that she would be breaking her own surprise songs rule of only performing a track once for more of her international Eras Tour dates.

“I decided that in 2024, when we go back on tour, I’m just gonna open back up all the songs for surprise songs,” she told fans during a show in São Paulo, Brazil, noting that her entire discography was “fair game.”

Keep scrolling for a guide to every mash-up Swift has performed on The Eras Tour so far:

‘Is It Over Now?’ and ‘Out of the Woods’
One month after 1989 (TV)’s October 2023 release, Swift surprised Argentina fans with a mash-up of songs from the album. Swifties immediately made a connection between the two tracks as both are rumored to be about the pop star’s ex Harry Styles.

The vault track “Is it Over Now?” features the lyrics, “When you lost control / red blood, white snow.” The exes, who were romantically linked from late 2012 to early 2013, famously got into a snowmobile accident in 2012, after which Styles was photographed with a bandage on his chin.

In the song, Swift also sings about sitting in a “blue dress on a boat,” a nod to being photographed in a blue dress while on a boat not long after her and Styles’ split.

“Out of the Woods,” is also speculated to be about Styles and Swift’s snowmobile incident, featuring lyrics such as, “Remember when you hit the brakes too soon? / Twenty stitches in the hospital room.” The song’s lyrics also make reference to the paper airplane necklaces they were each seen wearing during their brief romance.

Graham Denholm/TAS24/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management
‘Getaway Car’ / ‘August’ / ‘The Other Side of the Door’
After beginning to play Reputation’s “Getaway Car” on guitar during a February 2024 concert in Melbourne, Australia, Swift surprised fans by transitioning the tune into “August” from Folklore, which is included in the tour’s main setlist. She rounded out the acoustic performance by adding “The Other Side of the Door” from Fearless (Taylor’s Version).

“I want to play one that you really want to hear, I want you to be happy,” she told the crowd, per social media footage from the show.

Fans once again were quick to notice a connection between the songs as all three discuss infidelity. The lyrics to “Getaway Car” compare being stuck in a romantic situation with three people to being a “sideshow,” while “The Other Side of the Door” asks the question if the other woman in a relationship was “worth the mess” it caused.

“August,” meanwhile, is one of three Folklore songs that tells the story of a love triangle, including “Cardigan” and “Betty.” The track follows the story from the perspective of a girl named August, with whom a boy named James cheated on his girlfriend Betty.

‘Come Back … Be Here’ and ‘Daylight’
For her third Eras Tour concert in Melbourne, Swift grabbed her guitar to sing a mash-up of “Come Back … Be Here” from Red (Taylor’s Version) and “Daylight” from Lover. While “Come Back … Be Here” tells the story of a person hoping to rekindle a broken romance, “Daylight” sees Swift discuss leaving behind the mess of past relationships after seemingly finding her perfect partner.

“And I can still see it all (in my mind) / All of you, all of my (intertwined) / I once believed love would be (black and White) / But it’s golden (golden),” Swift sings in “Daylight.”

It was during her third Melbourne show that Swift revealed she might repeat surprise songs throughout the remainder of the tour. “I want to be as creative as possible with the acoustic set moving forward, and I don’t want to limit anything or say, ‘Oh, if I played this song, I can’t play it again,’” she told fans, per social media footage. “So, from now on, I don’t want to take any paint colors out of the paintbox [or] tools out of the toolbox.”

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‘White Horse’ and ‘Coney Island’
Swift continued her leg of Australia Eras Tour shows in Sydney. During her first night in the city, Swift brought out her opening act, Sabrina Carpenter, to sing a mash-up of “White Horse” from Fearless (TV) and “Coney Island” from Evermore after Carpenter’s performance was canceled due to poor weather.

The lyrics to both songs follow the endings of relationships after the people involved realize their romantic connection was not how they thought it would be or not how it once was.

‘Should’ve Said No’ and ‘You’re Not Sorry’ / ‘Peace’ and ‘New Year’s Day’
Swift performed her first set of double secret song mash-ups during her second Sydney Eras Tour show in February 2024. She began by combining “Should’ve Said No” from her self-titled debut album, Taylor Swift, and “You’re Not Sorry” from Fearless (TV) on the guitar. Both of the breakup tracks discuss relationships in which one partner was not faithful.

Swift followed up the mash-up by performing Folklore’s “Peace” with Reputation’s “New Year’s Day,” both of which see the singer analyze her romances. While “Peace” sees Swift question whether her fame is keeping her from maintaining “peace” in a relationship, Swift asks her partner to “please don’t ever become a stranger whose laugh I could recognize anywhere” in “New Year’s Day.”

Fernando Leon/TAS23/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management
‘Is It Over Now?’ and ‘I Wish You Would’ / ‘Haunted’ and ‘Exile’
Swift performed another mash-up of 1989 (TV) tunes, “Is It Over Now?” and “I Wish You Would,” as her guitar surprise song during Sydney Night 3. The concert marked the second time Swift used “Is It Over Now?” in a mash-up with another track rumored to be about Styles, having previously done so in Buenos Aires in November 2023.

After performing the upbeat songs on her guitar, Swift headed over the piano to sing a mash-up of “Haunted” from Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) and “Exile” from Folklore. On theme with many of Swift’s surprise song mash-ups, both breakup tracks tell the story of realizing a relationship was not what it seemed on the surface.

‘Forever & Always’ and ‘Maroon’ / ‘Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve’ and ‘Ivy’
For her final night in Sydney, Swift hit fans with two more secret song mash-ups featuring some of her biggest tracks. On piano, Swift performed Fearless (TV)’s “Forever & Always” with Midnight’s “Maroon.” For the guitar secret song, she combined Midnight’s “Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve” with Evermore’s “Ivy.”

The performances seemingly dispelled the theory that Swift performs her most emotional tracks while wearing her yellow surprise songs dress. Swift instead sported the green version of the dress, which she has also worn in maroon and blue, for Sydney Night 4.

Swift’s official fan account, Taylor Nation, seemingly confirmed there’s no correlation between her surprise songs dress color and the tracks she performs. “#SydneyTSTheErasTour, the past four nights with you have kept us on the edge of our seats! Thanks for bringing *the chant* back and crying with us during the mashups!” they tweeted after the show, adding, “We fear all the dresses now … 🫣.”

‘Mine’ and ‘Starlight’
Swift performed a mash-up of “Mine” and “Starlight,” from Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) and Red (Taylor’s Version), respectively, during her March 2, 2024, concert in Singapore.

“This has become my favorite part of the show because it’s become very chaotic and it’s become a challenge for me to think of new things to do for every single city,” she said in her introduction. “And hope that I’m doing something that you guys might like. It’s been a blast!”

‘I Don’t Wanna Live Forever’ and ‘Dress’
Swift’s second acoustic number on March 2 mashed up “I Don’t Wanna Live Forever,” her 50 Shades Darker duet with Zayn Malik, and “Dress” from Reputation.

Swift’s official Instagram went live to share the performance with her followers, many of whom think it is a clue for the arrival of Reputation (Taylor’s Version). Certain Swifties even pointed out that “I Don’t Wanna Live Forever” came out in December, the 12th month of the year, and “Dress” is the 12th song on Reputation’s OG tracklist.

‘Long Story Short’ and ‘The Story of Us’
Swift kicked off her March 3, 2024, acoustic set in Singapore with Evermore’s “Long Story Short” on guitar. Her number evolved into a mash-up with “The Story of Us” from Speak Now (Taylor’s Version).

‘Clean’ and ‘Evermore’
Swift’s second surprise song on March 3 combined the 1989 (Taylor’s Version) track “Clean” with Evermore from her 2020 album of the same name. The piano mash-up occurred moments after Swift announced the “final edition” of The Tortured Poets Department, which is called “The Black Dog.”

“[These are] two songs about healing from a sky that ‘turned black like a perfect storm’ and a ‘gray November,’” one X user pointed out about the song choices, quoting the respective lyrics. “This album is about heartbreak, but also about healing.”

‘Death By A Thousand Cuts’ and ‘Babe’ / ‘Fifteen’ and ‘You’re On Your Own, Kid’
For her fourth show in Singapore on March 7, Swift performed two emotional mash-ups spanning four albums during the surprise song set. On guitar, Swift combined Lover’s “Death by a Thousand Cuts” with Red’s “Babe,” two fan-favorite breakup songs. While “Babe” — which Swift originally wrote for Sugarland before releasing it as a vault track on Red (TV) — reflects on a lover’s infidelity and broken promises, “Death by a Thousand Cuts” recalls the slow and painful deterioration of a relationship and is based on the Netflix movie Something Great.

On piano, Swift performed a mash-up of “Fifteen” from Fearless and “You’re On Your Own, Kid” from Midnights, marking her fifth performance of the latter, which is now her most-played surprise song of the Eras Tour so far. When Swift began singing “Fifteen” in a different key than usual, fans began to speculate the emotional Midnights track would be coming next. Both songs’ lyrics show Swift reflecting on the innocence of youth, although she wrote “Fifteen” when she was 18, and penned “You’re On Your Own, Kid” more recently as part of her 2022 album.

‘Sparks Fly’ and ‘Gold Rush’ / ‘False God’ and ‘Slut!’
Swift went for more mash-ups during her Singapore Eras Tour show on March 8. On the guitar, she opted for “Sparks Fly” from Speak Now and “Gold Rush” from Evermore. These two songs appear to depict opposite sides of a relationship. “Sparks Fly” is about the feelings expressed during the beginning stages of a romance while “Gold Rush” is the more realistic side of a crush. Swift sings about how she is jealous of a possible suitor and cannot be with them because they are loved by everyone.

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For her piano songs, Swift chose Lover’s “False God” and “Slut!” from 1989 (Taylor’s Version). Both of these seem to have more sexual undertones. “Slut!” references the slut-shaming Swift received in the public eye over the years, and the lyrics of “False God” lean into promiscuity.

“Tim McGraw” and “Cowboy Like Me” / “Mirrorball” and “Epiphany”
Swift once again delivered two mash-ups in Singapore. For her guitar song on March 9, she quipped that she felt “nostalgic” since it would be her “last show for a while” until May, which led into “Tim McGraw.” Halfway through, Swift began strumming the chords to Evermore’s “Cowboy Like Me.”

Later, Swift took to the piano to mash up the two Folklore tracks of “Mirrorball” and “Epiphany.”