Taylor Swift has been keeping her fans on their toes with the release of four new songs on Friday, March 17th, the same day her Eras tour kicked off. The new releases include an unreleased track, “All Of The Girls You Loved Before – The More Lover Chapter,” along with three re-recordings, two of which are from the Hunger Games soundtrack. Below is a Swiftie’s enthusiastic take on the newly released tracks. 

All of the Girls You Loved Before – The More Lover Chapter (AOTGYLB)

I was most excited about this track because it was a new, never-heard-before release. Initially intended for her Lover album, “All Of The Girls You Loved Before,” has a similar pop sound to Swift’s Reputation album but still retains themes of lover and synth-pop sound characteristic of her Lover Album. With its beautifully poetic lyrics about love and appreciation for past relationships, this song focuses on ideas of destiny and how our past experiences shape our lives – a concept reminiscent of her past songs, such as “Invisible String” and “Mary’s Song (Oh My My My).” For fans of Swift’s Folklore or Lover albums, I highly recommend listening to this song! 

If This Was A Movie – The More Fearless Chapter (ITWAM)

Speak Now is my favorite album, so I was excited about this re-recording. One of my favorite parts about Swift’s re-recordings is the maturity her current voice brings to her older albums, which can be seen by the difference between the original versions and her version of Fearless (Taylor’s Version). Despite having the same powerful feeling, “If This Was A Movie” has much stronger vocals and is without Swift’s slight country accent. Although I adore Swift’s slight country tang and how well it fits for certain songs in her first three albums, I find that songs with deeper meanings and emotion tend to resonate with the listener more when sung with more robust vocals. Therefore, I highly recommend “If This Was A Movie” to daydreams, rom-com lovers, and fans of Swift’s early albums.

Eyes Open – The More Red Chapter

“Eyes Open” was written initially to be a background song in the Hunger Games trilogy soundtrack but was ultimately not included in the movie’s final cut. Although the original “Eyes Open” has beautiful lyrics and a powerful message, it lacked strength, and no real power to the song allowed it to resonate with me. However, I was pleasantly surprised with the newer version, which solved all of my quibbles with the original. The vocals are much more robust, and the song is much more powerful. I highly recommend listening if you are looking for meaningful lyrics, powerful vocals or are a Hunger Games fan!

Safe & Sound – The More Red Chapter

Initially written for the Hunger Games movie soundtrack, “Safe & Sound” is written in a lullaby style and centers around letting go of loved ones. The song’s accompaniment and background vocals are similar to songs on Swift’s Evermore album regarding accompaniment and background vocals, while the lyrics and vocals are reminiscent of pieces from Swift’s Folklore album. Both versions feature John Paul White and Joy Williams for background vocals. While this song has a different feel than most Swift songs, its uniqueness makes it stand out. As a fan of Swift’s more pop-sounding music, this song is not a favorite, but the lyrics and story behind “Safe & Sound” amaze me. This song is perfect if you liked Swift’s Evermore album or her calmer songs.

Swift, being the mastermind she is, pleasantly surprised me with these songs by demonstrating her fantastic range in her discography with her selection of re-releases. I am confident any fan of Swift’s music can find a new favorite piece in any of the songs she just re-released.