These Taylor Swift songs will stick with us evermore. Welcome to MsMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the 10 Best Taylor Swift Folklore and Evermore Era Performances.
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00:00 Welcome to Ms. Mojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the top 10 best Taylor
00:08 Swift folklore and evermore era performances.
00:16 We unfortunately have to exclude numbers from the eras tour due to lack of official footage.
00:21 Number 10. Peace - Folklore, The Long Pond Studio Sessions
00:31 Given how much comfort she's given listeners over the years, it makes total sense that
00:35 Taylor Swift has a song called "Peace," and this performance feels like a warm embrace
00:39 amidst uncertainty. The track focuses on the feeling of loving someone but not being able
00:50 to promise them stability, particularly not when you're a target of constant attention
00:55 like Swift. In this intimate performance, Swift puts her heart and soul into every word
01:06 and expression. Meanwhile, Aaron Dessner and Jack Antonoff lend just enough melodic support
01:11 without overpowering Swift and her tender, heartfelt delivery.
01:21 Number 9. The Lakes - Folklore, The Long Pond Studio Sessions
01:32 You know that feeling of standing by a lake and just meditatively watching the waters?
01:36 Apparently, so does Taylor Swift, who captures that vibe perfectly on this track. The closer
01:41 to Folklore's deluxe edition,
01:43 "Take me to the lakes where all the poets went to die. I don't belong."
01:48 The Lakes is a haunting ballad inspired by England's famed Lake District. While the studio
01:52 version is enhanced with instrumentation like strings, saxophone, and piano, this one keeps
01:58 relatively stripped back.
01:59 "The walls window me, I peek, look like a perfect place to cry. I'm setting off."
02:05 But if there was ever a song that deserves as intimate of a presentation as possible,
02:09 it's this one. The reverb on Swift's delicate vocals make her sound like a ghost singing
02:14 a beautiful elegy right before our eyes.
02:16 "The walls window me, I peek, look like a perfect place to cry. I'm setting off."
02:22 Number 8. This Is Me Trying - Folklore, The Long Pond Studio Sessions
02:33 One of the most satisfying parts of following Swift's career is seeing just how much she's
02:38 matured, both as an artist and a person. This Is Me Trying is a dream pop knockout about
02:43 being aware of one's recurring problems in life and love, but taking the steps necessary
02:47 to move forward and persevere in spite of any anxieties.
02:50 "They told me all of my cages were mental, so I got wasted like all my potential."
02:58 This version emphasizes the piano to great effect, but the undeniable star of it all
03:02 is Swift, who delivers these very raw lyrics as if she's speaking to us directly.
03:07 "I just wanted you to know that this is me trying."
03:12 She is trying, and by all accounts, she absolutely succeeds.
03:16 "At least I'm trying."
03:20 Number 7. Betty - 55th Academy of Country Music Awards
03:30 Taylor Swift has shown us so much talent in so many genres, it can be easy to forget that
03:34 she was first primarily known as a country artist, but this song and performance show
03:39 she hasn't forgotten her roots.
03:40 "You heard the rumors from Inez, you can't believe a word she says."
03:46 At the Academy of Country Music Awards, Swift gave a moving performance of this acoustic
03:50 ballad, sung from the perspective of a teenage boy named James, apologizing to his titular
03:55 girlfriend for being unfaithful.
04:02 Wearing a gorgeous, shimmering sequined top, Swift shines brightest of all, particularly
04:07 when she gives an infectious smile during the chorus.
04:10 With every strum of her guitar and bittersweet syllable expressed, Swift showcases her talent
04:14 for capturing teenage feelings of heartbreak at any age.
04:18 "I've got a street light, you know I miss you."
04:24 Number 6. Seven - Folklore, The Long Pond Studio Sessions
04:35 Remember what we just said about how Swift captures teenage feelings? Well, the same
04:39 applies for how she captures even younger feelings.
04:42 "Sweet tea in the summer, cross your heart, won't tell no other."
04:46 Seven is a spellbinding number reflecting on a childhood friendship with someone who's
04:49 being mistreated at home.
04:51 While Swift's narrator might be too young to fully understand what's going on, her lyrics
04:56 offer important context clues without overpowering the song's message of hope for a better tomorrow.
05:01 "I think you should come live with me and we can be pirates."
05:06 And this performance, with its softly-strummed guitar and Swift's simultaneously caring and
05:11 concerned vocals, keeps that hope alive.
05:14 This song and this rendition are both absolute tens.
05:25 Number 5. Epiphany - Folklore, The Long Pond Studio Sessions
05:34 An epiphany is a profound realization that suddenly hits you, and this song hit us the
05:38 moment we heard it for the first time.
05:41 With its images of wartime violence and themes related to the COVID-19 pandemic, it's not
05:46 exactly the kind of Taylor Swift song you put on at a party.
05:49 "With you I serve, with you I fall down."
05:55 But it deserves to be recognized as one of her most evocative works.
05:58 This performance is another great display of Swift's knack for conjuring vivid images
06:03 and intense emotions with her voice alone.
06:05 "Hold your hand through plastic now."
06:10 And once again, she finds absolute harmony with Aaron Dessner and Jack Antonoff.
06:14 Though recent years have been difficult and confusing, we're grateful to have Swift let
06:18 us know that we're not alone.
06:20 "Just one single glimpse of relief to make some sense of what you've seen."
06:26 Number 4. Mirrorball - Folklore, The Long Pond Studio Sessions
06:37 The titular mirrorball of this song is a disco ball that you might find on a dance floor,
06:41 but Swift manages to take that carefree image and turn it into something much more complex.
06:46 And this performance shows just how much dimension she has.
06:49 "Life's when no one is around my dear."
06:54 Over jangling guitars, Swift sings in multiple registers as she addresses the exhaustion
06:59 of being constantly in the spotlight, as well as trying to maintain different versions of
07:03 yourself for different people.
07:07 "I'm a mirrorball. I can change everything."
07:12 Though Swift may be one of the biggest celebrities on the planet, she never loses touch with
07:16 the many realities of being human.
07:18 "I'll show you every version of yourself tonight."
07:25 Number 3. Exile - Bonnie Vare - Folklore, The Long Pond Studio Sessions
07:30 "I can see you standing, honey, with his arms around your body."
07:36 The first voice we hear on Exile is not Taylor Swift's, but of Justin Vernon, of the acclaimed
07:42 indie band Bonnie Vare.
07:43 Though his face is covered, the feelings of sorrow in this aching breakup song can be
07:48 clearly seen, particularly in his wounded howling.
07:51 Then when Swift enters, we're brought into her narrator's headspace.
08:01 Both artists sound amazing on their own, but when their voices converge, a new kind of
08:06 magic is unlocked.
08:12 The two were recorded in separate spaces, but the combination of their beautiful voices
08:17 makes it feel like they're in the same room, singing right in front of us.
08:28 Number 2. My Tears Ricochet - Folklore, The Long Pond Studio Sessions
08:32 "We gather here, we line up, weeping in a sunlit room."
08:38 In an Instagram post, Swift described this song as being about, quote, "an embittered
08:42 tormentor showing up at the funeral of his fallen object of obsession."
08:46 And if that pain comes through on the studio version, it really comes through here.
08:51 "I didn't have it in myself to go with grace."
08:57 Swift sings with hesitation, regret, and unflinching honesty, as she addresses the other person
09:02 about their mistreatment as pointedly as she can.
09:05 In contrast to the original, with its grand climax, this one is much more stripped back
09:10 instrumentally.
09:11 "You wear the same jewels that I gave you as you buried me."
09:17 But even if it was completely a cappella, we'd still be in awe of Swift and her magnificent
09:22 performance.
09:23 It's always okay to cry, especially when listening to an artist bare their soul like
09:28 this.
09:29 "Yeah, look at how my tears ricochet."
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09:49 Number 1.
09:50 Cardigan, August, and Willow - 63rd Annual Grammy Awards
10:01 It might seem a bit like cheating to have three songs at number one, but this isn't
10:05 a tie, it's a medley.
10:07 It had been five years since Swift's last Grammy performance, and she came back in style,
10:12 performing a trio of great songs in truly remarkable fashion.
10:22 She begins lying down, but still letting her voice ring out as she sings the yearning cardigan
10:27 atop a mossy cabin.
10:29 Then she seamlessly transitions to the graceful and dreamy August, singing and playing guitar
10:33 right alongside her collaborators.
10:42 She ties things up with a rollicking rendition of Evermore's lead single, "Willow."
10:46 She deservedly won Album of the Year later that night, but this performance showed Taylor
10:51 Swift is a winner, no matter what.
10:59 What performance from the folklore Evermore era do you love the most?
11:03 Let us know in the comments.
11:06 Do you agree with our picks?
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