From The Vault: Speculation On the Upcoming Vault Tracks from Reputation (Taylor's Version) and Taylor Swift (Taylor's Version)

With the Tortured Poets Department era seemingly coming to a close soon, considering the speculated upcoming announcement for Reputation (Taylor's Version), my mind has been on the vault tracks lately. In particular, the countless possibilities for the Taylor Swift (Taylor's Version) vault tracks.

Don't get me wrong, I have plenty of interest in the Reputation vault tracks, but we don't have much knowledge on what those might be. Beyond possible re-recorded versions of "I Don't Wanna Live Forever" with ZAYN, Taylor-penned Rihanna hit "This Is What You Came For," as well as scrapped Lover track "Need," we only have one other known song from this time: "Family," a song registered by Taylor in May of 2018 on GEMA and mentioned in an interview with Scott Swift, is the only unreleased song from the Reputation era that the public is aware of. Other than that, we're in the dark as to what Taylor may release from her sixth album's 'fire' vault.

However, on the flip side, it feels that Taylor has endless possibilities to choose from. Having written over 100 songs from the Debut and pre-Debut era, it's a wonder how she will narrow it all down to just a handful of vault tracks. So, in true Swiftie fashion, I have put on my clown wig and come up with a detailed 'iceberg' of sorts, compiling the most likely inclusions to the ones that will probably never see the light of day. So without further ado, here are the vault track candidates for Taylor Swift (Taylor's Version).

"Beautiful Eyes" and "I Heart ?"

It's a no-brainer to me that these two songs will be included on Taylor Swift (Taylor's Version), as these two songs were recorded and released during that era under Big Machine Records. These two songs are not on streaming, but Taylor grouping them onto this album in a similar fashion to the way "Today Was A Fairytale" was included on Fearless (Taylor's Version), "Ronan" on Red (Taylor's Version), and "Sweeter Than Fiction" on 1989 (Taylor's Version) makes the most sense to me.

"Crazier" and "You'll Always Find Your Way Back Home"

Though these two songs are known for being on the Hannah Montana: The Movie soundtrack, it's to be believed that both songs were originally recorded for Taylor's debut album, as a demo of "Crazier" from 2005 has surfaced online. It's widely speculated that "You'll Always Find Your Way Back Home" would have been penned and/or recorded around that time as well. This would also answer many Swifties' questions, as majority of the fandom believed that re-recorded versions of these tracks would be included on Fearless (Taylor's Version).

Debut Era: "I'd Lie," "Just South of Knowing Why," "Need You Now," and More...

Similar to most of Taylor's eras while at Big Machine, there are many leaked demos available on the internet. Most of these are from the Debut and Fearless eras, when security was less restricted with Taylor's music. One of these songs is the extremely popular "I'd Lie," which is so well-known and widespread that many Swifties have experienced false recollections that the song was actually released on Taylor's debut album. Some lesser-known songs from this era are "The Diary of Me," "Need You Now," "Permanent Marker," "R-E-V-E-N-G-E," and my personal favorite "Just South of Knowing Why." The majority of these tracks were recorded between 2004-2005 and feature similar themes to songs already on the album like love songs ("Our Song"), breakups ("Teardrops On My Guitar"), and revenge ("Picture To Burn"), hence why they were scrapped. Many are hoping for newer versions of these songs to come to light with the release of Taylor Swift (Taylor's Version), as these are the most likely tracks to be re-recorded.

Pre-Debut Era: "Lucky You," "Smokey Black Nights," "Dark Blue Tennessee," and More...

Along with all of the songs written and recorded from 2004-2005, there are a plethora of songs from before Taylor was signed by Big Machine. In 2009 tour film Journey To Fearless, Taylor recollects making many demo CD's to record labels in the hopes of getting a record deal, as well as selling and giving them out to young country fans at the time. Many of these demos have surfaced online, including her first ever song "Lucky You." Some other songs include "Smokey Black Nights," "Dark Blue Tennessee," "Nevermind," "Who I've Always Been," "What To Wear," and "Welcome Distraction." It's a known fact that a few of the songs Taylor wrote before signing with Big Machine featured darker themes, such as alcoholism, drug use, suicide, and even the 9/11 tragedy, and it's obvious that the record label wouldn't want those kinds of themes in songs written and recorded by a teenage girl. It's unsure whether Taylor would include these songs on Taylor Swift (Taylor's Version) nowadays, considering her public image.

Post-Debut Era: "Drama Queen", "Battle", "Wonderful Things", and More...

It should be stated that these are the tracks least likely to be included, but I thought it was worth mentioning anyways. There are leaked demos from other eras during Taylor's time at Big Machine, particularly from the original Fearless and Speak Now eras that have a miniscule chance at being placed onto the Taylor Swift (Taylor's Version) vault. For example, "Drama Queen," about the Taylor Swift-Joe Jonas breakup, was scrapped from Fearless for being too catty, and it also likely wasn't featured on Speak Now for being too similar to "Better Than Revenge." Speaking of Speak Now, leaked demo "Battle" is suspected to be from this era, though it is unconfirmed. A few more known songs from this timeframe are "Love To Lose," "This One's Different," "Thinkin' Bout You," and "Wonderful Things." Now, I personally think that there is too much content from the categories above for Taylor to consider these songs for her rerecording of her debut album. However, if Taylor ends up including "Need" on Reputation (Taylor's Version)... well, anything's possible.

In conclusion, there are thousands of possibilities for what Taylor might include on her upcoming rerecordings' respective vaults. I will say, based on Taylor's recent acoustic performances at The Eras Tour, we have a safe chance at "This Is What You Came For" and "I Don't Want To Live Forever" being rerecorded for Reputation (Taylor's Version). As for the Taylor Swift (Taylor's Version) vault, I think the most likely candidates are "Beautiful Eyes," "I Heart ?," "I'd Lie," "Crazier," and "You'll Always Find Your Way Back Home." Personally though, I'd love a rerecorded and officially released version of "Just South of Knowing Why," as it is my favorite unreleased song of Taylor's. In the end, it's up to the mastermind herself to give us the songs she wants to give and hold the ones she doesn't in the Vault forevermore.