Global Pop superstar Taylor Swift, and favorite artist of yours truly, is notorious for picking the wrong singles for her albums, as well as scrapping some of her best songs for seemingly no apparent reason. This time around, the leaks are almost saddening to know they never found a home on Swift’s 2019 release “Lover.” No one is quite sure how these leaks came out of the vault, as they are just demos of the songs, but the internet reaction has been insane. I will be going over just a handful of the leaks, starting with my personal favorite thus far: “All of the Girls.” 

This song is just wow. Swift put her heart and soul into this track and it almost makes me devastated to know that we got “Mee hee hee who who who who” instead of this pop anthem. This song is a MASTERPIECE! I just know it would have been a chart topper. The song’s lyrics are about how Swift’s new man has been made perfect for her by his ex-lovers. The chorus goes:

“All of the girls you’ve loved before,

Made you the one I’ve fallen for.

Every dead end street led you straight to me,

Now you’re all I need.

I’m so thankful for all of the girls you’ve loved before,

And I love you more.”

I am literally in awe of the lyricism and the power behind Swift’s vocals in this song, especially in the final chorus. It is some of her best work I have ever heard. Even my father, who has been made an avid Swiftie over the years, said that it was “probably her best song that he’s ever heard.” There just aren’t enough words to describe how amazing this song is. I wish I could put it here for you guys to listen to, but it would definitely break some copyright laws. To listen to any of these, your best bet is to go to TikTok and look up the titles. Now it is time for our next leak: “Need.”

This one sounds a little bit more like a basic “Lover” track, but I mean that in the best way possible. Every element of what makes the good songs standout from the average ones on that album are present in “Need.” This song is about how a love with a person has become a need for Swift, something that she can’t be without any longer. The rhyme schemes are, once again, some of Swift’s best. Instead of the chorus, here is the bridge of this one:

“Baby it’s always our new kiss,

Every time we do this. 

The truth is 

It’s essential to me 

That you love me more than

Wishing, longing, oh

It’s a need.”

Those were the only two “Lover” leaks that are still openly available to listen to, so our next song is one that never made it onto Swift’s junior album “Speak Now.”

It’s called “Drama Queen,” and it features some of the best storytelling for which Swift’s earlier catalog was so heavily praised. The song is about a guy Taylor can tell is into her, but he chooses to stay with his “Drama Queen” instead of getting with her. For the lyrics this time, I am choosing the bridge into the final chorus to better showcase Swift’s storytelling ability. Here it is:

“Sometimes you get just what you see,

Like you chose her when you couldn’t have me.

Everything’s a mess now 

Watch your little meltdown

Wish you for success and

I hope you’re happy.

‘Cause you’re a heartbreaker and she’s a little drama queen

I’m a little over it, and she’s still not me. 

So long, back to reality,

But this song’s for you and your drama queen.”

This song is so good. I love me some old Taylor because she was unhinged and the songs were just a different breed. If you asked me if I liked country, I would tell you, “There is only one country artist I like: Taylor Swift.” This song is a perfect reminder of why Swift became so popular so fast. There is no one doing it like her. 

Finally, we have our last leak I will be talking about. I am sure many of you are familiar with Rihanna and Calvin Harris’ 2016 hit “This Is What You Came For.” What many people fail to realize is that one of the writers of this song is the one and only Taylor Swift. Originally credited under the pseudonym Nils Sjöberg, it became widely-known that Swift was responsible for the top 3 hit on the Hot 100 chart. Her original demo of the song features raw vocals that, in my opinion, are neck and neck with Rihanna’s final version of the song. On the chorus of the song, Swift’s vocals can still be heard on the hook: “But she’s looking at you.” Taylor’s live performance of the song can be viewed below. 

After listening to these leaks and demos, I am blown away, and honestly a little perplexed, as to why these songs were left off of their respective albums. In the documentary “Miss Americana,” Swift explained that her team only wanted between 16-20 songs on “Lover.” That knowledge only makes me more sad because the final version of the album only has 18 songs. That means there was *technically* room for “All of the Girls” and “Need!!!” I am hopeful that Swift, although it is way out of character for her, will release these songs as promo singles during her upcoming tour “The Eras Tour” that starts on March 18. If that doesn’t happen, I can keep on praying that she will perform “All of the Girls” at the show I got tickets to (yeah I am cool like that) on June 24. Either way, seeing my favorite artist of all time live has been on my bucket list for as long as I can remember. I guess you can say it was a “Need” (hehe).