Taylor Swift Laughs Through ‘Dating the Boy on the Football Team’ Line in ‘Fifteen,’ Debuts ‘The Prophecy’ Live in Lyon
Taylor Swift had a bit of a laugh with the crowd in Lyon, France, when she sang a lyric about how she’s destined to do “greater things” than date a football player, from her song “Fifteen.” The track was written when she was still a teen and originally released back in 2008.
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Swift played a piano mashup of the classic Fearless track with the more recent “You’re on Your Own, Kid,” from 2022’s Midnights, during the acoustic section of her concert Sunday night (June 2). This is the part of the show where Swift changes up the set list at each date.
On Sunday, when Swift reached the part of “Fifteen” where she looks back at her high school years from the perspective of someone who’s been through it, fans noticeably reacted to her choice to sing “in your life you’ll do things greater than dating the boy on the football team” right now — since the pop star has been in a high-profile relationship with NFL player Travis Kelce, tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs.
Swift took the reaction in stride with a quick grin and laugh on Sunday.
She found humor in the “boy on the football team” moment after the night’s surprise guitar performance, during which “The Prophecy” had its live debut. The song — found on The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology — is an emotionally heavy one that took an interesting turn with the perspective from Evermore‘s “Long Story Short,” with Swift swirling her writing together in a medley of the two works.
“Some nights like tonight I try out playing a song that I’ve never played live before,” the Tortured Poets singer-songwriter announced ahead of “The Prophecy.” (Swift holds steady at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart with Poets, so far spending six consecutive weeks in the top spot.)
“I looked to the sky and said, please/ I’ve been on my knees/ Change the prophecy/ Don’t want money/ Just someone who wants my company/ Let it once be me/ Who do I have to speak to/ About if they can redo/ The prophecy?” Swift sings in the chorus of “The Prophecy.”
In “Long Story Short,” she tells herself, “Past me, I wanna tell you not to get lost in these petty things/ Your nemeses will defeat themselves before you get the chance to swing/ And he’s passing by, rare as the glimmer of a comet in the sky/ And he feels like home/ If the shoe fits, walk in it everywhere you go.”
Watch clips of Sunday night’s surprise song performances below. Catch up with the complete list of songs played during the acoustic section of The Eras Tour here.
Ashley Iasimone
Billboard
