Ahead of her bicoastal, star-studded music festival Lover Fest, Taylor Swift is performing her new romantic album for far smaller crowds. On Friday, Swift appeared on NPR’s Tiny Desk concert series with just a guitar and piano for an intimate experience that included the resurrection of an old song that's gained cult status among Swifties: "All Too Well."
At her concert, Swift performed acoustic versions of “Lover," “The Man,” and “Death By a Thousand Cuts” off her seventh album. Much to the delight of longtime Swifties, she also performed “All Too Well,” one of her most beloved songs, off 2012’s Red. Though never a single, some (read: me) consider it the quintessential Swift track.
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"There's one song that I'm particularly proud of because when the Red album came out, there was this one song on the album that I was like, 'I'm the only one who loves this song this much,'" she explained ahead of the performance. "And then when it came out on that album, slowly but surely over the course of that album's life and then beyond, you guys have made that song something that was way more than I thought the life of that song would be."
NPR’s Tiny Desk video series features artists performing in a literal cubicle. It all started in 2008 at the desk of All Songs Considered host Bob Boilen in the NPR office in Washington, D.C. Since then, more than 800 stars have graced Boilen’s desk, finding creative ways to make use of the teeny space. One recent performer includes Lizzo, who took her songs “‘Cuz I Love You,” “Truth Hurts,” and “Juice” to the office. Tiny desk concerts are such a big deal that, in 2014, T-Pain agreed to perform songs there without the use of autotune.
When Swift’s full concert hit the internet on Wednesday morning, the surprise appearance of "All Too Well" — which Swift introduced as a "sad song about fall" — delighted fans.
Dear @taylorswift13, thank you for reminding me that "All Too Well" is still my all time favourite song.
— 9tailedavatar (@9tailedavatar) October 16, 2019
Not to be dramatic but every time Taylor starts describing All Too Well I know she’s about to say it’s All Too Well and yet as soon as she says ‘and that’s why the song All Too Well’ I start sobbing like a baby as if I had no clue it was gonna be All Too Well
— Soph 💕 THAT’S MY TOE (@Swifts_Bitch) October 16, 2019
so taylor swift is really just going to play all too well at her tiny desk concert and expect me to be ok? no
— Courtney (@courtuhneeey) October 16, 2019
ALL TOO WELL WILL NEVER GET OLD. WE WONT LET IT, AND TAYLOR CERTAINTLY WONT LET IT
— elisse (@ionlyliketaylor) October 16, 2019
Now fall can really begin. Watch the full performance below.