Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour Movie Re-Adding Cardigan On Disney+ Is More Important Than You Realize

The importance of Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour finally including “cardigan” in the Disney+ version is greater than it may seem. As of March 14, 2024, The Eras Tour concert movie has officially arrived to its new streaming home on Disney+. The movie is called Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour (Taylor’s Version) on Disney+ and includes four bonus acoustic songs in addition to “cardigan” from the folklore era. Despite being a permanent song on The Eras Tour set list, “cardigan” was one of the songs cut from Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour in theaters to shorten the movie’s runtime.

When The Eras Tour movie was made available to rent on demand on December 13, 2023 (Swift’s 34th birthday), three of the previously cut songs—”The Archer,” “Long Live,” and “Wildest Dreams”—were included at the end as bonus content. However, “cardigan” remained excluded from the concert movie until now, allowing (almost) the full Eras Tour set list to be shown in the concert movie. The inclusion of “cardigan” in The Eras Tour (Taylor’s Version) on Disney+ also has a deeper significance because of the song’s connection to two other tracks on folklore.

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“Cardigan” In The Eras Tour Movie Restores Folklore’s Full Love Triangle Story

Three songs from folklore offer different perspectives on the same fictional teenage love triangle

By including “cardigan” in The Eras Tour (Taylor’s Version) on Disney+, the concert movie finally has all three pieces of the folklore love triangle puzzle. The story told in the lyrics of “cardigan” is connected to fellow folklore songs “august” and “betty” through a shared narrative about a tumultuous love triangle between three fictional teenagers: Betty, James, and, according to Swift in Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions on Disney+, Augustine. Each song is written from the perspective of one of the teens as they make their respective feelings heard.

As track 2 on folklore, “cardigan” is the first of these three songs to appear on the album. “Cardigan” is told from Betty’s point-of-view in the future, long after James cheated on her with Augustine in high school before he came crawling back to her. Swift sings as Betty reflects on her past relationship with James, who made her feel special when she “felt like…an old cardigan under someone’s bed.”

“August” passes the mic to the “other woman” (or “girl,” in this case) whom Swift cleverly named Augustine. On “august,” Augustine reminisces about her summer romance with James, recalling how quickly the titular month “slipped away.” It’s clear from Augustine’s account that she had real feelings for James and was as much a victim of his careless ways as Betty. Through lyrical reprises, Augustine fixates on her visceral memories of their fleeting love affair, as she comes to terms with the fact that James was “never [hers].“

Finally, “betty” is James’ attempt at both explaining his side of the story and apologizing to Betty for hurting her. Through James’ eyes, Swift takes the listener through the full story on “betty,” from “where it all went wrong” during the school dance in the gym, to James showing up uninvited to Betty’s party to try and win her back. There are callbacks to “cardigan,” like the image of James standing on Betty’s doorstep to beg for forgiveness, and “august,” like Augustine telling James to “get in” her car serving as the catalyst of their fling.

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“Cardigan” Makes Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour Movie Even Better

Folklore’s lead single was sorely missed from the theatrical & VOD releases

Of all the songs excluded from the theatrical version of The Eras Tour movie, “cardigan” was the most baffling omission. It was even more confusing when the VOD version was announced and “cardigan” continued to be sidelined. Not only did “cardigan”‘s exclusion render the fictional folklore love triangle incomplete in The Eras Tour movie, but it also felt bizarre to leave out the lead single on folklore and the only song off the minimally-promoted surprise album with a music video.

“Cardigan” is also the closing song of the folklore era on The Eras Tour, making its absence in the theatrical and VOD releases extra noticeable for those familiar with the concert’s set list. Above all, Swift’s performance of “cardigan” on The Eras Tour is a major highlight not just in the folklore era, but in the show in general. Ultimately, “cardigan” finally getting its moment in Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour (Taylor’s Version) is a huge relief all around.

Source: Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions

Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour

Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour is a film rendition of the colossal worldwide event that sees the legendary pop star hit the stage in a specially curated film event. Performing the hits of her over seventeen-year career in music, The Eras Tour highlights Taylor Swift and her team as they put on a show of a lifetime.

Director

Sam Wrench

Release Date

October 13, 2023