Rap Fans REACT To Taylor Swift & Bon Iver "EXILE" | Journey To The Eras Tour PT15
Taylor Swift's "Exile" has become one of the defining songs from Folklore, and after hearing it for the first time...we completely understand why.
Welcome back to Journey to the Eras Tour, our series where Corrina takes Rick and Robert through Taylor Swift's catalog as they prepare for their first experience with the Eras Tour. This week, we're diving into one of Taylor's most emotionally devastating collaborations: exile (feat. Bon Iver).
But before we get there...
Things immediately go off the rails as we react to Taylor Swift's legendary LASIK "My Mind Is Alive" video from Jimmy Fallon. Between banana meltdowns, pain medication, and Taylor proving once again that she's one of the most unintentionally hilarious people on the planet, it's the perfect way to kick off another episode.
Then we somehow spend way too much time trying to figure out how to pronounce Bon Iver...and naturally create an entire fake backstory where he's a mysterious French folk singer. (Longtime viewers know this is completely on-brand for us. Around here it's still "Ed Sheriden," Aaron "Dressner," and now apparently Bon Iver is French.)
Once we finally press play, this song completely changes the mood.
We talk about:
🎵 Bon Iver's haunting opening verse
🎵 Taylor's incredible lower vocal register
🎵 Feeling emotionally "in exile" while still inside a relationship
🎵 Why both perspectives initially seem disconnected
🎵 How the lyrics slowly reveal two people having completely different conversations
🎵 The emotional weight behind every line
🎵 The breathtaking bridge that completely transforms the song
🎵 Why such a stripped-back arrangement ends up feeling so incredibly powerful
One of the biggest conversations we have is about Taylor's songwriting. If Folklore really is built around fictional stories and imagined characters, it's remarkable how authentic and painfully real songs like exile still feel. Every line sounds lived in, making the emotional payoff hit even harder.
This episode ended up becoming one of our favorite discussions from the Folklore era so far, and we can't wait to hear what all of you think about this masterpiece.
💬 We'd love to hear from you:
• Which perspective do you relate to more in exile?
• What is your favorite lyric from the song?
• Is this the strongest bridge on Folklore?
• Where does exile rank among Taylor's greatest collaborations?
Thanks so much for continuing this Journey to the Eras Tour with us!
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🔥 COMING UP NEXT
🎸 Fleetwood Friday
Robert continues A Tour of Fleetwood Mac with his first reaction to Silver Springs (Live at The Dance, 1997).
🎤 Sunday
Katie continues her Kendrick Lamar journey with Wacced Out Murals, diving into the lyrics, storytelling, and everything happening beneath the surface.
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• Like the video
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• Join the conversation in the comments!
#TaylorSwift #Exile #Folklore #BonIver #TaylorSwiftReaction #FolkloreReaction #Swiftie #JourneyToTheErasTour #MusicReaction #FirstTimeReaction #HazedReactions
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CHAPTERS:
CARTOONS & CEREAL - 0:00
HEY SWIFTIES - 02:30
MY MIND IS ALIVE - 04:50
LASIK LOVER - 10:05
BON IVER - 11:55
A CRUMB OF CONTEXT - 15:45
TAKE IT AWAY JUSTIN - 18:15
A HAUNTING LONELINESS - 19:25
TAKE IT AWAY TAY - 22:30
LYRICAL STORYTELLING - 23:45
EXILE VS DISCONNECT - 27:20
QUIET FOR THE BRIDGE - 29:40
THIS FEELS SO REAL - 33:00
THE MOST VITAL PART - 34:50
CLOSING DISCUSSIONS - 37:30
SILVER SPRINGS LIVE - 45:00
Comments (19)
the bon iver bit took me out. i appreciate the confidence hahhaaahhahhaha
The joy when you said Jimmy Fallon and I knew it was banana goggles LOL
I saw a music producer react to the Long Pond version. And he said you can tell they are both live and performing it together just in different locations. I guess there are adjustments by both singers that can only be done so seamlessly and raw in the moment.
There were only 2 MVs, 1 for folklore and 1 for evermore
Like someone said below Bon Iver is pronounced like the French that you said first. Taylor actually says “we’re huge Bon Iver fans” when talking about the song during long pond. Only reason I knew the pronunciation.
The Long Pond version of this song is ELITE. I don’t listen to the album one anymore. They both sound amazing. CRISP.
I know it’s not on the tour but would love to have them react to Evermore her other collab with him.
Consigning that frosted mini wheats are fire! And also co-signing the fact that raisin brand shouldn’t exist and have never actually met anyone who likes them. Shit nasty
I’ve avoided Patreon up until now. But you guys have enough charisma to bring me here. Can I be your friend? I feel like we could vibe.
Here is the live performance at Bon Iver's concert https://youtu.be/Pa1NdpV6z_o?si=wfADx7iVQpeC_dnJ
Exile was nominated for a Grammy but lost. Taylor did sing it live with Justin at his concert in England.
This is the only time they played it live together https://youtu.be/jF9TjNpeH6U?si=e-c2WdeAC8RXlps5
Fun and great breakdown, like always. When I hear the line, "I'm leaving out the side door." I always had pictured her leaving out the side door of a movie theater -- because, she's seen this film before and didn't like the ending.
Taylor showed up at a Bon Iver concert in London in 2022 and performed Exile. Also, Arron Dessner is part of Bon Iver. I would assume that the majority of the song was written by Taylor after hearing the first verse. Justin also wrote part of the bridge. https://youtu.be/jF9TjNpeH6U?si=3qIyv5O5rOeEZECz
Wow yea I didn’t know Aaron was part of it but that makes sense! So cool, I definitely should have done more research on him before this song, I just didn’t think about it until we were already recording 😅 appreciate you all adding so much extra context 🫶🏼♥️
They actually have performed this live together in London on Bon Iver's tour. It was sooo good.
👀😱 is there video of this magic?! I must see it if so!! Wow I bet it was amazing!
You pronounced Bon Iver correctly the first time, its supposed to sound like the French phrase "bon hiver" which means "good winter."
😅🤣😂 at this point I’m just accepting what a mess we are when it comes to names lololol we gotta start using that Google voice thing more I guess 😂🫶🏼