A Taylor Swift fan’s attempt to listen to one of the vinyl records she purchased upon the release of Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) turned into a much different experience—and the revelation of a bigger issue—when Swift’s latest album didn’t play as it should.
For Rachel Hunter, who posts at @mischief_marauder on TikTok, her experience listening to the Orchid edition of Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) on vinyl did not go as planned. She purchased the records directly from Swift’s U.K. shop, but because she had been on vacation, she didn’t get the chance to listen to them until this week.
“Does anyone else’s Speak Now vinyl not have Taylor Swift on it?” she asked in a video that’s been viewed over 4 million times to date. “Because I just played mine for the first time.”
Hunter put the record on for the video, and instead of Swift’s voice and lyrics, someone speaking about “the flakes of flesh and dancing organisms” played instead. On the other side of the record, a male voice spoke of “70 billion people of Earth.”
@mischief_marauder send help I got speak now (not Taylors version) this is so funny #speaknowtaylorsversion @Taylor Swift @Taylor Nation #erastour #speaknoworchid ♬ original sound – Rachel ✨
“Speak Now (Not Taylor’s Version),” she added.
While she laughs in the video, she’s also unsure about what’s going on, asking, “What is this?” as the record plays.
Some joked that the wrong songs playing on Hunter’s record were by design by Swift.
“Ok Taylor the Easter eggs are getting out of hand,” one person wrote.
In a follow-up video, Hunter revealed that both sides of her vinyl album featured the same song, which is called “Happy Land.” She sped up the song and scratched it on camera to prove that her not-Speak Now record was real.
@mischief_marauder Replying to @x_mimi_x_mimi_x speak now (not a version) part 2 featuring happy land 😂✨ #speaknowtaylorsversion #erastour ♬ original sound – Rachel ✨
The other two vinyls played songs from the Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) set that Hunter purchased played without issues or mixups.
Swifties in the comments section of Hunter’s TikToks started tracking down the lyrics that played on Hunter’s vinyl record as if they were Taylor Swift’s trademark Easter eggs, and they quickly figured it out. Nobody was sending a secret message. Rather, several songs from the compilation record Happy Land (A Compendium of Music from the British Isles 1992-1996) ended up on a Taylor Swift record, including Ultramarine’s “Happy Land” and Cabaret Voltaire’s “Soul Vine (70 Billion People).”
“I hope the surprise songs are 70 Billion People and Happyland x,” one person commented on a video about Hunter getting tickets to the Eras Tour. Others urged her to keep the album because of the possibility that it might be worth something one day.
Above Board Distribution, which made Happy Land, attributed the mix-up to a “pressing blunder.”
“Due to a pressing blunder, some Taylor Swift fans received a misprinted copy of ‘Speak Now (Taylor’s Version),’ which we have learned features audio of ‘Happy Land (A Compendium of Music from the British Isles 1992-1996),’” Dan Hill, Above Board Distribution’s founder and managing director, told NBC News in a statement. “While this error was beyond our control, we sincerely hope anyone who received what is Not Taylor’s Version of the vinyl enjoys the beats. It might very well end up being a collector’s item!”
We’ve contacted Universal Music Group, which distributed Speak Now (Taylor’s Version), for comment.
Hunter, who posted about attending an upcoming Swift show, even made several friendship bracelets featuring lyrics from her album and quotes from her viral TikTok to trade with fellow Swifties.
