Meaning of “Delicate” by Taylor Swift

“Delicate” is a song by the renowned American singer and songwriter Taylor Swift. According to Swift herself, the lyrics of “Delicate” are about meeting someone who you truly love and want to be with but then you suddenly start worrying about the things you think that they’ve heard about you prior to meeting you.

Many fans have speculated that the person Swift is referring to is either Tom Hiddleston or Joe Alwyn, both of whom are English actors that Swift dated. Swift is currently still dating Alwyn.

Having said that, it is worth noting that in one of the multiple music videos of the song, Swift can be seen holding a necklace that has the alphabet “J” on it in reference to her current boyfriend Joe Alwyn. It could therefore mean the subject of the lyrics might just be none other than Alwyn.

Facts about “Delicate”

• “Delicate” was written by Swift and two other songwriters: the multiple Grammy Award winning Swedish songwriter and music producer Max Martin and another multiple Swedish Grammy Award recipient Johan Schuster (best known under the moniker Shellback). The pair went on to handle the song’s production.
• The song, which has a total length of 3 minutes and 52 seconds, was officially released on March 12, 2018. It is the sixth single from Swift’s sixth studio album Reputation. Having sold over 1.2 million copies in the United States, Reputation was the best-selling album of 2017 in the United States.
• Swift performed this song for the first time on May 8th, 2018 at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Arizona.
• The music video of the song, which was filmed in Los Angeles, was directed by renowned Korean born American music video director Joseph Kahn.
• On the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, the song climbed all the way to number 12. And on the U.K. Singles Chart, it made its way to number 43.
• The song has been nominated in the category of the Choice Pop Song award at the 2018 Teen Choice Awards.
• The song has two different music videos.
• Swift later recorded an acoustic version of “Delicate” which came out on April 13th, 2018.
• Swift performed this song live for the first time to an audience of over 59,000 on May 8, 2018 at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale.
• Since the song came out in March 2018 , a number of remixes have been released. One of such notable remixes features singer Ryan Tedder of OneRepublic fame.

What musical genre is “Delicate”?

It is an electropop song.

What key does Swift sing the song in?

She sings “Delicate” in C major.

What is the meaning of the music video of “Delicate”?

The music video has a very significant symbolic meaning. And the long and short of it is that it is about Swift deciding to be herself for the very first time in her life without worrying about what others think of her.