Behind The Song: Delicate
In this era of a powerful, reclusive Taylor Swift, ‘Delicate’ is a welcome show of vulnerability and raw emotion
Taylor Swift.
It’s a name that has now reached monumental levels of fame, or rather, infamy. For every headline that praised Swift, there were nine more that tore her to pieces. From her notorious dating history to her high profile feuds, no part of Swift’s life has been untouched. With Reputation, however, Swift finally fights back. From Kim and Kanye to Tom Hiddlestone, Swift punishes all those that have wronged for years and years in the form of ultra-successful hits like Look What You Made Me Do. As she proudly declares, “Sorry, the Old Taylor can’t come to the phone. Why? ’Cause she’s dead!”, one begins to wonder whether the Taylor of yesteryears remained. With a new sound, a new outlook on love, and an armada of sharp, eloquent disses, loyal Swifties hoped long and hard for an inkling of the old Taylor. At long last, with Reputation’s sixth single, they found their inkling.
Delicate begins with a six-line acapella with Swift giving a warning to her partner about the consequences of dating her. This likely in response to Swift’s reputation, or lack thereof, when it came to dating. This is actually a six-line summary of the song. You see, while the rest of the tracklist reflects strong emotions of either love or hatred, Delicate was a more hesitant moment on the album. The song represents a time when Swift and the partner she is likely referring to, Joe Alwyn, weren’t together yet. Swift is unsure of the viability of this relationship owing to the negative perception Joe might’ve had about Swift. Swift’s reputation came crumbling down after Kim Kardashian released videos suggesting that Swift was aware of Kanye’s reference to her on his track Famous, which says, “I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex. Why? I made that b**** famous”. This is after Swift publicly denounced the song and said it had a ‘strong misogynistic message’. This, along with her whirlwind romance and subsequent break up with Tom Hiddleston left Swift with a scarred public image and a tanked reputation. With the press and the public having labeled her a snake and a liar, Swift was unsure if any man would be able to objectively look at her for who she really was. The courtship between the two of them is, as the song says, delicate and fragile.
After the intro, in which Swift sings through a vocoder, we get a three-second break before the instrumentation begins. With a soft yet noticeable beat that accompanies Swift through the track, the mid-tempo tune is a mosaic of Swift’s impressions of Alwyn along with her insecurities about his perception of her. You see, Swift has made it evident on the rest of the album that she doesn’t care about her reputation anymore. On End Game, she mocks the situation, saying, “You and I, we got a big reputation”, and on Look What You Made Me Do, Swift lets loose completely, directly attacking both the press and the Wests. However, all these songs take place after she started dating Joe. Delicate, however, is before this happened. Swift actually cares about her reputation. She is concerned about the impression she leaves on others, especially on her lover. It’s almost like a crush. In the chorus, Swift asks a flurry of questions like, “Is it cool that I said all that?” and repeatedly asking, “Isn’t it?”. These all showcase Swift’s anxiety when interacting with her crush. She is conscious of every move and every word she says, questioning whether it’ll negatively impact whatever little integrity she has left in her crush’s mind.
Musically, the song never really emulates the same ferocity and crescendos of its sister tracks Look What You Made Me Do and End Game, nor does it slow down like New Year’s Day or Call It What You Want. Instead, the track stays at this moderate tempo, lying in between the fast and the slow. This reflects the lyrical content, where Swift’s hesitation renders her unable to decide if the relationship would go strong or whether it would disintegrate.
In the bridge, Swift wonders if her crush shares her feelings. If you like someone, they will likely be the center of your thoughts, day and night. Swift also indulges in a little daydreaming, saying, “ Sometimes when I look into your eyes, I pretend you’re mine, all the damn time. ’Cause I like you”. These all hint at a more innocent, rawer side to Swift. This isn’t the same Swift that sang LWYMMD. Instead, this might just be the same Swift that sang You Belong With Me, had that Swift also been humiliated.
Delicate is undoubtedly one of Reputation’s most valuable tracks. I would go so far as to say that it might be the best track on the album. It’s quite a shame that it didn’t receive a Grammy nomination.
In regards to Swift’s personal life, her relationship is now highly private, contrasting her former, more public approach. It seems that Swift is taking a new approach to romance. As of December 2018, they are still together, so I would say it’s working. I wish her the very best, and here’s to more such work from her in the future.
“’Cause I know that it’s delicate. Isn’t it delicate?”
