A SUBJECTIVE ANALYSIS OF "DELICATE" BY TAYLOR SWIFT

 A SUBJECTIVE ANALYSIS OF "DELICATE" BY TAYLOR SWIFT

A listener can only so much as percept into the artiste's mind like philosophers understand the mind of their maker, if at all they believe in one. Perhaps the most important factor to consider while reading this, is how subjectively subjective subjectivity is in itself. The subjectivity of music opens it up to criticisms and interpretations that otherwise should be non-existent (and yet beautiful). In essence, consider my evaluation/ analysis either with a grain of salt or like it's the gospel truth, like Taylor Swift would say "Take the words for what they are: A dwindling, mercurial high, A drug that only worked the first few hundred times".

Delicate by Taylor Swift evokes the imagery of a new, tender relationship where one is unsure of what is "too much" to show to a loving and yet unfamiliar partner.

In the pre-chorus she states:

"This ain't for the best

My reputation's never been worse, so

You must like me for me...

We can't make

Any promises now, can we, babe?

But you can make me a drink"

For a first listener, one might be forgiven for believing that she talks about a brief fling with an unassuming person she might never meet again. However, she sings about her reputation and the resulting consequences of her previous actions on her future relationshipsincluding the present one). In the last two lines of the pre-chorus, she does not expect commitment because of her reputation as someone who rarely keeps men. It is perhaps more fun, to consider that a listener would rather interpret it as a call for a "one night stand" giving the obvious reference to a bar and a drink. However with careful consideration, it can be seen that she masks are longing hopelessness for a real relationship with this new person under the guise of temporary pleasure.

In verse 2

"Dive bar on the east side, where you at?

Phone lights up my nightstand in the black Come here, you can meet me in the back Dark jeans and your Nikes, look at you Oh damn, never seen that color blue

Just think of the fun things we could do

'Cause I like you"

She elaborates more on her excitement by fantasizing about the potential adventures this could lead to. She thinks of the fun things she could do with this attractive partner that she likes. She causally compliments how well dressed he is, without giving too much up by affectionately describing what he is wearing and the excitement of calling him up, asking where he is and where they should meet. This passes over the listener's mental comprehension of the verse as it invokes perhaps unfamiliar terrains and "over-personal" use of words relative to Taylor and her partner rather than the potential listener.

The chorus is my favorite part of the song, with rhetorical questions portraying a sense of insecurity and fear of the unknown enveloping her new relationship

Chorus

"Is it cool that I said all that?

Is it chill that you're in my head?

'Cause I know that it's delicate (delicate)

Is it cool that I said all that?

Is it too soon to do this yet?

'Cause I know that it's delicate

Isn't it? Isn't it? Isn't it? Isn't it?

Isn't it? Isn't it? Isn't it?

Isn't it delicate?"

The chorus reminds me of George Orwell's quote In his book "1984" where he stated that

"perhaps one does not which to be loved so much as to be understood".

 It becomes apparent to the listener that She (Taylor) craves the understanding of her being, and questions if her partner finds it appropriate that she behaves in a certain way. The unending questions are her own way of mapping uncharted waters and finding out if it's okay to explore the dynamics of the relationship.

The chorus is the most relatable aspect of the song, the listener understands the emotions and feelings conveyed and appreciates the anxious expression of her thoughts masked in casually constructed words like "chill and cool".

She proceeds with the further exploration her child- like fantasy in verse 2

"Third floor on the west side, me and you Handsome, you're a mansion with a view Do the girls back home touch you like I do?

Long night, with your hands up in my hair Echoes of your footsteps on the stairs Stay here, honey, I don't wanna share

'Cause I like you"

This distinguishes itself from the first verse by portraying more descriptively her intentions and expectations. The subtle feeling of jealousy and possessiveness becomes apparent as she refuses to share her partner and asks if girls at home touches him like she does. This reflects a conventional practice of exclusiveness in everyday relationship which the listener not only relates to but understands deeply.

As is her trademark, Taylor Swift uses her bridge to set up a different point of view from that already established throughout the song,, in the bridge; she states:

"Sometimes I wonder when you sleep

Are you ever dreaming of me?

Sometimes when I look into your eyes I pretend you're mine, all the damn time

'Cause I like you"

This relatively seems to stray from the already progressive storyline and assents to the fact that her fantasies are nothing more than that...fantasies. He has no idea she likes him, and she pretends he is hers all the damn time. The theme of delusion comes to play in the bridge and exposes us to the fact that there isn't a relationship, just a longing for one. Everything, every "what if was all in her head and a fabrication of her thought, a by product of her imagination. She ends the bridge on a rather fine line, which is recurrent throughout the song "cause I like you". At least that was real, the feeling, the attraction; she might be delusional but her love for him isn't.

"Delicate" blurs the line between reality and fantasy and leaves the listener unable to separate the two...perhaps, the only things more delicate than the imaginary relationship was her mental state.