What does "Delicate" by Taylor Swift mean?

"Delicate" Lyrics Meaning 

"Delicate" maintains some of the new pop sounds that Taylor's been using throughout the Reputation album, but the lyrics truly seem more like old Taylor or even "Wildest Dreams"--a little sexual, a little edgy, but overall innocent and sweet, wanting something real from a new relationship. Of course, the relationship in "Wildest Dreams" was dying or dead, and the relationship in "Delicate" seems to be just beginning.  

"My reputation's never been worse, so / You must like me for me…" 

The central concept of "Delicate" is that a new relationship is tender and "delicate" because it's in its beginning stages. Taylor Swift doesn't give the media any attention in this song and instead focuses entirely on making sure that she's handling a new relationship the right way. She wants desperately to not offend her new love interest and to make sure that nothing she does scares him away or keeps her from being able to spend more time with him. 

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Pre-chorus 

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

In perhaps the best line of the entire song, Taylor reflects on how while others may think poorly of her, it at least means that this guy liking her can't be motivated by wanting to be with someone that everyone loves. If no one else wants to date her, that means this guy must be for real, right? It may not even be in his own "best" interest to date her. 

But he's doing it anyway, and Taylor already really likes him. She knows they can't "make / Any promises" because the relationship is so new, but her line "can we, babe?" suggests that she'd be open to it if he were. At the very least though, they can spend time together, so she suggests that he make her a drink.

Verse 1 

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

In the lyrics of the first verse of "Delicate," Taylor details a secret rendezvous with her secret love interest. They meet in a "dive bar on the east side" of town and gets secret calls from him "in the black" (or at night." They meet "in the back" of the bar far away from paparazzi and unwanted attention. He's even dressed casually to blend in, wearing "dark jeans and . . . Nikes." Even when he's so dressed down, she's struck by "that color blue" in his eyes and encourages him to "think of the fun things we could do." She's quite certain that she likes him. 

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?

In the chorus of "Delicate," Swift cuts straight to the heart of the theme for her song. She's highly concerned that her actions don't scare away her new love interest (who the Internet is convinced is likely Joe Alwyn, a British actor). In the pre-chorus, she had asked if it was true that they couldn't make promises yet and in the chorus, immediately wonders whether should have "said all that." She wonders if it's "chill that you're in my head"--has she gone too far by being obsessed with him? 

She explains her reason for her questions is that she knows "that [the relationship is] delicate," but she even wonders if she can push that line. At the end of the chorus, she asks again and again if the relationship really is that delicate after all? She desperately wants the ability to be able to push it forward and to be closer and closer to him.  

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

The second verse details another secret rendezvous this time in the "third floor on the west side." She calls him "Handsome . . . a mansion with a view." They're apparently having sex because she asks him if "the girls back home touch you like I do? / Long night, with your hands up in my hair." The mention of "echoes of your footsteps on the stairs" could be a reference to just being aware of his presence or to him leaving when they're done. The echoes particularly could be highlighting the fact that the sound of his feet are no longer there because he has left for now. In response to this, she asks him to "stay here" because she doesn't "wanna share" him with others.  

Bridge

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

Like in many pop songs, Taylor Swift uses the bridge of her song to look at things from a slightly different angle. For the first few lines, instead of continuing to focus on her own fear of being obsessive, she wonders what this guy thinks of her. She wonders if he's as obsessed with her as she is with him and whether he dreams about her. But she quickly goes back to her main theme and lets us know that sometimes she like to "pretend you're mine, all the damn time." 

Deeper Meaning of "Delicate" by Taylor Swift: Insecurity and Fear and Love and Old Taylor 

Doesn't this song sound like classic Taylor Swift lyrically? Or at least like a grown up version of old Taylor? In her old love songs, she'd focus on her own weaknesses--nervousness, shyness, fear, etc. And she'd often be rescued by heroic guys who would sweep her off her feet. But in many songs from Reputation, she embraces the media's portrayal of her as a man-killer who doesn't care and hops from man to man. 

It's almost as if "Delicate" is a look back into the real heart of Taylor Swift, her reminding us who she really is: a nervous, shy girl who wants to find true love. The lyrics of "Delicate" carefully (or "delicately" if you will) balance her desire to be with this guy but also to not overdo it in a way that would make him think she was coming on too strong. She wants it to go deeper and to be stronger, and she's frustrated she has to wait for it to grow naturally and organically. 

I think "Delicate" is a good sign that old Taylor is still (at least partially) with us and that she wants fans to know that whatever the media and haters say, she's going to keep being herself.