"Invisible String" is a song by the American singer-songwriter

Taylor Swift Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Her discography spans multiple genres, and her vivid songwriting—often inspired by her personal life—has received critical praise and wide media coverage. Bor ...

from her eighth studio album, ''

Folklore Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, ranging ...

'' (2020). She wrote the song with its producer,

Aaron Dessner Aaron Brooking Dessner (born April 23, 1976) is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known as a founding member of the rock band the National, with whom he has recorded eight studio albums; a co-founder of the indie ...

. The lyrics are about how fate brings two soulmates together and refer to specific moments from their lives, containing references to the literature classics ''

Jane Eyre ''Jane Eyre'' ( ; originally published as ''Jane Eyre: An Autobiography'') is a novel by the English writer Charlotte Brontë. It was published under her pen name "Currer Bell" on 19 October 1847 by Smith, Elder & Co. of London. The first ...

'' and ''

The Sun Also Rises ''The Sun Also Rises'' is a 1926 novel by American writer Ernest Hemingway, his first, that portrays American and British expatriates who travel from Paris to the Festival of San Fermín in Pamplona to watch the running of the bulls and the bu ...

''. Musically, "Invisible String" is a

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fol ...

tune with elements of

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

, pop, and

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...

. Its spare acoustic arrangement is driven by acoustic guitar

strums In music, strumming is a way of playing a stringed instrument such as a guitar, ukulele, or mandolin. A strum or stroke is a sweeping action where a finger or plectrum brushes over several strings to generate sound. On most stringed instrument ...

on a rubber bridge and vocal backbeats. Music critics lauded "Invisible String" for showcasing what they deemed a masterful songcraft with endearing sound and lyrics; some picked it as an album highlight.

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

named it one of the best songs of 2020. Commercially, "Invisible String" peaked at number 36 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and on charts of Australia, Canada, Portugal, Singapore, and the United Kingdom, where it received a silver

certification Certification is the provision by an independent body of written assurance (a certificate) that the product, service or system in question meets specific requirements. It is the formal attestation or confirmation of certain characteristics of a ...

. Swift performed "Invisible String" on the first four shows of her sixth headlining concert tour,

the Eras Tour The Eras Tour (stylized as Taylor Swift The Eras Tour) is the upcoming sixth headlining concert tour by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. Having not toured for her studio albums '' Lover'' (2019), ''Folklore'' (2020), and '' Evermore'' ...

, in 2023.

Background and release

The American singer-songwriter

conceived her eighth studio album, ''

'', while quarantining amidst the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, with producers

Jack Antonoff Jack Michael Antonoff (born March 31, 1984) is an American singer, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and record producer. Antonoff is the lead singer of rock band Bleachers, and is the guitarist and drummer in the pop rock band Fun. He was p ...

and

of the National. Swift developed songs from figments of mythopoeic visuals in her mind, a result of her imagination "running wild" while isolating herself. In a premise for ''Folklore'' that Swift posted on her social media, one such imagery was of "a single thread that, for better or for worse, ties you to your fate".

Republic Records Republic Records is a New York City–based American record label owned by Universal Music Group (UMG). It was founded by Avery Lipman and Monte Lipman as an independent label in 1995, and was acquired by UMG in 2000. Republic was initially an ...

released ''Folklore'' on July 24, 2020, with no prior promotion; "Invisible String" is number 11 on the standard track listing. "Invisible String" charted in Australia (19), Singapore (19), Canada (29), and Portugal (134). In the United States, the track peaked at number 37 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and number 12 on the ''Rolling Stone'' Top 100. In the United Kingdom, it peaked at number 43 on the OCC's Audio Streaming Chart and received a silver

from the British Phonographic Industry (BPI). In March 2023, Swift performed "Invisible String" as the opening song for the ''Folklore'' act at the first four concerts of her sixth headlining tour,

. Starting from the March 31, 2023, show in

Arlington, Texas Arlington is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, located in Tarrant County. It forms part of the Mid-Cities region of the Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington metropolitan statistical area, and is a principal city of the metropolis and region. ...

, she replaced it with "

The 1 "The 1" (stylized in Letter case#All lowercase, all lowercase) is a song by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift from her eighth studio album, ''Folklore (Taylor Swift album), Folklore'' (2020). Republic Records released the song for Music ...

". In May 2023, in celebration of the Eras Tour's

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...

shows, Mayor John Cooper issued a proclamation recognizing "Taylor Swift homecoming" as Nashville was the city where Swift started her music career. The city installed a bench at Centennial Park with a plaque reading, "For Taylor Swift. A bench for you to read on at Centennial Park. Welcome home, Nashville;" it is a nod to the song's lyrics referencing the said park.

Production

Swift wrote "Invisible String" with Dessner, who produced the song. Dessner composed "Invisible String" using finger-picked

created by putting a rubber bridge on a guitar. He said that the rubber bridge "deadens the strings so that it sounds old" that created his vision of a

song at its core. Dessner added a beat that resulted in what he called a "sneaky pop song"; Annie Zaleski from '' The A.V. Club'' characterized "Invisible String" as a folk song with "heart thump-steady vocal backbeats", while ''musicOMH'''s Chloe Johnson dubbed it a "chaotic clash" of folk, pop, and

, with a song structure rooted in country music. Several critics commented that the arrangement was spare but melodious and left room for Swift's conversational sing-speaking style.

Jon Caramanica Jon Caramanica (born 1975) is an American journalist and pop music critic who writes for ''The New York Times''. He is also known for writing about hip hop music. Biography Born in Brooklyn, New York (state), New York, Caramanica received his ba ...

of '' The New York Times'' found the production "airy and earthy". Recorded at Dessner's Long Pond Studio in the Hudson Valley and

La Gaîté Lyrique La Gaîté Lyrique () is a digital arts and modern music centre opened by the City of Paris in December 2010, located at 3-5 rue Papin in the 3rd arrondissement of Paris, 3rd arrondissement.mixed by Jonathan Low. According to ''Folklore'''s liner notes, Dessner played acoustic guitar, bass, electric guitar,

Mellotron The Mellotron is an electro-mechanical musical instrument developed in Birmingham, England, in 1963. It is played by pressing its keys, each of which pushes a length of magnetic tape against a capstan, which pulls it across a playback head. A ...

, percussion, piano, and

synthesizer A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...

, and he programmed the

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

with James McAlister. Dessner's brother Bryce was the

orchestrator Orchestration is the study or practice of writing music for an orchestra (or, more loosely, for any musical ensemble, such as a concert band) or of adapting music composed for another medium for an orchestra. Also called "instrumentation", orch ...

for cello (played by Clarice Jensen), viola and violin (Yuki Numata Resnick).

Lyrics

Centennial Park and Parthenon Nashville TN 2013-12-28 008

Although many ''Folklore'' songs explore fictitious narratives and characters, "Invisible String" employs autobiographical songwriting that alludes to Swift's personal life; some critics pointed out probable references to her romance with the English actor Joe Alwyn. In the lyrics, Swift's character describes how fate brings her to her soulmate after they each spent their separate lives throughout the years. Some critics considered "Invisible String" one of a few straightforward love songs on ''Folklore''. Callie Ahlgrim from ''Insider'' thought that the title alluded to the East Asian mythology of the Red Thread of Fate. The first

verse Verse may refer to: Poetry * Verse, an occasional synonym for poetry * Verse, a metrical structure, a stanza * Blank verse, a type of poetry having regular meter but no rhyme * Free verse, a type of poetry written without the use of strict me ...

recalls their lives before they met; the female narrator was a girl who used to read at Nashville's Centennial Park and dreamt of a romance there ("Green was the color of the grass where I used to read at Centennial Park"), and the male partner once wore a teal shirt and worked at a yoghurt shop as a young man. The second verse details how the two's lives intertwined without them knowing; Swift also alludes to her song " Bad Blood" and her publicized dispute with the singer

Katy Perry Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson (born October 25, 1984), known professionally as Katy Perry, is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality. Known for her influence on modern pop music and her Camp (style), campy style, she has been ...

: "Bad was the blood of the song in the cab/ On your first trip to LA/ You ate at my favorite spot for dinner." The next lines mention her trip to the

Lake District The Lake District, also known as the Lakes or Lakeland, is a mountainous region in North West England. A popular holiday destination, it is famous for its lakes, forests, and mountains (or ''fells''), and its associations with William Wordswor ...

in England ("Bold was the waitress on our three-year trip/ Getting lunch down by the Lakes/ She said I looked like an American singer"), a detail that is also on the ''Folklore'' bonus track " The Lakes". The final verse references Swift's reputation and past relationships: "Cold was the steel of my ax to grind/ For the boys who broke my heart/ Now I send their babies presents." The

chorus Chorus may refer to: Music * Chorus (song) or refrain, line or lines that are repeated in music or in verse * Chorus effect, the perception of similar sounds from multiple sources as a single, richer sound * Chorus form, song in which all verse ...

uses "invisible string" as a metaphor for love guided by happenstance: "And isn't it just so pretty to think/ All along there was some invisible string/ Tying you to me." The English literary professor

Jonathan Bate Sir Andrew Jonathan Bate, CBE, FBA, FRSL (born 26 June 1958), is a British academic, biographer, critic, broadcaster, poet, playwright, novelist and scholar. He specialises in Shakespeare, Romanticism and Ecocriticism. He is Foundation Profes ...

said these lyrics referenced two literature classics: ''

'' (1926) by Ernest Hemingway ("Isn’t it pretty to think so?") and ''

'' (1847) by Charlotte Brontë ("it is as if I had a string somewhere under my left ribs, tightly and inextricably knotted to a similar string situated in the corresponding quarter of your little frame"). Swift elaborates on this "invisible string" in the bridge, "A string that pulled me/ Out of all the wrong arms, right into that dive bar", referencing the "dive bar" mentioned in her 2018 single " Delicate".

Critical reception

Music critics acclaimed the lyrics and theme of "Invisible String". Chris Willman of '' Variety'' commented that its theme added a "sweetness" to ''Folklore'', whose other tracks mostly explored the dark and bittersweet feelings from unfulfilled romance. Caramanica said it was the only "truly hopeful-sounding song" on the album and contained some of Swift's most vivid lyrics. According to the '' New Statesman'''s critic Anna Leszkiewicz, "Invisible String" showcased a more intimate theme than other album tracks and was ''Folklore'''s "romantic high-point". In ''

Slant Magazine ''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New York ...

'', Jonathan Keefe lauded how the track employed "protracted metaphors" to convey Swift's "new peak in her command of language". Katie Moulton, writing for '' Consequence of Sound'', picked "Invisible String" as an album essential and complimented that it demonstrated Swift's mature perspective with "piercing" lyricism. Jason Lipshutz of ''Billboard'' regarded it as the best ''Folklore'' track because it contained the "sumptuous intricacies" of Swift's songwriting and delivered an "emotional knockout" that had the potential to endure "within and outside" Swift's discography. The song's production received similarly positive comments. Caramanica and Leszkiewicz found it to be restrained and nuanced, and Keefe lauded it as a masterful construct of song structure. '' PopMatters'''s Michael Sumsion described the guitar as "sky-bound plinking" that "bursts into an acoustic charge of pastoral loveliness". '' Pitchfork'''s Julian Mapes praised "Invisible String" as one of the "loveliest" songs on ''Folklore'' for its "delightfully plucky" instrumentals. Zaleski was impressed by Dessner's "ornate" arrangement that created a "sonic intimacy" highlighting Swift's vocals. In a similar vein, Lyndsey McKenna from NPR said Swift's vocals and the instrumentals, which resembled the music of the Nationals, were a "natural marriage". Lipshutz described Dessner's guitar and beats as "unfussy" that complemented the lyrics. Mikael Wood of the '' Los Angeles Times'' placed the song second on his ranking of all ''Folklore'' tracks; he deemed its lyricism "very cleverly phrased" and Swift's vocals "whimsical and luscious". The editorial staff of ''Billboard'' collectively ranked "Invisible String" fourth in a 2022 list of Swift's select 100 tracks. The editor Becky Kaminsky wrote that the track showcased Swift's contentment in her personal life after the "trials and tribulations" of stardom, which was emotionally resonant for her audiences, both "those who have found their special someone" and "those still searching". Hannah Mylrea of '' NME'' placed the song at number 31 on a ranking of Swift's discography. NPR placed "Invisible String" at number 22 on their ranking of 100 best songs of 2020, for "all the beautiful detail, all the muscular melody and immaculately placed acoustic production details".

Credits and personnel

Credits are adapted from the liner notes of ''Folklore''. *

– vocals, songwriter *

– producer, songwriter, recording engineer, acoustic guitar, bass, drum programming,

, electric guitar, percussion, piano, synthesizer * Yuki Numata Resnick – viola, violin * Clarice Jensen – cello * James McAllister – drum programming * Jonathan Low – mixing, recording engineer * Randy Merrill – mastering engineer * Kyle Resnick – engineer

Charts

Certifications

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Invisible String 2020 songs Taylor Swift songs Songs written by Taylor Swift Songs written by Aaron Dessner Song recordings produced by Aaron Dessner American folk songs