Taylor Swift Reveals That ‘Delicate’ Is About Vulnerable Time In Her Life As Song Reaches Number 1

Taylor Swift’s “Delicate” has climbed to the No. 1 spot on pop radio and she’s thanking her fans for it. The singer posted a selfie on Instagram Saturday with a heartwarming message of gratitude to her followers for the accomplishment. The caption also reveals that the song is about a “vulnerable” time in Swift’s life.

“Delicate is a song that was written about such a vulnerable time in my life and I can’t express to you how grateful I am that it’s gone #1,” she wrote. “You guys astonish me with your support. Guess you could say I’m feeling PRETTY DELICATE about the whole thing I LOVE YOU SO MUCH.”

According to Headline News, now that “Delicate” is No. 1 on pop radio, it’s the first track from Reputation to achieve that feat in multiple formats. “Look What You Made Me Do,” the first single from the album, also reached the peak of the pop chart. But it did not replicate that success on other charts.

While Swift did not divulge any further details about the vulnerable episode in her life that inspired the song, NME noted that the music video holds some clues to the meaning behind the lyrics.

In the video, Swift becomes invisible and starts dancing. No one notices and she’s free to move any way that she wants to. Fans have speculated that this is her way of saying that she’s trying to live life on her own terms away from the bright lights of being a celebrity, NME reports.

Swift’s supporters also noticed a few Easter eggs in the video. At one point we see “Track 5” written on a wall. “Delicate” is the fifth track on the Reputation album. There’s more graffiti on the walls which quote lyrics from the song.

In the song’s chorus, Swift sings these lines.

“This ain’t for the best
My reputation’s never been worse, so
You must like me for me”

This sounds like a clear reference to some pretty public feuds that she’s had in the past. Her professional reputation took a hit before the release of the album after a public spat with Kanye West and Kim Kardashian. Swift had previously claimed that she was against lyrics of a Kanye’s song in which he bragged that he’d made her famous. But Kardashian later released a recording of a conversation between West and Swift where the “Blank Space” singer gives the song positive feedback. Kim’s recording unleashed a wave of Snake emojis on Taylor’s social media pages.

She subsequently embraced the negative publicity and included snake imagery into her marketing for Reputation. Her fans seem unfazed by the entire debacle, though, given her current success on pop radio.