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{{short description|2020 song by Taylor Swift}}
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"'''Invisible String'''"
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 Music|NPR]] named it one of the best songs of 2020. Commercially, "Invisible String" peaked at number 36 on the US [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]] and on charts of Australia, Canada, Portugal, Singapore, and the United Kingdom, where it received a silver [[Music recording certification|certification]]. Swift performed "Invisible String" on the first four shows of her sixth headlining concert tour, [[the Eras Tour]], in 2023, and as a surprise song in a [[mashup (music)|mashup]] with “Superstar” from [[Fearless (Taylor Swift album)|Fearless]] on the first [[Gelsenkirchen]] show.<ref name=":3">{{cite magazine |last1=Iasimone |first1=Ashley |last2=Dailey |first2=Hannah |date=November 29, 2024 |title=All the Surprise Songs Taylor Swift Has Performed on The Eras Tour (So Far) |url=https://www.billboard.com/lists/taylor-swift-eras-tour-surprise-songs |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241117054204/https://www.billboard.com/lists/taylor-swift-eras-tour-surprise-songs/ |archive-date=November 17, 2024 |access-date=November 29, 2024 |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Smith |first=Katie Louise |date=November 29, 2024 |title=Every Surprise Song Performed On Taylor Swift's Eras Tour So Far |url=https://www.capitalfm.com/artists/taylor-swift/eras-tour-surprise-songs-setlist/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241113011018/https://www.capitalfm.com/artists/taylor-swift/eras-tour-surprise-songs-setlist/ |archive-date=November 13, 2024 |access-date=November 29, 2024 |publisher=[[Capital (radio network)|Capital]]}}</ref>
== Background and release ==
[[File:Taylor Swift Acoustic Set Gelsenkirchen.png|thumb|180px|Swift performing "Invisible String" as a "surprise song" on [[the Eras Tour]]]]
The American singer-songwriter [[Taylor Swift]] conceived her eighth studio album, ''[[Folklore (Taylor Swift album)|Folklore]]'', while quarantining amidst the [[COVID-19 pandemic]], with producers [[Jack Antonoff]] and [[Aaron Dessner]] of [[The National (band)|the National]].<ref name="EW">{{Cite magazine |last=Suskind |first=Alex |date=December 8, 2020 |title=Taylor Swift broke all her rules with ''Folklore''—and gave herself a much-needed escape |url=https://ew.com/music/taylor-swift-entertainers-of-the-year-2020/ |url-status=live |magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]] |language=EN |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210312063543/https://ew.com/music/taylor-swift-entertainers-of-the-year-2020/ |archive-date=March 12, 2021 |access-date=December 9, 2020}}</ref> Swift developed songs from figments of [[Mythopoeia|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".<ref name="Primer2">{{cite magazine |date=July 24, 2020 |title='It Started With Imagery': Read Taylor Swift's Primer For ''Folklore'' |url=http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/9423740/read-taylor-swift-primer-folklore |url-status=live |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200724184421/https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/9423740/read-taylor-swift-primer-folklore |archive-date=July 24, 2020 |access-date=June 7, 2021}}</ref> [[Republic Records]] released ''Folklore'' on July 24, 2020, [[Surprise album|with no prior promotion]]; "Invisible String" is number 11 on the standard track listing.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Blistein |first=Jon |date=July 24, 2020 |title=Hear Taylor Swift's New Album ''Folklore'' |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/taylor-swift-new-album-folklore-release-date-1032962/ |url-access=limited |access-date=December 15, 2023 |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |archive-date=July 25, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200725062452/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/taylor-swift-new-album-folklore-release-date-1032962/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
"Invisible String" charted in Australia (19),<ref name="Australia" /> Singapore (19),<ref name="Singapore" /> Canada (29),<ref name="Canada" /> and Portugal (134).<ref name="Portugal" /> In the United States, the track peaked at number 37 on the [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]]<ref name="BHot100" /> and number 12 on the [[Rolling Stone Top 100|''Rolling Stone'' Top 100]].<ref name="RSTop100" /> In the United Kingdom, it peaked at number 43 on the [[Official Charts Company|OCC]]'s [[Official Audio Streaming Chart|Audio Streaming Chart]]<ref name="UKStreaming" /> and received a silver [[Music recording certification|certification]] from the [[British Phonographic Industry]] (BPI).<ref name="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, [[the Eras Tour]].<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Kreps |first=Daniel |date=April 1, 2023 |title=See Taylor Swift Deliver Debut Performance of 'The 1' at Arlington Concert |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/taylor-swift-debut-performance-the-1-arlington-concert-1234707820/ |url-access=limited |access-date=December 15, 2023 |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |archive-date=April 8, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230408174556/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/taylor-swift-debut-performance-the-1-arlington-concert-1234707820/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
Starting from the March 31, 2023 == Production ==
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| description = A sample of "Invisible String" demonstrating the [[fingerpick|finger-picked]] [[strum]]s and vocal [[backbeat]]s
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Swift wrote "Invisible String" with Dessner, who produced the song.<ref name="DessnerVulture">{{cite web |last=Gerber |first=Brady |date=July 27, 2020 |title=The Story Behind Every Song on Taylor Swift's ''folklore'' |url=https://www.vulture.com/2020/07/taylor-swift-folklore-aaron-dessner-breaks-down-every-song.html |url-access=limited |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200728234347/https://www.vulture.com/2020/07/taylor-swift-folklore-aaron-dessner-breaks-down-every-song.html |archive-date=July 28, 2020 |access-date=June 7, 2021 |website=[[Vulture (website)|Vulture]]}}</ref> Dessner composed "Invisible String" using [[Fingerpick|finger-picked]] [[
Several critics commented that the arrangement was spare but melodious and left room for Swift's conversational sing-speaking style.<ref>{{Cite web |last=D'Souza |first=Shaad |date=July 24, 2020 |title=Taylor Swift frees herself from tabloid drama on ''Folklore'' |url=https://www.thefader.com/2020/07/24/taylor-swift-folklore-album-review-2020-national-essay |access-date=December 15, 2023 |website=[[The Fader]]}}</ref><ref name="Harvilla-2020">{{Cite web |last=Harvilla |first=Rob |date=July 27, 2020 |title=Taylor Swift Is Singing About More Than Taylor Swift—and Rediscovering Herself in the Process |url=https://www.theringer.com/music/2020/7/27/21339589/taylor-swift-folklore-review |access-date=December 15, 2023 |website=[[The Ringer (website)|The Ringer]] |archive-date=August 28, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200828040229/https://www.theringer.com/music/2020/7/27/21339589/taylor-swift-folklore-review |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Thompson-2020">{{Cite web |last1=Thompson |first1=Stephen |author-link=Stephen Thompson (journalist) |last2=Powers |first2=Ann |author-link2=Ann Powers |last3=McKenna |first3=Lyndsey |date=July 28, 2020 |title=Let's Talk About Taylor Swift's ''Folklore'' |url=https://www.npr.org/2020/07/28/896193188/taylor-swift-folklore-critics-roundtable |access-date=December 15, 2013 |publisher=[[NPR]] |archive-date=July 30, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200730020352/https://www.npr.org/2020/07/28/896193188/taylor-swift-folklore-critics-roundtable |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Jon Caramanica]] of ''[[The New York Times
== Lyrics ==
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The first [[Verse drama and dramatic verse|verse]] 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"),<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Sheffield |first=Rob |author-link=Rob Sheffield |date=October 28, 2023 |title='Invisible String' (2020) |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/taylor-swift-songs-ranked-rob-sheffield-201800/invisible-string-2020-1093994/ |access-date=December 15, 2023 |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |archive-date=December 15, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231215074311/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/taylor-swift-songs-ranked-rob-sheffield-201800/invisible-string-2020-1093994/ |url-status=live }}</ref> and the male partner once wore a teal shirt and worked at a yoghurt shop as a young man.<ref name="Willman-2020" /> The second verse details how the two's lives intertwined without them knowing; Swift also alludes to her song "[[Bad Blood (Taylor Swift song)|Bad Blood]]" and her publicized dispute with the singer [[Katy Perry]]: "Bad was the blood of the song in the cab/ On your first trip to LA/ You ate at my favorite spot for dinner."<ref name="Ahlgrim-2020">{{cite web |last=Ahlgrim |first=Callie |date=July 30, 2020 |title=Every detail and Easter egg you may have missed on Taylor Swift's new album ''Folklore'' |url=https://www.insider.com/taylor-swift-folklore-lyrics-easter-eggs-2020-7 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20211202000344/https://www.insider.com/taylor-swift-folklore-lyrics-easter-eggs-2020-7 |archive-date=December 2, 2021 |access-date=June 7, 2021 |website=[[Insider Inc.|Insider]]}}</ref><ref name="rs">{{cite magazine |last=Sheffield |first=Rob |date=July 24, 2020 |title=Taylor Swift Leaves Her Comfort Zones Behind on the Head-Spinning, Heartbreaking ''Folklore'' |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews/taylor-swift-leaves-her-comfort-zones-behind-on-the-head-spinning-heart-breaking-folklore-1033533/ |url-status=live |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200724155901/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews/taylor-swift-leaves-her-comfort-zones-behind-on-the-head-spinning-heart-breaking-folklore-1033533/ |archive-date=July 24, 2020 |access-date=February 21, 2021 |url-access=limited |authorlink=Rob Sheffield}}</ref> The next lines mention her trip to the [[Lake District]] 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 (song)|The Lakes]]".<ref name="Ahlgrim-2020" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Mylrea |first=Hannah |date=August 6, 2020 |title=Taylor Swift–'The Lakes': the ''Folklore'' bonus song decoded |url=https://www.nme.com/blogs/taylor-swift-the-lakes-theories-lyrics-folklore-bonus-song-2722662 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200908195832/https://www.nme.com/blogs/taylor-swift-the-lakes-theories-lyrics-folklore-bonus-song-2722662 |archive-date=September 8, 2020 |access-date=June 7, 2021 |website=[[NME]]}}</ref>
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."<ref name="Harvilla-2020" /><ref name="Ahlgrim-2020" /> The [[Refrain|chorus]] 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."<ref name="Mapes-2020" /><ref name="Bate-2023" /> The English literary professor [[Jonathan Bate]] said these lyrics referenced two literature classics: ''[[The Sun Also Rises]]'' (1926) by [[Ernest Hemingway]] ("
== Critical reception ==
Music critics acclaimed the lyrics and theme of "Invisible String". Chris Willman of ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' commented that its theme added a "sweetness" to ''Folklore'', whose other tracks mostly explored the dark and bittersweet feelings from unfulfilled romance.<ref name="Willman-2020" /> Caramanica said it was the only "truly hopeful-sounding song" on the album and contained some of Swift's most vivid lyrics.<ref name="NYTimesReview222" /> According to the ''[[New Statesman]]''
The song's production received similarly positive comments. Caramanica and Leszkiewicz found it to be restrained and nuanced,<ref name="NYTimesReview222" /><ref name="Leiszkiewicz-2020" /> and Keefe lauded it as a masterful construct of song structure.<ref name="Keefe-2020" /> ''[[PopMatters]]''
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".<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=March 16, 2023 |title=The 100 Best Taylor Swift Songs: Staff Picks |url=https://www.billboard.com/lists/best-taylor-swift-songs/ |access-date=December 19, 2023 |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |archive-date=April 11, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230411021029/https://www.billboard.com/lists/best-taylor-swift-songs/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Hannah Mylrea of ''[[NME]]'' placed the song at number 31 on a ranking of Swift's discography.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Mylrea|first=Hannah|date=September 8, 2020|title=Every Taylor Swift song ranked in order of greatness|url=https://www.nme.com/en_asia/features/every-taylor-swift-song-ranked-2747916|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200917054150/https://www.nme.com/en_asia/features/every-taylor-swift-song-ranked-2747916|archive-date=September 17, 2020|access-date=June 7, 2021|website=[[NME]]}}</ref> 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".<ref>{{Cite news |date=December 3, 2020 |title=The 100 Best Songs Of 2020 (Nos. 40-21) |website= |publisher=[[NPR]] |url=https://www.npr.org/2020/12/03/934634855/the-100-best-songs-of-2020-page-4 |url-status=live |access-date=June 7, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201207155455/https://www.npr.org/2020/12/03/934634855/the-100-best-songs-of-2020-page-4 |archive-date=December 7, 2020}}</ref>
==Credits and personnel==
Credits are adapted from the liner notes of ''Folklore''.<ref name="booklet">{{Cite AV media notes |title=Folklore
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{{single chart|Portugal|134|artist=Taylor Swift|song=Invisible String|rowheader=true|access-date=June 7, 2020|refname="Portugal"}}
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{{single chart|Billboardhot100|37|artist=Taylor Swift|rowheader=true|access-date=June 7, 2021|refname="BHot100"}}
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==Certifications==
{{Certification Table Top|caption=
{{Certification Table Entry|region=Australia|title=Invisible String|artist=Taylor Swift|type=single|award=Platinum|relyear=2020|certyear=2024
{{Certification Table Entry|region=
{{Certification Table Entry|region=New Zealand|artist=Taylor Swift|title=Invisible String|type=single|award=Platinum|access-date=December 19, 2024|source=radioscope|relyear=2020|certyear=2024}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|type=single|artist=Taylor Swift|title=Invisible String|award=Gold|relyear=2020|certyear=2025|id=18935-1598-1|access-date=May 30, 2025|refname="BPI"}}
{{Certification Table Bottom|streaming=true | nosales=true | noshipments=true}}
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