Much like “Gorgeous,” “Delicate” sees Taylor taking a more hesitant approach while pursuing a new man, likely Joe Alwyn, her boyfriend as of the song’s release. Sonically, the record utilizes chilling voice harmonies backed by a simple instrumental.

“Delicate” follows Taylor’s pattern of the fifth song of her albums being one about vulnerable emotions, following previous fifth tracks “Cold As You,” “White Horse,” “Dear John,” “All Too Well,” and “All You Had To Do Was Stay.” Notably, this is the first of those songs to be about the beginning of a relationship.

“Delicate” topped Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone’s Top 25 Songs of 2017 list.

A music video, centered around Swift dancing to the song, premiered on March 11, 2018 during the iHeartRadio Music Awards.