Cosmic Love? Swift’s “invisible string” Meaning, Explained
invisible string is Taylor Swift’s ode to fate and destiny, symbolized by the central “invisible string” metaphor: an inevitable link to your fated person.
The concept is an ancient one, and Taylor has likely taken inspiration from several international folklore sources, as well as a more recent children’s storybook.
But what do the lyrics mean, and how does the central metaphor tie into Taylor’s personal life?
Here’s my complete English teacher analysis of Taylor’s invisible string meaning, line by line.
Invisible String by Taylor Swift
- Title: Invisible String
- Written by: Aaron Dessner, Taylor Swift
- Track: 11, Folklore
- Pen: Quill
- Lyrics from Genius
invisible string Meaning: Narrative Summary
- Setting: A lifetime.
- Characters: Narrator (Taylor), subject (lover, “you”)
- Mood: Happy, spiritual, positive.
- Conflict: Had to go through “hell” to get to “heaven”
- Inciting Incident: The “invisible string” led them to each other.
- Quest: Trace back to where it all began.
- Symbols & Metaphors: “invisible string,” “green” and “teal,” “Centennial Park,” “yogurt shop,” “compasses”, “signs,” “clues”, being “tied” together, “Bad was the blood”, “three-year trip,” “cutting” and “healing,” “that dive bar,” “barbed wire,” “chains around my demons,” “wool to brave the seasons,” “thread of gold,” “axe to grind,” “hell” vs. “heaven,” “the blues and then purple-pink skies.”
- Theme: Fate.
- Imagery: “Green was the color of the grass,” “Teal was the color of your shirt,” “time gave me no compasses, gave me no signs,” “all along there was some invisible string tying you to me”, “Cutting me open, then healing me fine,” “A string that pulled me / Out of all the wrong arms, right into that dive bar,” “wrapped all of my past mistakes in barbed wire / Chains around my demons / Wool to brave the seasons”, “one single thread of gold tied me to you,” “Cold was the steel of my axe to grind,” “Gold was the color of the leaves,” “Gave me the blues and then purple-pink skies.”
- Lesson: You will always end up where you’re supposed to.
What is invisible string About?
invisible string is about the idea of fate: how your past experiences slowly lead you toward where you’re meant to be.
Taylor wrote the lyrics inspired by Aaron Dessner’s melody, as she explained in the Long Pond Studio Sessions:
“I kind of love the romantic idea that every step you’re taking, you’re taking one step closer to where you’re supposed to be….guided by this little, like, invisible string.”
The concept is an ancient one, likely first alluded to in Chinese mythology with the red thread of fate.
Taylor could also be referencing the European tradition of handfasting, from which stems the colloquial saying to “tie the knot.”
More recently, a children’s book of the same name has been a popular family read. It was first published in 2001 and has only grown in popularity, so it’s entirely possible Taylor took inspiration from this title as well.
Who is invisible string About?
Taylor has never revealed if invisible string was inspired by her then-boyfriend, Joe Alwyn, or not. But some clues in the lyrics point to it being about him:
“Teal was the color of your shirt / When you were sixteen at the yogurt shop”
Alwyn worked at Snog’s Frozen Yogurt in London in his teen years.
But in the larger sense, Taylor is getting at the themes of karma and fate, which she’ll continue to explore in songs like Karma and The Prophecy.
In the chronology of her lyrics, she began her career alluding to themes of Western Christianity (see songs like Sweet Tea & God’s Graces and Holy Ground), but as she grew and aged, she’s slowly moved to more Eastern beliefs*.
By the time she reaches Midnights, she fully embraces karmic philosophical and theological ideals within her music.
*I’m speaking about Taylor’s theological beliefs spoken about within her lyrics; not her personal beliefs. That’s none of my business, and that’s for Taylor alone to know.
invisible string Meaning: Line by Line
Taylor starts out the first verse with some colorful imagery: “Green was the color of the grass / Where I used to read at Centennial Park.”
Centennial Park is a popular Nashville spot, and her use of “green” could also mean she was young and naive at the time.
“I used to think I would meet somebody there” describes her hope that she’d meet a love interest at the park. But her “invisible string” must have been leading her elsewhere.
“Teal was the color of your shirt / When you were sixteen at the yogurt shop / You used to work at to make a little money” describes where her partner was at the time she was reading in the park.
Here they both are, among similar colors, but worlds away.
Chorus: “Were There Clues I Didn’t See?”
“Time, curious time” could allude to Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, where Alice exclaims the famous line, “Curiouser and curiouser!”
Both mean the same thing: how strange how things are unfolding. Taylor has referenced the Lewis Carroll book before in her song Wonderland.
Much like Alice, time has given Taylor “no compasses” and “no signs.” She’s directionless, wandering lost.
“Were there clues I didn’t see?” she asks. Was there a signal along the way that revealed where she would end up, but she was blind to it?
“And isn’t it just so pretty to think,” she says,” “all along there was some invisible string tying you to me?”
This is the central metaphor: stretching across time and across the world, some thread of fate tied her to her lover, so they would always find each other no matter what.
🩶 Can you pass my tricky folklore Lyrics Quiz? 🩶
Verse 2: “She Said I Looked Like An American Singer”
“Bad was the blood of the song in the cab on your first trip to LA,” Taylor says, referencing her own song Bad Blood. Coincidentally – or by fate – her song was playing in his cab before they met.
This is also a time marker for her audience: this must have been during her 1989 era, when the song would have been frequently on the radio.
“You ate at my favorite spot for dinner” likely means they weren’t together at this point, but coincidentally (or by destiny) ate at the same restaurant.
“Bold was the waitress on our three-year trip getting lunch down by the Lakes” is a different anecdote from after they’ve been together for three years. It also references another track on this album, the lakes, which is set in the Lake District of England.
They’ve taken a trip here together – possibly celebrating their three year anniversary – and the waitress is either “bold” in flirting with her man, or “bold” in saying Taylor “looked like an American singer.”
Little did she know who she was speaking to.
Chorus: “Cutting me Open, Then Healing Me Fine”
“Time, mystical time” pulls in mysticism, which gives time a more spiritual or existential quality.
Time cuts her open then miraculously heals her, alluding to the proverb “time heals all wounds.”
She’s alluded to this phrase before, but in the opposite context. In Cornelia Street she says, “that’s the kind of heartbreak time could never mend.” But here, time can heal her just “fine.”
“Were there clues I didn’t see?” searches for meaning within heartbreak and healing. During each time she was ‘cut open,’ were there clues of what would happen after she healed? Could she tell something better was waiting for her?
Bridge: “Chains Around My Demons”
In the bridge, the invisible string “pulled me out of all the wrong arms, right into that dive bar.”
Taylor supposedly had her first romantic encounter with Joe Alwyn at Lovers of Today, a dive bar in New York City’s Lower East side. Did fate pull her there?
“Something wrapped all of my past mistakes in barbed wire,” she says, describing how her past has been metaphorically wrapped up and protected from ever escaping (hurting her) again. Was it the “invisible string,” morphing into barbed wire to protect her?
This same unknown force (possibly the string, or possibly him) put “chains around my demons” to prevent them from escaping, and wrapped her in “wool to brave the seasons.”
This is reminiscent of Call it What You Want, when Taylor says her lover “built a fire just to keep me warm.” He protects her from the “storms” of her past and present.
“One single thread of gold,” she summarizes, “tied me to you.” The thread being a golden color is significant, as in her previous album’s final track Daylight, she said: “I thought that love would be black and white, but it’s golden.”
It’s a thread of gleaming, precious love that’s drawn them together and sealed their fate.
Verse 3: “Cold Was the Steel of My Axe to Grind”
Verse three expands on how this love has changed her.
“Cold was the steel of my axe to grind for the boys who broke my heart” means she used to hold vicious vendettas against her exes. But “now I sent their babies presents,” meaning all is forgiven and forgotten.
“Gold was the color of the leaves when I showed you around Centennial Park” means that the “golden” love has brought her back to her roots, and she’s showing him where she came from.
“Hell was the journey,” she says, “but it brought me heaven” alludes to Dante’s Inferno, the classic poem in which the protagonist has to journey to the depths of hell and back again.
When he comes out the other side, he’s learned that everyone will eventually suffer the consequences of their actions.
In Taylor’s case, she had to learn the lessons along her journey (“hell”) in order to get to the good place where she’s rewarded with this golden love (“heaven”).
Last Chorus: “Gave me the Blues and Then Purple-Pink Skies”
The final chorus reflects once more on where she’s come from. “Time, wondrous time, gave me the blues then purple-pink skies” means she used to be sad, but is now happy.
But the deeper symbolism involves her eras: the blue representing 1989 (as well as depression, sadness), and purple-pink skies representing her Lover era (as well as happiness and contentment).
“And it’s cool, baby, with me” means that he has a past, too, and she accepts that they both had to go through their trials with other lovers to get to each other.
“And isn’t it just so pretty to think,” she concludes,” all along there was some invisible string tying you to me?”
They were “tied” together all along, and would always follow the string to find one another. They just didn’t know the string existed, until now.
🩶 Can you pass my tricky folklore Lyrics Quiz? 🩶
invisible string Lyrics Meaning: Final Thoughts
This song reminds us that even our mistakes will lead us to our triumphs, and it’s a lovely idea.
What’s most interesting to me is that the narrative holds up, even though the relationship that (likely) inspired it is over. That particular string snapped, but maybe she was just pulling the wrong string.
There are endless invisible strings, and – as the folklore tells us – it will always lead us to where we really belong.
More Songs From folklore:
