Invisible String

File:Taylor Swift Acoustic Set Gelsenkirchen.png]]

The American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift conceived her eighth studio album, Folklore, while quarantining amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, with producers Jack Antonoff and Aaron Dessner of the National.{{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}} 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".{{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 |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}} Republic Records released Folklore on July 24, 2020, with no prior promotion; "Invisible String" is number 11 on the standard track listing.{{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 }}

"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 certification 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, the Eras Tour.{{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 }}

Starting from the March 31, 2023 show in Arlington, Texas, she replaced it with "The 1".{{Cite web |last=Lewis |first=Isobel |date=April 10, 2023 |title=Taylor Swift fans spot Eras tour setlist change amid Joe Alwyn split rumours |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/taylor-swift-joe-alwyn-eras-setlist-changed-b2317057.html |access-date=December 15, 2023 |website=The Independent |archive-date=December 15, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231215062857/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/taylor-swift-joe-alwyn-eras-setlist-changed-b2317057.html |url-status=live }} In May 2023, in celebration of the Eras Tour's Nashville 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.{{Cite web |last=Avila |first=Daniela |date=May 4, 2023 |title=Nashville Celebrates Taylor Swift's 'Homecoming Weekend' on Tour with Proclamation and Park Bench (Exclusive) |url=https://people.com/music/taylor-swift-nashville-homecoming-weekend-how-city-is-celebrating/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230504221135/https://people.com/music/taylor-swift-nashville-homecoming-weekend-how-city-is-celebrating/ |archive-date=May 4, 2023 |access-date=May 5, 2023 |website=People}} To honor this, Swift performed "Invisible String" instead of "The 1" at the second show in Nashville.{{Cite web |last=Leimkuehler |first=Matthew |date=May 7, 2023 |title=Taylor Swift in Nashville: What surprise songs did she sing on night two of 'Eras'? |url=https://www.tennessean.com/story/entertainment/music/2023/05/07/taylor-swift-in-nashville-eras-tour-surprise-songs-saturday-night-two-celebrity-guests/70192187007/ |access-date=August 3, 2024 |website=The Tennessean |language=en-US |archive-date=August 9, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230809150329/https://www.tennessean.com/story/entertainment/music/2023/05/07/taylor-swift-in-nashville-eras-tour-surprise-songs-saturday-night-two-celebrity-guests/70192187007/ |url-status=live }} She performed it as a "surprise song" in a mashup with "Superstar" at the first show in Gelsenkirchen, on July 17, 2024.{{Cite magazine |last=Iasimone |first=Ashley |date=August 2, 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/ |access-date=August 3, 2024 |magazine=Billboard |language=en-US |archive-date=March 19, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230319011405/https://www.billboard.com/lists/taylor-swift-eras-tour-surprise-songs/ |url-status=live }}

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Swift wrote "Invisible String" with Dessner, who produced the song.{{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}} Dessner composed "Invisible String" using finger-picked strums 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 folk 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",{{cite web |last=Zaleski |first=Annie |author-link=Annie Zaleski |date=July 4, 2020 |title=Taylor Swift writes her own version of history on folklore |url=https://www.avclub.com/taylor-swift-writes-her-own-version-of-history-on-folkl-1844498450 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200727053604/https://music.avclub.com/taylor-swift-writes-her-own-version-of-history-on-folkl-1844498450 |archive-date=July 27, 2020 |access-date=June 7, 2021 |work=The A.V. Club}} while musicOMH{{'s}} Chloe Johnson dubbed it a "chaotic clash" of folk, pop, and blues, with a song structure rooted in country music.{{Cite web |last=Johnson |first=Chloe |date=July 24, 2020 |title=Taylor Swift Folklore |url=https://www.musicomh.com/reviews/albums/taylor-swift-folklore |url-access=subscription |access-date=December 15, 2023 |website=musicOMH |archive-date=July 24, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200724123506/https://www.musicomh.com/reviews/albums/taylor-swift-folklore |url-status=live }}

Several critics commented that the arrangement was spare but melodious and left room for Swift's conversational sing-speaking style.{{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}}{{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 |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 }}{{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 }} Jon Caramanica of The New York Times found the production "airy and earthy".{{cite news |last=Caramanica |first=Jon |author-link=Jon Caramanica |date=July 26, 2020 |title=Taylor Swift, a Pop Star Done With Pop |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/26/arts/music/taylor-swift-folklore-review.html |url-status=live |access-date=June 7, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200910132513/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/26/arts/music/taylor-swift-folklore-review.html |archive-date=September 10, 2020}} Recorded at Dessner's Long Pond Studio in the Hudson Valley and La Gaîté Lyrique in Paris, France, "Invisible String" was mixed by Jonathan Low. According to Folklore{{'s}} liner notes, Dessner played acoustic guitar, bass, electric guitar, Mellotron, percussion, piano, and synthesizer, and he programmed the drums with James McAlister. Dessner's brother Bryce was the orchestrator for cello (played by Clarice Jensen), viola and violin (Yuki Numata Resnick).

File:Centennial Park and Parthenon Nashville TN 2013-12-28 008.jpg (pictured) in Nashville.]]

Although many Folklore songs explore fictitious narratives and characters, "Invisible String" employs autobiographical songwriting that alludes to Swift's personal life;{{Cite web |last=Jones |first=Nate |date=November 8, 2023 |title=All 214 Taylor Swift Songs, Ranked |url=https://www.vulture.com/article/all-taylor-swift-songs-ranked-from-worst-to-best.html |url-access=limited |access-date=December 15, 2023 |website=Vulture |archive-date=September 13, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190913234630/https://www.vulture.com/article/all-taylor-swift-songs-ranked-from-worst-to-best.html |url-status=live }} some critics pointed out probable references to her romance with the English actor Joe Alwyn.{{Cite web |last=Willman |first=Chris |date=July 24, 2020 |title=Taylor Swift's Folklore: Album Review |url=https://variety.com/2020/music/reviews/taylor-swift-folklore-album-review-1234715520/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200724065836/https://variety.com/2020/music/reviews/taylor-swift-folklore-album-review-1234715520/ |archive-date=July 24, 2020 |access-date=June 7, 2021 |website=Variety}}{{Cite web|last=Bailey|first=Alyssa|date=July 24, 2020|title=Taylor Swift's 'Invisible String' Lyrics Give a Revealing Update on Her Relationship with Joe Alwyn|url=https://www.elle.com/culture/music/a33413528/taylor-swift-invisible-string-lyrics-meaning-joe-alwyn-joe-jonas/|access-date=June 7, 2021|website=Elle|archive-date=July 26, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200726104333/https://www.elle.com/culture/music/a33413528/taylor-swift-invisible-string-lyrics-meaning-joe-alwyn-joe-jonas/|url-status=live}} In the lyrics, Swift's character describes how fate brings her to her soulmate after they each spent their separate lives throughout the years.{{Cite news |last=Leiszkiewicz |first=Anna |date=July 24, 2020 |title=Folklore reveals a more introspective side to Taylor Swift |website=New Statesman |url=https://www.newstatesman.com/culture/2020/07/folklore-reveals-a-more-introspective-side-to-taylor-swift |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |access-date=June 6, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211020072329/https://www.newstatesman.com/culture/2020/07/folklore-reveals-a-more-introspective-side-to-taylor-swift |archive-date=October 20, 2021}} Some critics considered "Invisible String" one of a few straightforward love songs on Folklore.{{Cite news |last=Wilson |first=Carl |author-link=Carl Wilson (writer) |date=July 24, 2020 |title=Taylor Swift's New Album Reveals That Social Distancing Has Served Her Well |work=Slate |url=https://slate.com/culture/2020/07/taylor-swift-folklore-album-review.html |access-date=December 15, 2023 |archive-date=April 11, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230411115246/https://slate.com/culture/2020/07/taylor-swift-folklore-album-review.html |url-status=live }} Callie Ahlgrim from Insider thought that the title alluded to the East Asian mythology of the Red Thread of Fate.

The first 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"),{{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 }} 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: "Bad was the blood of the song in the cab/ On your first trip to LA/ You ate at my favorite spot for dinner."{{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}}{{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}} 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".{{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}}

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 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 said these lyrics referenced two literature classics: The Sun Also Rises (1926) by Ernest Hemingway ("Isn't it pretty to think so?") and Jane Eyre (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").{{cite news |last=Bate |first=Jonathan |author-link=Jonathan Bate |date=April 10, 2023 |title=Why Taylor Swift is a literary giant—by a Shakespeare professor |newspaper=The Times |url=https://www.thetimes.com/article/why-taylor-swift-is-a-literary-giant-by-a-shakespeare-professor-3fmh269bt |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |access-date=June 4, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230618210707/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/why-taylor-swift-is-a-literary-giant-by-a-shakespeare-professor-3fmh269bt |archive-date=June 18, 2023}} 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".

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, Jonathan Keefe lauded how the track employed "protracted metaphors" to convey Swift's "new peak in her command of language".{{Cite web |last=Keefe |first=Jonathan |date=July 27, 2020 |title=Review: With Folklore, Taylor Swift Mines Pathos from a Widening Worldview |url=https://www.slantmagazine.com/music/review-with-folklore-taylor-swift-mines-pathos-from-a-widening-worldview/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200910132417/https://www.slantmagazine.com/music/review-with-folklore-taylor-swift-mines-pathos-from-a-widening-worldview/ |archive-date=September 10, 2020 |access-date=June 7, 2021 |website=Slant Magazine}} 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.{{Cite web |last=Moulton |first=Katie |date=July 24, 2020 |title=Taylor Swift's folklore Dismantles Her Own Self-Mythologizing: Review |url=https://consequenceofsound.net/2020/07/album-review-taylor-swift-folklore/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200724185604/https://consequenceofsound.net/2020/07/album-review-taylor-swift-folklore/ |archive-date=July 24, 2020 |access-date=June 7, 2021 |website=Consequence of Sound}} 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.{{Cite magazine |last=Lipshutz |first=Jason |date=July 24, 2020 |title=Every Song Ranked on Taylor Swift's Folklore: Critic's Picks |url=https://www.billboard.com/music/pop/taylor-swift-folklore-songs-ranked-critics-picks-9424095/ |access-date=December 19, 2023 |magazine=Billboard |archive-date=January 23, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220123071509/https://www.billboard.com/music/pop/taylor-swift-folklore-songs-ranked-critics-picks-9424095/ |url-status=live }}

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".{{Cite web |last=Sumsion |first=Michael |date=July 29, 2020 |title=Taylor Swift Abandons Stadium-Pop for a New Tonal Approach on Folklore |url=https://www.popmatters.com/taylor-swift-folklore-review-2646821264.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200731005457/https://www.popmatters.com/taylor-swift-folklore-review-2646821264.html |archive-date=July 31, 2020 |access-date=June 7, 2021 |website=PopMatters}} Pitchfork{{'s}} Julian Mapes praised "Invisible String" as one of the "loveliest" songs on Folklore for its "delightfully plucky" instrumentals.{{Cite web |last=Mapes |first=Jillian |date=July 27, 2020 |title=Taylor Swift: folklore |url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/taylor-swift-folklore/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200828191233/https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/taylor-swift-folklore/ |archive-date=August 28, 2020 |access-date=June 7, 2021 |website=Pitchfork}} 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".{{Cite web |last=Wood |first=Mikael |date=July 26, 2020 |title=Taylor Swift's Folklore: All 16 songs, ranked |url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/music/story/2020-07-26/taylor-swift-folklore-songs-ranked |url-access=limited |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210329230604/https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/music/story/2020-07-26/taylor-swift-folklore-songs-ranked |archive-date=March 29, 2021 |access-date=June 7, 2021 |website=Los Angeles Times}}

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".{{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 |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 }} Hannah Mylrea of NME placed the song at number 31 on a ranking of Swift's discography.{{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}} 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".{{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}}

Credits are adapted from the liner notes of Folklore.{{Cite AV media notes |title=Folklore |year=2020 |type=booklet |publisher=Republic Records |id=B003271102 |location=United States |last=Swift |first=Taylor |author-link=Taylor Swift |title-link=Folklore (Taylor Swift album)}}

{{div col}}

• Taylor Swift – vocals, songwriter
• Aaron Dessner – producer, songwriter, recording engineer, acoustic guitar, bass, drum programming, Mellotron, 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

{{div col end}}

{{Certification Table Top|caption=Certifications for "Invisible String"}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Australia|title=Invisible String|artist=Taylor Swift|type=single|award=Platinum|relyear=2020|certyear=2024|access-date=February 14, 2024}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Brazil|type=single|artist=Taylor Swift|title=invisible string|award=Platinum|relyear=2020|certyear=2024|access-date=July 25, 2024}}

{{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"}}

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{{reflist}}

{{Taylor Swift songs}}

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Category:2020 songs

Category:Taylor Swift songs

Category:Songs written by Taylor Swift

Category:Songs written by Aaron Dessner

Category:Song recordings produced by Aaron Dessner

Category:American folk songs