Dancing with Our Hands Tied

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"Dancing with Our Hands Tied"
Song by Taylor Swift
from the album Reputation
ReleasedNovember 10, 2017 (2017-11-10)
Studio
Genre
Length3:31
LabelBig Machine
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Max Martin
  • Shellback
  • Oscar Holter
Audio
"Dancing With Our Hands Tied" on YouTube

"Dancing with Our Hands Tied" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift from her sixth studio album, Reputation (2017). Written by Swift, Max Martin, Shellback, and Oscar Holter, and produced by the latter three, "Dancing with Our Hands Tied" is about a past romantic relationship. The track is an EDM-infused dance-pop, synth-pop, and electronica track instrumented with propelling beats and an EDM refrain.

Swift regularly performed it on her Reputation Stadium Tour (2018) and twice on the Eras Tour (2023—2024).

Release and live performances

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Taylor Swift's sixth studio album, Reputation was released on November 10, 2017, by Big Machine Records; "Dancing with Our Hands Tied" is eleventh track on the album.[1][2] It was the twelfth number in the setlist for the concerts of Swift's fifth concert tour, the Reputation Stadium Tour (2018);[3][4] she performed the song on the guitar.[5][6][a] The Early Registration's Dan Garcia noted that the acoustic performance's altered pace compared to the studio version of the track was a "standout moment".[8]

Swift performed "Dancing with Our Hands Tied" during the "surprise song" act of her next concert tour, the Eras Tour (2023―2024) on two occasions: on guitar at the second Rio de Janeiro concert on November 19, 2023; on guitar in a mashup with "The Albatross" (2024) at the second Dublin concert on June 29, 2024.[9][10][11]

Music and lyrics

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At 3 minutes and 31 seconds,[2][12] "Dancing with Our Hands Tied" was written by Swift, Max Martin, Shellback, and Oscar Holter, and produced by the latter three.[1] The song was recorded at MXM Studios, Los Angeles, California; by Sam Holland, with assistance from Michael Ilbert at MXM Studios, Stockholm; and Cory Byrd and Jeremy Lertola at Conway Recording Studios, Los Angeles. The track was mixed by Serban Ghenea at MixStar Studios, Virginia Beach, Virginia; engineered by John Hanes; and mastered by Tom Coyne at Sterling Sound, New York. Instrumentation includes keyboards played by Martin, Shellback, and Holter; with programming provided by them.[2]

Instrumented with propelling beats[13] and a "ravey" EDM refrain,[14] "Dancing with Our Hands Tied" is an EDM-infused synth-pop, and electronica song,[15] composed in the key of C minor.[16] Rolling Stone's Rob Sheffield noted the track's implementation of 1980's-style beats were similar to "Take On Me" (1984).[17]

In "Dancing with Our Hands Tied", Swift's narrator reflects on a past relationship when she was 25 years old and how the lover turns her bed "into a sacred oasis".[18][19] "Dancing with Our Hands Tied" explores themes of tension and uncertainty in a strained romantic relationship;[15] it dissects a relationship that is under threat from Swift's narrator's status as a public figure ("People started talking, putting us through our paces / I knew there was no one in the world who could take it / I had a bad feeling.") The narrator doesn't think anyone could handle such scrutiny.[20] Refinery29's Elena Nicolaou noted that the song lyrically resembles "Slow Dancing in a Burning Room" (2006) by John Mayer; she noted that both of the song's choruses are about "people intimately dancing through a doomed situation" and that the lyric, "Swaying as the room burned down," creates a lyrical parallel to Mayer's song.[15]

Critical reception

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Sheffield ranked "Dancing with Our Hands Tied" 146 out of 229 among Swift's discography as of June 20, 2023.[17] The Independent's Roisin O'Connor highlighted the song's vulnerability, noting Swift "can be fragile" in the track.[21] Pitchfork's Jamieson Cox described the song as "featherlight".[18] The Guardian's Alexis Petridis said the track "fruitfully" returns to the [album-oriented rock]-inspired sound of 1989 (2014).[22]

Notes

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  1. ^ In the second Tokyo concert, Swift performed "So It Goes..." (2017) in place of "Dancing with Our Hands Tied".[7]

References

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  1. ^ a b Zaleski 2024, p. 143.
  2. ^ a b c Swift, Taylor (2017). Reputation (CD liner notes). Big Machine Records. 00843930033102.
  3. ^ Warner, Denise (May 9, 2018). "Here Are All the Songs Taylor Swift Played on the Opening Night of the Reputation Tour". Billboard. Retrieved July 16, 2025.
  4. ^ Greene, Andy (November 28, 2018). "Taylor Swift's 'Reputation' Tour: The 10 Best Surprise Moments". Rolling Stone. Retrieved July 16, 2025.
  5. ^ Warner, Denise (May 9, 2018). "The Best Moments From the Opening Night of Taylor Swift's 'Reputation' Tour". Billboard. Retrieved May 21, 2025.
  6. ^ Gibson, Kelsie (July 23, 2018). "The 10 Best Moments From Taylor Swift's Reputation Stadium Tour". Popsugar. Retrieved May 21, 2025.
  7. ^ "Taylor Swift, l'ultima data del 'Reputation Tour': 'Non lo avrei immaginato nemmeno nei sogni più selvaggi' – VIDEO/SCALETTA". Rockol (in Italian). November 22, 2018. Retrieved July 16, 2025.
  8. ^ Garcia, Dan (June 2, 2018). "Taylor Swift Brings Pop Perfection to Chicago with the Reputation Tour". The Early Registration. Retrieved May 21, 2025.
  9. ^ Gomez, Dessi (December 9, 2024). "All The Surprise Songs Taylor Swift Played On Her Eras Tour". Deadline. Retrieved April 10, 2025.
  10. ^ West, Bryan (November 17, 2023). "Fans speculate Taylor Swift's surprise song in Brazil is dedicated to fan who died". USA Today. Retrieved May 21, 2025.
  11. ^ Iasimone, Ashley (June 29, 2024). "Taylor Swift Debuts 'The Albatross' Live in Mashup With a 'Reputation' Song in Dublin". Billboard. Retrieved May 21, 2025.
  12. ^ "‎reputation - Album by Taylor Swift". Apple Music. November 10, 2017.
  13. ^ Bassett, Jordan (November 10, 2017). "Taylor Swift – Reputation Review". NME. Archived from the original on November 11, 2017. Retrieved November 10, 2017.
  14. ^ Empire, Kitty (November 12, 2017). "Taylor Swift: Reputation Review – Lust, Loss and Revenge". The Observer. Archived from the original on December 6, 2020. Retrieved August 20, 2020.
  15. ^ a b c Nicolaou, Elena (November 18, 2017). "Here's What Every Song On Taylor Swift's "Reputation" Is Actually About". Refinery29. Retrieved July 18, 2025.
  16. ^ "Taylor Swift "Dancing with Our Hands Tied" Sheet Music in C Minor". Musicnotes. Musicnotes.com. on behalf of Sony/ATV Music Publishing. November 10, 2017. Retrieved July 22, 2025.
  17. ^ a b Sheffield, Rob (June 20, 2023). "All 229 of Taylor Swift's Songs, Ranked". Rolling Stone Australia. Retrieved 2025-05-20.
  18. ^ a b Cox, Jamieson (November 13, 2017). "Taylor Swift: Reputation Album Review". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on November 13, 2017. Retrieved November 13, 2017.
  19. ^ Bruton, Louise (November 10, 2017). "Taylor Swift: Reputation – Clever Songwriting, Beauty in Tiny Details". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on November 12, 2020. Retrieved January 8, 2023.
  20. ^ Stumme, Clifford (November 14, 2017). "What does "Dancing with Our Hands Tied" by Taylor Swift mean?". The Pop Song Professor. Retrieved 2025-05-20.
  21. ^ O'Connor, Roisin (November 10, 2017). "What the critics are saying about Taylor Swift's new album". The Independent. Retrieved 2025-05-20.
  22. ^ Petridis, Alexis (November 10, 2017). "Taylor Swift: Reputation review – superb songcraft meets extreme drama". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2025-05-20.

Sources

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