Dancing with Our Hands Tied

"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, the narrator reflects on a past relationship when she was 25 years old and how the lover turns her bed "into a sacred oasis". The song explores themes of a relationship facing external pressures and scrutiny.^[1][2][3] An electropop and synth-pop track, "Dancing With Our Hands Tied" combines electronic dance production with emotional, and vulnerable lyrics.^[4][5]

"Dancing With Our Hands Tied"
Song by Taylor Swift
from the album Reputation
Released	November 10, 2017 (2017-11-10)
Studio	MXM Studios (Los Angeles & Stockholm) Conway Recording Studios
Genre	Electropop synth-pop
Length	3:31
Label	Big Machine
Songwriter(s)	Taylor Swift Max Martin Shellback Oscar Holter
Producer(s)	Max Martin Shellback Oscar Holter
Audio
"Dancing With Our Hands Tied" on YouTube

Background and production

Taylor Swift's sixth studio album, Reputation was released on November 10, 2017, by Big Machine Records; "Dancing With Our Hands Tied" is track number eleven on the album.^[6] It was created during a period when Swift was experiencing intense media scrutiny and had largely withdrawn from public life and social media.^[7] Reputation marked a significant shift in her sound and public image following controversies in her personal and professional life.^[8]

Running for 3 minutes and 31 seconds,^[9] "Dancing With Our Hands Tied" was written by Swift, alongside the Swedish producers Max Martin and Shellback,^[6] who had previously worked with Swift on her two previous studio albums: 1989 (2014) and Red (2012),^[10] and Oscar Holter. The song was produced by Martin and Shellback for MXM Productions, with additional production by Holter for Wolf Cousins Productions. The song was recorded at MXM Studios in 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 the same trio.^[6]

Reputation was Swift's first album to incorporate heavier electronic and urban elements through synthesizers, programmed beats, and electronic vocal effects.^[1] This production approach marked a departure from Swift's earlier country and pop sounds, reflecting her artistic evolution and response to the cultural climate surrounding her at the time.^[11]

Composition and lyrics

"Dancing With Our Hands Tied" features an electronic dance music (EDM) production with synth-pop elements, combining pulsing electronic beats with emotional vocals.^[12][4] Lyrically, the song explores the tension between love and fear in a relationship. The lyrics and the song title use the metaphor of "dancing with our hands tied" to represent a relationship constrained by external pressures or public scrutiny.^[13] The song contains vivid imagery of natural disasters to represent overwhelming emotions, with lines that convey the intensity of emotions in a relationship that feels simultaneously passionate and precarious.^[14] The contrast between the upbeat production and more somber lyrical content creates an emotional tension that reinforces the song's themes.^[1]

Many critics interpreted the song as referring to a relationship conducted under intense media scrutiny, possibly alluding to Swift's own experiences with public relationships.^[5] The juxtaposition between the electronic production and vulnerable lyrics serves the album's themes of public versus private personas.^[1]

Critical reception

Critical reception of "Dancing With Our Hands Tied" was generally positive, with several reviewers identifying it as a notable track on Reputation.^[15] Rolling Stone Australia's Rob Sheffield ranked it 146 out of 229 among Swift's discography as of June 20, 2023, praising its combination of electronic production and emotional depth.^[4] The Independent's Roisin O'Connor highlighted the song's vulnerability, noting Swift "can be fragile" in this track, contrasting with some of the album's more assertive moments.^[5] Some critics noted the contrast between the upbeat production and the more somber lyrical content, with Pitchfork's Jamieson Cox commenting on how this juxtaposition serves the album's themes of public versus private personas.^[1] The Virginia Law Weekly's Tom Kinzinger offered a mixed assessment, noting that the song "could have been decent EDM-infused dance-pop" but criticized some production choices.^[12] The Pop Song Professor's Clifford Stumme noted the song for showcasing Swift's growth as a songwriter, particularly in her ability to convey complex emotions.^[13]

Live performances

"Dancing With Our Hands Tied" was included in the setlist for Swift's fifth concert tour, the Reputation Stadium Tour (2018). She performed the song as an acoustic version,^[16][17] apart from the second concert in Tokyo, where Swift performed "So It Goes..." (2017) instead. Us Weekly's Nicholas Hautman and The Early Registration noted that this arrangement offered a more intimate interpretation compared to the original studio version.^[18][19] Swift performed "Dancing With Our Hands Tied" during the "surprise song" segment of her next concert tour, the Eras Tour (2023―2024). She performed the song on guitar at the second Rio de Janeiro show on November 19, 2023, and on guitar in a mashup with "The Albatross" (2024) at the second Dublin show on June 29, 2024.^[20][21][22]