completing the song, Swift deeply deliberated her personal definition of the word "fearless". To her, "fearless doesn't mean you're completely unafraid and it doesn't mean that you're bulletproof. It means that you have a lot of fears, but you jump anyway", an idea that convinced her to title the album Fearless. The song was first released as a promotional single from the album on October 14, 2008, as part of Countdown to Fearless, an exclusive campaign by the iTunes Store; it was later released as the fifth and final single from Fearless on January 4, 2010. Composition and lyrics "Fearless" is a country pop and pop rock song written about the fearlessness of falling in love. Lyrically, the song narrates Swift's ideal first date. The song is four minutes and one second in length. Musically, "Fearless" is set in common time and the key of F major with a moderate tempo of 100 beats per minute. Swift's vocals span from F3 to C5 and the song follows the chord progression of F–C–Gm–B♭-C. Some critics, such as Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone, noticed that the song features various of Swift's most commonly used tropes, such as rain, cars, fancy dresses, and overcoming timidity. Writing for Blender magazine, Sheffield opined the lyrics "And I don't know why but with you / I'd dance in a storm in my best dress, fearless" demonstrated how Swift enjoyed making a scene, adding that she would not wear "anything else to go ride around in a storm". Critical reception "Fearless" has received critical acclaim. Alice Fisher of The Guardian praised "Fearless" for its "perceptive lyrics about universal truths that can be enjoyed at any age." Jim Harrington of The San Jose Mercury News expressed a similar sentiment in a review of Swift's Fearless Tour: "Moms and daughters, as well as groups of teens and couples out for a date night, [can sing] along with equal gusto." Jody Rosen of Rolling Stone chose the song as a highlight from Fearless, applauding its "loud, lean guitars and rousing choruses." Retrospectively, critics have remained favorable towards the imagery and passion of the lyrics. Nate Jones of Vulture ranked the song as her 25th best song (out of 173 ranked in total), highlighting that the emotion Swift invested into the lyrics "is matched in the way she tumbles from line to line into the chorus." Rolling Stone's Rob Sheffield ranked