Entertainment

Florence & The Machine Lyrics That Describe Love

by James Tison

How big, how blue, how addictive the new Florence + The Machine album is. Seriously — the album, titled How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful, came out in May 2015, and, since it dropped, I literally haven't been able to stop listening to it. Florence + The Machine's songs have always been romantic and beautiful, but this venture is a new level of emotional rawness — particularly where the lyrics are concerned. In fact, Florence + The Machine's lyrics on How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful perfectly capture the highs and lows of relationships, and what it's like to feel like you're in love.

How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful may be a wonderful move forward for the band, but all of F+TM lyrics have always offered apt analysis into the vast, inescapable mystery that is falling in love with another human — so much so that anyone who has had so much as a small crush on someone else can identify with them. Whether the band's lead singer, Florence Welch, is singing about the ecstatic rush of feelings and the dismantling of one's identity when you realize you're in love, or the terrifying potential of failure that come along with intimacy, Florence + The Machine effortlessly expresses everything you didn't know you were feeling about romance.

Here are seven Florence + The Machine lyrics from her previous three albums that perfectly express the ecstasy and mania that accompany being in love. Whether you're going through a breakup or starting something new, F+TM has the lyrics to express everything you're feeling.

"To let me dangle at a cruel angle / Oh my feet don't touch the floor / Sometimes you're half in and then you're half out / But never close the door..." — "What Kind of Man"

Oh, commitment issues... will there ever be a day when humanity is no longer plagued by you?

"Hey, look up! / Don't make a shadow of yourself / Always shutting out the light / Caught in your own creation..." — "Third Eye"

What's one of the hardest parts about new relationships? The moment where you realize you have to change the person you are, the life you've been leading, and the identity you've created — at least somewhat — in order to make room for another person. Even if it's as simple as not being able to eat Pop-Tarts in bed anymore, change is scary.

"I know you're bleeding, but you'll be okay / Hold on to your heart, you'll keep it safe / Hold on to your heart, don't give it away..." — "Various Storms and Saints"

Lots of us have been hurt at some point. Some of us hold on to that hurt, and bring it into the next relationship. Don't worry... Florence Welch knows all about it.

"Time after time I think, "Oh, Lord, what's the use?" / Time after time I think it's just no good / 'Cause sooner or later in life, the things you love you lose / But you got the love I need to see me through..." — "You've Got The Love"

Sometimes, one of the best things about a relationship is having someone to see the good in you when you can't see it yourself.

"And in the dark, I can hear your heartbeat / I tried to find the sound / But then it stopped, and I was in the darkness / So darkness I became..." — "Cosmic Love"

There's no getting around it — breaking up is the worst, and a broken relationship can haunt one's psyche for months.

"And the arms of the ocean are carrying me / And all this devotion was rushing out of me / And the crashes are heaven for a sinner like me / But the arms of the ocean delivered me..." — "Never Let Me Go"

OK, maybe there's a little too much ocean imagery for this to be truly universal, but the sentiment is completely true: every now and then, intimacy comes out of nowhere and, even though it's terrifying, you kind of just have to let the waves of romance crash against you.

"Make up your mind / Let me leave or let me love you / While you've been saving your neck / I've been breaking mine for ya..." — "Make Up Your Mind"

We've all dated people that refuse to commit or care for us in the way we deserve. Oh God, Florence, stop looking into my soul!