Lead singer, Florence Welch, was an art-college drop-out, from Camberwell (London), who was discovered singing Motown covers in a nightclub toilet, drunk. ”The Machine” name originated with an in-joke between Welch and Summers. Musically, Florence + The Machine's sound is sometimes referred to as soul-inspired indie rock. Welch grew up listening to The White Stripes and Kate Bush and says she writes metaphorical songs that are "stories with consequences and weird morality issues."
2008
Florence + The Machine's music has received praise across the British music media, especially from the BBC, who played a large part in their rise to prominence, by bringing them into the spotlight as part of "BBC Introducing" (a program to support unsigned artists) - firstly at South By South West (SXSW) in Austin, Texas in March 2008 and later that year (Sept 2008) the band recorded a full session for the BBC at their Maida Vale studios.
2009 - 2010 - first awards and first studio album - "Lungs"
At the Brit Awards 2009, Florence + The Machine received the Critics' Choice Award at the Brits in the UK. The award was introduced in 2008 (when it was awarded to Adele) and focuses on new and emerging British talent, voted for by a panel of music industry experts.
The band's début album was "Lungs" (Jul 2009, Universal), preceded by third single Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up) (Jun 2009, Moshi Moshi). "Lungs" went on to become number one in the UK album charts in January 2010, and won the MasterCard British Album award at the 2010 Brits, where they performed a hugely popular collaboration, You've Got the Dirtee Love (live at The Brit Awards 2010) with Dizzee Rascal - a mix of You've Got the Love, the Candi Staton cover from "Dog Days Are Over" (Nov 2008, IAmSound), and Dizzee’s Dirtee Cash (Sept 2009, Dirtee Stank).
2011 - second studio album - "Ceremonials"
The second album "Ceremonials" (31 Oct 2011, Island) - with which Welch was inspired for the title and some themes from a '70s Super 8 film of an art installation, she recalls: "... this big procession of kind of coquette-style hippies and all these different coloured robes and masks, and it was all to do with colour, really saturated, brightly coloured pastas and balloons. I saw it a couple years ago, and it was called 'Ceremonials' and then, like, Roman numerals after it. And the word sort of stuck with me, and I think the whole idea of performance ...". The album is also influenced by hymns, poems and church bells.
2012 - MTV Unplugged album - "MTV Unplugged"
In 2012, the band released a live album - "MTV Unplugged" (Apr 2012, Universal) - as part of the MTV Unplugged series. It was filmed in December 2011 in New York’s oldest synagogue building, Angel Orensanz Center, with the band being backed by a ten-person choir.
2015 - third studio album - "How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful"
The band's long awaited third studio album is called "How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful". It was released on May 29, 2015 on Island Records.
2018 - fourth studio album - "High As Hope"
The band's fourth studio album is called "High As Hope". It was released on June 29, 2018 on Republic Records.
Are You Hurting the One You Love?
Florence + the Machine Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You say you've found Heaven but you can't find God.
Are you hurting the one you love?
Bite your tongue till it tastes like blood.
Are you hurting the one you love?
So many glasses on the tabletop.
Are you hurting the one you love?
Tough,
It's just too tough.
Tough,
It's just too tough.
Are you hurting the one you love?
When they watched the walls, and the ticking clock.
Are you hurting the one you love?
And was it something you could not stop.
Could not stop.
Stop,
Could not stop.
Stop,
Could not stop.
Stop,
Could not stop.
Stop,
Could not stop.
Are you hurting the one you love?
When you leave them sleeping on the hollow ground.
Are you hurting the one you love?
And lost for themselves.
Are you hurting the one you love?
And if heaven knows then who will stop.
Are you hurting the one you love?
You said you got to heaven, but it wasn't enough.
In Florence + the Machine's song "Are You Hurting the One You Love," the lyrics seem to address someone who has found a sort of happiness in life but is struggling to reconcile that happiness with their past actions and the pain they may have caused others, specifically a romantic partner. The chorus repeats the question "Are you hurting the one you love?" as a sort of self-reflection, encouraging the listener to question their own behavior and its impact on their loved ones.
The repetition of phrases like "you've found Heaven but you can't find God" and "you'd like to stay in heaven but the rules are too tough" speak to a tension between the idea of achieving ultimate happiness or fulfillment and the constraints and consequences that come with it. The verses describe a scene of tension, with "glasses on the tabletop" and someone "watching the walls, and the ticking clock." It seems that, in this moment of reflection and questioning, the character described in the song is aware of their own flaws and the potential harm they may have caused, but perhaps feels trapped in their own circumstances, unable to change their ways.
Overall, the lyrics of "Are You Hurting the One You Love" seem to ask important and thought-provoking questions about personal responsibility and the impact our actions can have on others. The repetition of certain phrases and the use of metaphorical language work to create an atmosphere of tension and introspection, encouraging the listener to reflect on their own behavior and the potential harm they may be causing to those around them.
Line by Line Meaning
Are you hurting the one you love?
Are you causing emotional pain to the person you claim to love?
You say you've found Heaven but you can't find God.
You claim to have found happiness but still feel like something is missing.
Bite your tongue till it tastes like blood.
Hold your tongue and don't speak harshly or hurtfully towards your loved one.
So many glasses on the tabletop.
Drinking to cope with the problems in the relationship.
You'd like to stay in heaven but the rules are too tough.
You want to maintain the happiness in the relationship but find it difficult to follow the rules of a healthy partnership.
Are you hurting the one you love?
Are you causing emotional pain to the person you claim to love?
Tough,
It's just too tough.
The relationship is challenging and difficult to maintain.
When they watched the walls, and the ticking clock.
Feeling trapped or stagnant in the relationship.
And was it something you could not stop.
Wondering if the negative behavior towards the loved one was uncontrollable.
Could not stop.
Stop,
Could not stop.
Stop,
Could not stop.
Stop,
Could not stop.
Stop,
Could not stop.
Reinforcing the idea that the hurt towards the loved one was difficult to control.
When you leave them sleeping on the hollow ground.
Leaving the loved one feeling alone and unsupported.
And lost for themselves.
Feeling disconnected from the relationship and not sure how to fix it.
And if heaven knows then who will stop.
Acknowledging that the wrong behavior was known all along but no one intervened.
You said you got to heaven, but it wasn't enough.
While claiming to feel happy in the relationship, it was still lacking in some way.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: CHRISTOPHER LLOYD HAYDEN, FLORENCE LEONTINE MARY WELCH, ISABELLA JANET FLORENTINA SUMMERS, MICA LEVI, TOM MONGER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind