When Florence Welch wanted to create a ‘monstrous’ song during her lockdown, she really did mean it. “Heaven Is Here” is the result of this motive and she accompanies this hard-hitting track with an equally powerful and energetic music video.
“Heaven Is Here” is the second single from Florence + The Machine’s upcoming fifth studio album, ‘Dance Fever.’ The band released the first single “King” just two weeks prior.
Releasing the song, Florence Welch provided some background to the song; “Heaven is Here was the first song I wrote in lockdown after an extended period of not being able to get to the studio. I wanted to make something monstrous. And this clamour of joy, fury and grief was the first thing that came out…”
Florence Welch also shared her love for two of the dancers in the music video, who are from Ukraine, and are in shelters at the moment due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine going on right now.
Listen to “Heaven Is Here” by Florence + The Machine
Florence and The Machine “Heaven Is Here” Lyrics Meaning and Song Review
“Heaven Is Here” is a song filled with the sweetness of destruction! The song attempts to bridge the vast distances between heaven and hell; personified through herself.
Oh, bring your salt, bring your cigarette
Draw me a circle and I’ll protect
Back in the day salt circles were used to keep out ghosts and (in general) evil spirits. Florence Welch is protective of her love affairs. She will do anything to protect her loved ones.
Heaven is here if you want it
Florence Welch promises heaven on earth for her lover. However, this might not be the heaven you have read in fairytales.
In the third verse of the song, we learn why.
I went to the water, drank every drop
I’ll turn your sea to a desert
‘Water’ is a universal symbol of prosperity, healing, calmness, and life itself. Florence Welch’s love has a rather different impact. As deep as her love goes, the greater her thirst is. And she will suck you dry. A man with love as big as the ocean, Florence can make them dry. A desert always seeks water. If Florence drank up the entire river and her man is the desert, he will keep coming back to her.
More catholic taste than the Devil
This lyric packs a lot. The Devil himself was once an angel. So, he was actually molded in the heavens above but was cast down to hell for his greed and pride. Florence insinuates that she is made out of all the ‘good’ that heaven stands for — the same kind the Devil was made out of!
Hell, if it glitters, I’m going
Greed is the root of all evil. And Florence Welch dives right in. If hell was glittering, she would be going in without a second thought.
And еvery song I wrote became an escape rope
Tied around my neck to pull me up to Heaven
So many emotions are thrown around in these two lines in the outro of “Heaven Is Here.” Escaping from something is considered good. Escaping to heaven is even better. But her escape mechanism is a tight rope around her neck stretching all the way to heaven. She is being lifted to heaven on this rope! Yes, she is going to heaven, but how long can her neck hold on? Is her own music both her salvation and destruction?
Let us hear what you think about this song in the comments below. Check out the complete lyrics on Genius.