Florida!!! Taylor Swift and Florence & The Machine join forces for a powerful anthem

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

After almost a decade of cherished ‘public’ friendship, collaborating with common friends and musicians, and always having each other’s back — pop megastar Taylor Swift and British indie powerhouse Florence Welch have finally joined forces. Two singers who made heartbreaks and heartaches, both relatable and borderline desirable, finally came together for a song that will be remembered for the ages.

‘Florida!!!’, the joint offering by Swift and Florence & The Machine is an absolute winner, which in my opinion, is the best song from her 11th album, The Tortured Poets Department. It’s catchy, brooding, anthemic, and euphoric. All at once. It screams and also makes you want to scream.

The first verse starts with Swift’s low-pitched vocals, in the background of gloomy melancholia. It talks about Florida, a city that makes her want to go crazy and re-imagine ‘home’ and longingness as a ‘town you’re just a guest in’. These lines hit hard, especially in today’s ‘era’ of commitment and abandonment issues, where home isn’t a place, but a concept. ‘Home’ could be anything — the house where you grew up, the tiny room where you lived while building yourself, or even, your lover’s arms.

Then comes the part, which completely changes the tonality and feel of the song. Backed by pounding drums (not very common in Swift’s songs) and ‘Florida’ being sung in a euphoric style, the song takes an anthemic turn, paving the way for the iconic collaborator. The excitement builds up. You know who is coming next.

The enchantress enters. Florence Welch. She comes and takes things up a notch.

‘The hurricane was my name when it came
I got drunk and I dared it to wash me away
Barricaded in the bathroom with a bottle of wine
Well, me and my ghost, we had a hell of a time
Yes, I’m haunted but I’m feeling just fine’

Powerful imagery, presented in an equally powerful voice. In ‘Florida!!!’, Welch brings in her A-game — anthemic soundscapes and powerhouse vocals — layering Swift’s melancholia, with sharp, hard-hitting energy. Even though the song tends to be heavily influenced by Welch’s signature tune, especially ‘Cosmic Love’ and ‘All This and Heaven Too’, the balance in the song pans out perfectly. Despite having a collaborator with a voice that powerful and enchanting, it doesn’t challenge Swift, who manages to keep her essence intact.

As the song progresses, both the singers move ahead in sync, perfectly complementing each other. Each does their parts with ease and aplomb, given the contrast in the kind of music they are known to make, and it feels great.

Why Florida?

‘Little did you know your home’s really only a town you’re just a guest in
So you work your life away just to pay for a timeshare down in Destin
Little did you know your home’s really only a town you’ll get arrested
So you pack your life away just to wait out the s—t storm back in Texas’

The internet is flooded with fan theories, that try to decode the meaning behind Florida. Why Florida, and not Pennsylvania or Nashville or New York? The most prominent one suggests that the song refers to her relationship with English actor Joe Alwyn. Swift was performing in Florida back in 2023 — as a part of her Eras Tour — when the news of their separation was out. The next stop after Florida was Houston in Texas, highlighted in the last line about packing your life away to Texas.

Review | The Tortured Poets Department: Taylor Swift’s tale of heartbreak and healing  

Also Read: Taylor Swift surprises with extra tracks on ‘The Tortured Poets Department’ album

[Edited by: Pihu Yadav]

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow