Florence + The Machine’s New Single Has A Powerful Feminist Backstory

The wait is finally over for Florence fans. Sharing their new single, “King”, Florence + The Machine returns with their first body of work since their 2018 album, “High As Hope”. Mailing out mysterious cards marked ‘Chapter 1’ and updating their website with the message “something’s coming”, Florence + The Machine hinted at their return in the run-up to its release.An ethereal, ceremonial track reminiscent of their early work, “King” has been celebrated by fans and beyond. But with a slightly cryptic message – what do the lyrics behind “King” mean?

You guessed it – ever on-brand, “King” has a secret feminist meaning. The music video features Florence Welch wearing a purple hooded cloak, looming over her male counterparts with an army of similarly dressed female disciples.

Proclaiming “I am no mother, I am no bride, I am King”, the track addresses the tough realities of being a woman in the music industry, referencing motherhood, marriage, and femininity. The track explores the sacrifices that all women – not just artists – make in their careers, attacking the tensions between becoming a mother and sustaining a career.

In a press release, Florence + The Machine revealed: “As an artist, I never actually thought about my gender that much, I just got on with it. I was as good as the men and I just went out there and matched them every time. But now, thinking about being a woman in my 30s and the future, I suddenly feel this tearing of my identity and my desires.

That to be a performer, but also to want a family might not be as simple for me as it is for my male counterparts. I had modelled myself almost exclusively on male performers, and for the first time I felt a wall come down between me and my idols as I have to make decisions they did not.”

Take a look at the lyrics for “King” below:

[Verse 1]

We argue in the kitchen about whether to have children

About the world ending and the scale of my ambition

And how much is art really worth?

The very thing you're best at

Is the thing that hurts the most

But you need your rotten heart

Your dazzling pain like diamond rings

You need to go to war to find material to sing

[Chorus]

I am no mother

I am no bride

I am king

I need my golden crown of sorrow

My bloody sword to swing

My empty halls to echo with grand self-mythology

I am no mother

I am no bride

I am king

I am no mother

I am no bride

I am king

[Verse 2]

But a woman is a changeling

Always shifting shape

Just when you think you have it figured out

Something new begins to take

What strange claws are these

Scratching at my skin?

I never knew my killer would be coming from within

[Chorus]

I am no mother

I am no bride

I am king

I am no mother

I am no bride

I am king

I need my golden crown of sorrow

My bloody sword to swing

I need my empty halls to echo with grand self-mythology

'Cause I am no mother

I am no bride

I am king

I am no mother

I am no bride

I am king

I am no mother

I am no bride

I am king

I am no mother

I am no bride

I am king

[Bridge]

Oh

Oh-oh-oh-oh

Oh-ooh

Oh-oh-oh-oh

[Verse 3]

And I was never as good

As I always thought I was

But I knew how to dress it up

I was never satisfied, it never let me go

Just dragged me by my hair

And back on with the show.