I was out doing my usual record shopping and ran into the limited edition box set of Florence and the Machine’s critically acclaimed album Lungs. I thought thought to myself, I already have this so I don’t need this but then I saw a song on the 3rd disc that I didn’t recognize, the song was called Swimming. When I got home I did some research and found out this version is actually the demo for the much lighter and pop-minded Swimming Song. This version is dark, passionate and powerful, it totally justified my purchase.
Your songs remind me of swimming,
Which I forgot when I started to sink
Drank further away from the shore,
And deeper into the drink.Sat on the bottom of the ocean,
A stern and stubborn rock
Cos your songs remind me of swimming,
But somehow I forgot…
Something about this song makes me think of people who lose touch with who they are when they get older. The so-called “real world” is a dangerous place because it can make us feel like we have to do things that don’t fall in line with our disposition. In my opinion, that’s one of the worst things that could happen to someone because then you just become a zombie, going through the motions emotionless, everyday single day waiting to get out of work to live – the wackness.
This jam is dedicated to you and your boys And if you knew what I knew, then you’d kill that noise!” – MC Shan (1987)
In this song Florence realizes that she’s lost touch with who she is but when she hears this special song it wakes her up and reignites that fire. This is an incredible song, I’d love to write more but there’s just too much to do, enjoy.