King
Producers
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
I am no mother, I am no bride, I am king
[Chorus]
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 strangе claws are these scratching at my skin
I nеver knew my killer would be coming from within
I am no mother, I am no bride, I am king
I am no mother, I am no bride, I am king
[Chorus]
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
About
“King” is the first single from Florence + the Machine’s fifth studio album, Dance Fever. The lyrics depict Florence Welch struggling with the desire of going on with her a career and a silent wish of having children, as explained by the artist in an April 2022 interview with Vogue. In her head, those feelings are opposite and don’t go well together, because she can’t see how kids could fit in her lifestyle.
The whole crux of the song is that you’re torn between the two. The thing I’ve always been sure of is my work, but I do start to feel this shifting of priorities, this sense of, like, maybe I want something different.
The song was first teased in a letter sent out to some fans on February 21, 2022, that said “CHAPTER 1” and had a card inside. On the following day, billboards throughout London had the same card displayed, and the band’s website was updated with 15 cards, the first one being the “KING”, and an announcement that new music would be coming soon.
The single artwork was shot by American director and photographer Autumn de Wilde, who had already previously worked with Florence + The Machine by directing the music video for “Big God”. She also directed the music video for “King”.
This is the group’s first release since “Call Me Cruella”, released in 2021 for the movie Cruella starring Emma Stone.
Q&A
Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning
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.
Florence Welch:
Sometimes songs just arrive fully formed, and it’s always when you think you’ll never write a song again. I felt like my creative abilities were finally at the peak of how I understood myself as an artist and what I wanted to do. But if I wanted to have a family, there was this sense that suddenly I was being irresponsible with my time by choosing this thing that I’ve known my whole life, which is performance, which is making songs, which is striving to be the best performer that I can be. Somehow, it would be your fault if you miss the boat. I think that scream at the end of “King”, it’s just one of frustration, and confusion as well. I was thinking about Nick Cave and Leonard Cohen. I was thinking about how they can commit their body entirely to the stage. I was like, ‘Oh my god, I’m not going to be able to do that. I’m going to have to make choices.’ It’s a statement of confidence, but also of humour that the album has, of ‘If I’m going to sacrifice these other things in my life, I have to be the best.’ I was like, ‘Why not me? Why can’t I be king?’
—via Apple Music
- 1.King
- 2.Free
- 3.Choreomania
- 4.Back in Town
- 8.Cassandra
- 10.Daffodil
- 11.My Love
- 12.Restraint
- 13.The Bomb
- 14.Morning Elvis