Delilah Lyrics
Holding on for your call
Climbing up the walls for that flashing light
I can never let go
Cause I'm gonna be free and I'm gonna be fine
Holding on for your call
Cause I'm gonna be free and I'm gonna be fine
Maybe not tonight
Holding on for your call
Another drink just to pass the time
I can never say no
Cause I'm gonna be free and I'm gonna be fine
Holding on for your call
Cause I'm gonna be free and I'm gonna be fine
But maybe not tonight
And the bells are ringing out
And I'm calling for my mother
As I pull the pillars down
It's a different kind of danger
And my feet are spinning around
Never knew I was a dancer
'till Delilah showed me how
Sometimes it all falls down
These chains never leave me
I keep dragging them around
Holding on for your call
A different kind of danger in the daylight
I can never let go
Took anything to cut you I can find
Holding on for your call
A different kind of a danger in the daylight
Can't you let me know?
Holding on for your call
Taking the pills just to pass the time
I can never say no
Cause I'm gonna be free and I'm gonna be fine
Holding on for your call
Cause I'm gonna be free and I'm gonna be fine
But maybe not tonight
And the bells are ringing out
And I'm calling for my mother
As I pull the pillars down
It's a different kind of danger
And my feet are spinning around
Never knew I was a dancer
'till Delilah showed me how
Holding on for your call
A different kind of danger in the daylight
I can never let go
Took anything to cut you I can find
Holding on for your call
A different kind of a danger in the daylight
Can't you let me know?
Hang in, hung up, it's so rough
I'm rung and ringing out
Why can't you let me know?
Hang in, hung up, it's so rough
I'm rung and ringing out
Why can't you let me know?
And the bells are ringing out
And I'm calling for my mother
As I pull the pillars down
It's a different kind of danger
And my feet are spinning around
Never knew I was a dancer
'till Delilah showed me how
And the bells are ringing out
And I'm calling for my mother
As I pull the pillars down
It's a different kind of danger
And my feet are spinning around
Never knew I was a dancer
'till Delilah showed me how
Sometimes it all falls down
These chains never leave me
I keep dragging them around
Sometimes it all falls down
These chains never leave me
I keep dragging them around
I think this song is about Florence Welch's recovery from her alcohol and substance abuse issues. Addiction recovery can often feel worse before it feels better, and I think that's what this song describes.
Welch's lyrics talk about "climbing up the walls for that flashing light", the sun blinding her (being hungover), never being able to say no to a drink. She wants to be free of her addiction ("I'm gonna be free and I'm gonna be fine") but knows it's not a quick process ("Maybe not tonight.") She sometimes feels she will never recover: "These chains never leave me, I keep dragging them around."
I think Delilah represents whomever or whatever convinced her to seek treatment. She's "dancing with Delilah and her vision is mine," she can see a future for herself without alcoholism, but the practice is harder than the idea.
The chorus, the biggest and most emotional part of the song, is about the struggle. Alcohol withdrawals can be severe and even life-threatening, they are "a different kind of danger" than drinking. Emotions also run high and some recovering alcoholics fly into rages: "pull the pillars down" could be in reference to a rage. "Calling for my mother" expresses her fear at what she's going through and the helplessness she might feel during the withdrawal.
The last three lines of the chorus are some of my all-time favorite: "And my feet are spinning round Never knew I was a dancer 'Til Delilah showed me how." Through a chaotic and terrifying and insanely difficult process, she's discovering things she never knew about herself, and maybe she's not sure what to think about them yet.
Amazing and powerful song, my favorite on the new album.
I see the album as one big story line,each song continuing right where the previous left off. By the end of 'Queen of Peace',Florence has most likely ended the relationship with the man she talks about in that song. The last two stanzas give the imagery of the sun setting. 'Various Storms and Saints' talks about the mixed feelings about leaving him and has a darker,more mellow sound that makes me think the time-span of that song was the 'night' after that sunset. 'Delilah' starts off with Florence "drifting through halls" in the sunrise. Now,on to the meaning.
The sunrise is obviously freedom,probably from the relationship/feelings she just got over. She's "climbing up the walls" towards it,so she desperately wants this too. However,she's "blinded" by this freedom,and she's so desperate to break herself away from the man she knew and explore the power she has as a woman that she's going around with many men and ruining them,thinking their prose and love is a facade ("Now it's one more boy and it's one more lie).
Delilah was a temptress in the Hebrew Bible,as she heavily betrayed a man named Samson,and this is who Florence is mimicking. The danger of luring men to betrayal is a different kind of danger than falling in love with them,and it's something she's seemingly proud of. The use of imagery of bells ringing and her dancing and calling for her mother (an are-you-proud-of-me? call) show the fun danger of it all,and "pulling the pillars down" refers to toppling the strength of a man,much like in the biblical narrative referenced. "Never knew I was a dancer 'til Delilah showed me how," is such a good line!
It took anything for her to cut the memories of 'that' man out of her life,but despite all the dancing and daylight,she still misses him and even "holds on" for his call. Those lines in parentheses are minuscule voices of her heart that show that she's really not over him either. "Too fast for freedom," she tried moving on too quickly; "Sometimes it all falls down," her high is over and she's crashed; "These chains never leave me,I keep dragging them around," she realizes that she still has feelings tied to this man. The "strung up,strung out" stanza also serves as a moment back to reality,where she knows she's still in emotional pain,and "why can't he let her know" how he feels,what they are now,etc.
A really great song.
@Toonlink13 I really like your reading of the song.
@Toonlink13 I really like your reading of the song.
I don't know if anyone has commented on what the TV she is watching in the video is saying. It's one of those religious shows and the reverend is saying, "You cannot love and forgive yourself until you love and forgive yourself." I think this song is about her realizing that she sees the end of the relationship that she is hurt about. But "maybe not tonight". She knows she can't fix herself right away. She's "Gonna free and she's gonna be fine." And the line, "i'm calling for my Mother".. one of the greatest supportive people you can have or wish to have. I think it kinda ties into the quote "A Mother is God in the eyes of a child" Whether you have a good or bad relationship with your mother.. She is often the one people call out for in troubling times. She's holding on and is having a hard time letting go. But at the same time knows she will get over it. Just not right now. In all honesty.. I think "Delilah" is the liquor/pills "I never knew I was a dancer until Delilah showed me how".. I know first hand the only time I ever have the confidence to dance is when I'm drinking. She wants closure.. closure she never got. "Can't you let me know."
"You cannot love and forgive yourself until you love and forgive OTHERS."****
"You cannot love and forgive yourself until you love and forgive OTHERS."****
I don't think this song is about addiction/alcoholism at all. I believe it's about overcoming a great betrayal. Florence is the Samson in the song. Trying to heal herself after her great love "Delilah" cut her hair and stole her strength. If unfamiliar with the story, check out the biblical narrative on this page: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samson
Gal gone from innocence of younger days to flicking 'fun' now she's so popular with boys and is afraid more will follow
i think its about lesbian sex