First published in PsychTalk, The University of Huddersfield’s Department of Psychology Newsletter- https://psytalkhud.wordpress.com/
Florence and the Machine – Hunger
Warning: references to eating disorders
In her latest album ‘High as Hope’, Florence Welch explores some deep personal issues surrounding mental health, with her band The Machine. The song ‘Hunger’, references to Welch’s struggle with an eating disorder as a teenager (Ryzik, 2018) which she had never discussed with her family (Grow, 2018). According to Ryzik (2018), Welch was concerned that people would be upset that she put it so openly in her song, but after some trepidation she decided the song was stronger with-it in. Realising this helped her own understanding of her experiences- “It definitely was a release for me,” she said. “The songs sometimes have more clarity in them than I do about my life.” (Ryzik, 2018).
At seventeen, I started to starve myself
I thought that love was a kind of emptiness
And at least I understood then, the hunger I felt
And I didn’t have to call it loneliness
We all have a hunger
We all have a hunger
We all have a hunger
We all have a hunger
Tell me what you need, oh, you look so free
The way you use your body, baby, come on and work it for me
Don’t let it get you down, you’re the best thing I’ve seen
We never found the answer but we knew one thing
We all have a hunger (we all have a hunger)
We all have a hunger (we all have a hunger)
We all have a hunger (we all have a hunger)
We all have a hunger (we all have a hunger)
And it’s Friday night and it’s kicking in
In that pink dress, they’re gonna crucify me
Oh, and you in all your vibrant youth
How could anything bad ever happen to you?
You make a fool of death with your beauty, and for a moment
I thought that love was in the drugs
But the more I took, the more it took away
And I could never get enough
I thought that love was on the stage
You give yourself to strangers
You don’t have to be afraid
Then it tries to find a home with people, or when I’m alone
Picking it apart and staring at your phone
References
Grow, K. (2018, November 8). Florence Welch on Sobriety, Embracing Loneliness and Loving Patti Smith. Rolling Stone. Retrieved from https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/florence-machine-tour-sobriety-patti-smith-752510/
Ryzik, M. (2018, June 14). ‘I Never Thought I Would Talk About It.’ So Florence Welch Put It in a Song. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/14/arts/music/florence-and-the-machine-high-as-hope.html