Florence Welch Quotes & Sayings

I saw 'The Artist.' It's really beautiful and it's all done to the letter with all the silent film techniques. The costumes were amazing and the dog is so good. — Florence Welch

I can see the green light
I can see it in your eyes — Florence Welch

I like a house party and fancy dress, a big fan of fancy dress, like dress up, costume parties. — Florence Welch

I get in fights with my sister all the time. She comes on the road with me and we fight - like sisters do. — Florence Welch

Bono told me how to dance in high heels and he also told me about U2's Glastonbury performance and how everything that could have possibly gone wrong went wrong, including him ripping his trousers on stage. I think he was lunging and his trousers ripped! He was telling me how he had to find a new way of performing that didn't involve moving. — Florence Welch

I can't just have one painting - I need to cover the wall in paintings. It's the same with my music. I want to mix everything together to create more. — Florence Welch

When you play, it's like you know that there are people out there who are hearing it for the first time, and I think that's really important. — Florence Welch

I've always been a bit of a decorator. I think if I wasn't a singer I'd probably be in stage setting or interior design or something. I like clutter and I'm quite visually greedy. I can't have things to be plain; I have to have things looking interesting ... maybe I'm just a frustrated interior designer stuck in a singing career. — Florence Welch

I try to maintain a healthy dose of daydreaming, to remain sane. — Florence Welch

You took my heart and you held it in your mouth
And, with a word all my love came rushing out
And, every whisper, it's the worst, emptied out by a single word
There is a hollow in me now ...
And
Every whisper, every sigh
Eats away at this heart of mine
And there is a hollow in me now.
So I put my faith in something unknown
I'm living on such sweet nothing
But I'm trying to hope with nothing to hold
I'm living on such sweet nothing. — Florence Welch

For someone so conflicted, who am I to give advice to anybody? It's such a funny, grandiose idea — Florence Welch

Going to parties usually makes me feel depressed, just because I have such social fear after meeting people. — Florence Welch

I was always that girl growing up who you could find dancing down supermarket aisles. It's that sense of not feeling inhibited. Dancing in supermarkets is my favorite thing. — Florence Welch

But I was always much more interested in reading fashion magazines than I was music magazines when I was a teenager. Just that sense of romanticism and escapism and the dream of it has always been quite alluring to me, as well as that sense of becoming a character through clothes. — Florence Welch

I wanted to be a witch when I was a kid. I was obsessed with witchcraft. At school, me and my two friends had these spell books; I always wanted a more magical reality. I had a little shrine at home and I did a spell to try and make the boy in the other class fall in love with me. — Florence Welch

I love Lady Gaga and I love Katy Perry and R&B and rap music ... I love big, American pop music. — Florence Welch

I've always been attracted to romantic secondhand clothes. But my style developed as I started going to these strange raves where everybody had these very definitive costumes. — Florence Welch

I feel a responsibility to the fans who have paid to see me and I want to give as good a show as I possibly can. — Florence Welch

I try to write lyrics so that they won't age, which sort of leaves you with the big subjects like death and love and sex and violence. — Florence Welch

I don't want your future
I don't need your past
One bright moment
Is all I ask — Florence Welch

If you asked me to go back to being 14 or 15, I couldn't - it was a terrifying time. I was so awkward in my own skin. I used to hide behind my hair because I was so ridiculously self-conscious. — Florence Welch

I want my music to sound like throwing yourself out of a tree, or off a tall building, or as if you're being sucked down into the ocean and you can't breathe ... It's something overwhelming and all-encompassing that fills you up, and you're either going to explode with it, or you're just going to disappear. — Florence Welch

When something really hits me, it makes me want to either jump off something really high or lie down and be buried. I want people to get hit and caught by my music. — Florence Welch

I was having a conversation with my father and he was talking about this thing - strangeness and charm. It's actually the name of the two smallest particles that there are when you split the atom, so I wrote a song around it. I even managed to fit the word 'hydrogen' in there. Isn't that a nice thing for scientists to call them though? — Florence Welch

It's good to be vulnerable in amongst the grandeur; you shouldn't lose that sense of intimacy and vulnerability with people. — Florence Welch

A lot of the songs on the new album are about imaginary things, things that you can't touch - ghosts and rumors, my dead grandmother, things visiting you in a dream. — Florence Welch

I think an encore is perfectly acceptable, but I find it so weird when people do two or three. — Florence Welch

If you do something with your whole heart and it's a mistake, you can live with that. — Florence Welch

It would be too frightening for me to consider myself a role model. But I like the idea of not being afraid of letting your imagination rule you, to feel the freedom of expression, to let creativity be your overwhelming drive rather than other things. — Florence Welch

On stage, you can use your emotions. It's the place where you can channel them. They have a purpose. — Florence Welch

I like to wear clothes that I will wear when I am an old lady. — Florence Welch

When I first started, especially because I got the Critics' Choice before I'd released an album, there was a lot of scrutiny on what my character was, what my background was, what colour my hair was. I fought quite hard for the music to overtake the personality aspect. — Florence Welch

I'm pretty obsessed with Stevie Nicks from her style to her voice. I like watching her on YouTube and her old performances, the way she moves and everything. — Florence Welch

I started off singing in church as a child. The sound of voices coming together, that was my first moment of touching something outside of myself. — Florence Welch

I'm really careful with what the music gets put with, and we say no to so much stuff, loads of it, for things that might quadruple the sales of my album. But if it doesn't fit then it doesn't fit, you know? — Florence Welch

I can't ever seem to shake the feeling that when things are really good it essentially means that things are going to go really bad. When I feel calm and settled, there is always an underlying feeling of impending doom ... I don't think that it's healthy. — Florence Welch

The Teenage Cancer Trust does incredible work supporting and caring for teenagers and young adults with cancer, and it's a cause that is really close to me and my family. — Florence Welch

I'm down to bleach my eyebrows again. I tell you what, though - that didn't go down well with my boyfriend. Girls love it. Guys, not so into it. — Florence Welch

I think "waste of your brain" is something that my mother would say to me occasionally - I think it's usually when I'm telling her something like that I can remember every outfit I've ever worn. — Florence Welch

I tend to lose myself in the moment. I'm not very good at holding back. I don't know how to do this without feeling everything. My emotions are the tool I use to perform. — Florence Welch

Worst nightmares can also appear with your eyes open. — Florence Welch

The stars, the moon, they have all been blown out
You left me in the dark
No dawn, no day, I'm always in this twilight
In the shadow of your heart — Florence Welch

Sometimes I wish for falling
Wish for the release
Wish for falling through the air
To give me some relief
Because falling's not the problem
When I'm falling I'm in peace
It's only when I hit the ground
It causes all the grief — Florence Welch

This is a song for a scribbled out name
And my love keeps writing again and again
This is a song for a scribbled out name
And my love keeps writing again and again
And again and again and again and again and again and again ... — Florence Welch

Excitable, easily distracted, sometimes vacant, prone to gloominess and also extreme euphoria; I can't be generous with time, but I try to be generous with affection. I'm really lucky to be able to be in some of these situations and it feels really nice to be able to take people along with me for the ride. Oh, and I'm a pain in the ass as well. — Florence Welch

I think I should get a bigger between-the-song persona, so then I'm not wandering around the stage like some mad old auntie that's saying hello to people and falling over. — Florence Welch

I'm just a black hole for stuff. No one should ever hand me anything, because I get so easily distracted. I'll be like, 'Oh, look, something shiny!' I'm glad I never learned how to drive. I would be really dangerous. — Florence Welch

I made music with my friend, who we called Isabella Machine to which I was Florence Robot. When I was about an hour away from my first gig, I still didn't have a name, so I thought 'Okay, I'll be Florence Robot/Isa Machine', before realising that name was so long it'd drive me mad. — Florence Welch

It's hard to dance with the Devil on your back, So shake him off. — Florence Welch

I can't wait to get on stage, because there you don't worry about whether you'll ever get married because your life is insane, or whether you'll ever have another boyfriend again, you don't worry about the typical boundaries of how your life has to be. — Florence Welch

I've got quite a vivid imagination and I'm easily overwhelmed by sensations and things that are beautiful or scary. I don't think I've ever seen a ghost - I think I'm probably haunted by my own ghosts than real ones. — Florence Welch

I look really odd in jeans and a hoodie - it doesn't feel or seem right. — Florence Welch

My style of playing is more enthusiasm and instinct than skill. — Florence Welch

I've got some incredible fans actually - so loyal and they make me birthday cards and Christmas cards. I got this package of poems and artwork based around the songs. They've got this thing called 'Floetry' where they all have to put in artwork. They've set up their own competitions and stuff which is kind of amazing. — Florence Welch

I quite like the drama of an encore. I think an encore is for those artists who are inclined to do dramatic gestures, and I certainly would say I am inclined towards them. — Florence Welch

Having a soul, they say, is like taking sadness and turning it into something beautiful. — Florence Welch

Touring, and being in a band, it's almost like the other stuff, the other parts of life, get put on hold. — Florence Welch

I can't worry too much about the everyday things. Otherwise I'd lose touch with my own world, that helps me as an artist, but it's frustrating for the people around me. I'm vaguely functional, but there's always something slightly off. — Florence Welch

When you're dressed up as David Bowie, with your eyebrows completely bleached, and you're doing this kind of strange dance with Paul McCartney while singing "Rebel Rebel" in the middle of the Met ball, and Madonna's looking at you ... I was just thinking, It's become a bit weird. — Florence Welch

The stage is the place I feel comfortable - it's almost as if real life is where I feel most nervous. Conversations are a lot more nerve-wracking. — Florence Welch

During the songs, you transcend yourself. The best way to be in the performance is to be without pause and be essentially in the moment, in that moment of expression. — Florence Welch

And I started to hear it again
But this time it wasn't the end
And the room is so quiet,
Oh oh oh
And my heart is a hollow plane
For the devil to dance again
But the room is too quiet
Oh oh oh
I was looking for the breath of a life
A little touch of a heavenly life
But all the choirs in my head sang
No, oh oh — Florence Welch

Whispering like it's a secret, only to condemn the one who hears it, with a heavy heart. — Florence Welch

Music is my way out. I keep things locked up and never say anything. I guess in order to say something to one person, I have to sing it to a couple of thousand. It doesn't make for healthy relationships. — Florence Welch

Love is horrible. I mean, when you're in love, it's like a sickness. Such madness. — Florence Welch

It's always darkness before the dawn — Florence Welch

A falling star fell from your heart and landed in my eyes.
I screamed aloud, as it tore through them, and now it's left me blind.
The stars, the moon, they have all been blown out.
You left me in the dark.
No dawn, no day, I'm always in this twilight.
In the shadow of your heart.
And in the dark, I can hear your heartbeat.
I tried to find the sound.
But then it stopped, and I was in the darkness,
So darkness I became.
I took the stars from my eyes, and then I made a map.
And knew that somehow I could find my way back.
Then I heard your heart beating, you were in the darkness too.
So I stayed in the darkness with you. — Florence Welch

I was a heavy heart to carry
My beloved was weighed down
My arms around his neck
My fingers laced to crown.
I was a heavy heart to carry
My feet dragged across ground
And he took me to the river
Where he slowly let me drown
My love has concrete feet
My love's an iron ball
Wrapped around your ankles
Over the waterfall — Florence Welch

My room is like an antique shop, full of junk, and weird stuff. There's a big sword in there. And a taxidermy bird, and a couple of birdcages. And a lot of newspaper cuttings. I used to have a weird thing about cutting out morbid headlines from newspapers, and collecting them. I was fascinated with drowning, which is kind of strange. — Florence Welch

I've been having this really weird anxiety dream about arriving too late or too early, and the people in charge are like, 'You have to leave! You have to go back to the hotel and get ready!' And I use the wrong exit, and I'm running down the red carpet in pyjamas, like, 'No! Don't look at me!' — Florence Welch

The music is so euphoric,as a way of battling the words. It's like an exorcism, beating it out with drums, shake this demon out, it's so visceral because the melancholy has to be drummed out. I can't let it sit inside me. — Florence Welch

I'm attracted to the idea of drowning. Or rather the idea of jumping off and being enveloped by something, not bad or good, just enveloping.
When I was a kid, I had a moment when I got under the water, lying on the pool floor, and felt I could breathe. I've been trying to recreate that feeling ever since. — Florence Welch

I definitely have a real self-destructive streak. — Florence Welch

The release of 'Lungs' was so hard. It was terrifying, because it was the first time doing everything. The first experiences of media exposure were almost paralysing. I spent a lot of time crying on the floor of the studio - it sent me a bit mad. — Florence Welch

I dyed my hair red when I was ten and when I was 11 - in my goth period - I dyed it black and I was really into witchcraft. I made mini shrines in my bedroom with candles and tried to cast spells to make the boy in the next class fall in love with me. I don't think he did. — Florence Welch

I think I just get excited by music, and, like, singing is a very physical thing. It releases endorphins in your body. You're using almost muscle in there, and I think that adrenaline really helps to kind of make the songs fresh every time. — Florence Welch

I've spent a lot of time in tiny venues in the way that I got my record deal and got my name out there just performing live. I was literally performing my songs in all kinds of different ways with different guitarists, and I didn't have an album up online or anything. It's been a lot of work; it definitely hasn't been a sudden explosion into fame. — Florence Welch

I've always been able to just concoct a melody quite easily - it's just kind of instinct, really. You've got to channel your subconscious. — Florence Welch

Growing up, I always wanted to be in punk bands, so I'm really enjoying the harder, heavier element. It's always been my dream to have people moshing at my gig, kind of that really feral element of the music coming out more. I love crowd-surfing. — Florence Welch

The first album, for better or for worse, was done over from the ages of 17-22, with a couple of different producers. Some of it was recorded in an old swimming pool, some of it was recorded in a synagogue - it kind of was all over the place. — Florence Welch

My visual landscape as a child was the inside of a lot of these old churches. And the Baroque drama of the things was what I was first engaging with artwise. I'm much more attracted to the aesthetic of religious iconography than the actual religious side. The passion and the blood and the violence and the gaudy side of it I find really fascinating. — Florence Welch

I feel things in quite an intense way. I'm not actually the most intense person. — Florence Welch

I've got my ideal job. I like to sing, I like to dance, I like to bang drums and dress up, and someone pays me - it's incredible. — Florence Welch

Sometimes I find that music is so much more attractive than love. I don't know ... It's like some kind of euphoria, that love can't bring to you. — Florence Welch

They can keep me out
'Til I tear the walls
'Til I save your heart
And to take your soul
For what has been done
Cannot be undone
In the evil's heart
In the evil's soul
Seven devils all around you
Seven devils in your house
See I was dead when I woke up this morning
I'll be dead before the day is done
Before the day is done — Florence Welch

There's green eyes in my eyes
And a lover on my mind
And I sing from the piano
Tear my yellow dress and
Cry and cry and cry
Over the love of you — Florence Welch

At the beginning of my career I was going through a really weird phase of dressing in boys clothes. I would only wear one American Apparel T-shirt and shorts and brogues the whole year round. Not the same T-shirt, obviously, but one style of American Apparel T-shirt. I think I was going through a tomboy stage. — Florence Welch

I love that sense of release as you throw yourself into the crowd as hundreds of arms are carrying you. — Florence Welch

I'd gone from being this art student messing about with music to this girl with a record deal, magazine front covers and all this hype. In many ways, it was everything I ever wanted, but when it happened all I felt was total, paralysing fear. — Florence Welch

What I really like seeing from the stage is people having their own moments, when people are doing some performance of their own. — Florence Welch

Maybe in music you're making an auditory environment and maybe you change your environment around you to suit your own way. — Florence Welch

You live and you learn. — Florence Welch

The sense of jubilee for music and what we're making is always genuine. — Florence Welch

I'm going out, I'm gonna drink myself to death
And in the crowd I see you with someone else
I brace myself 'cause I know it's going to hurt
But I like to think at least things can't get any worse — Florence Welch

There's such an extreme feeling to be in love, especially in quite an emotionally destructive relationship, where you're both kind of really bad for each other, but you love each other so much. Those extreme emotions, I think, can only be described with extreme imagery. — Florence Welch

I'm a choir girl gone horribly, desperately wrong. — Florence Welch

Music to me is so internal. It's physical and it's emotional. Whereas fashion is so much about the external that it's almost like a break. It's not inner turmoil. It's total escapism. — Florence Welch

Look, if Givenchy is going to lend you a dress, I'm not going to turn it down. I would wear that dress to just go out and buy a pint of milk if they would lend it to me. — Florence Welch

When I'm singing I'm always trying to get to the highest point possible. I'd fly to the top of Buckingham Palace to sing to the queen. — Florence Welch

I'd experimented with so many different types of music. I had these folky songs I'd written and recorded, but something wasn't quite right. — Florence Welch