☝️ Key Points
- The song is about self-reflection and grappling with ambitions and pain.
- The person wants to showcase their own strength and power as a king and not take on traditional feminine roles.
- It is emphasized that art and what the person does best also hurts them the most.
- The person realizes that they are constantly changing and discovering new sides of themselves.
- The song expresses the search for self-acceptance and personal growth.
Interpretation
The song lyrics "King" by
Florence & The Machine is about a person reflecting on their own ambitions and the pain they feel in pursuing them. The song begins with the person and their partner discussing important topics like having children and the end of the world. The person also questions how much art is really worth. They say that what they do best is also what hurts them the most. Yet, they need their broken heart and the painful substance to sing about it.
The person explains that they are not a mother or a bride, but a king. They long for fame and self-mythology. They need a golden crown of sorrow, a bloody sword, and empty halls to tell their story. They emphasize that they don't want to take on traditional female roles, but to show their own strength and power as a king.
However, the person also recognizes that a woman is constantly changing and discovering new sides of themselves. They wonder what strange claws are scratching at them and causing their inner conflict. They didn't expect their own adversary to come from within.
At the end of the song, the person confesses that they were never as good as they thought, but they knew how to hide it. They were never satisfied and were always pulled further, but they kept going and put on their show.
Overall, the lyrics of the song "King" express the search for self-acceptance and the pursuit of personal growth while dealing with internal conflicts and ambitions. It encourages recognizing one's own strengths and power, even if they deviate from traditional roles.