Music Monday #27: Kiss With A Fist

Is it Monday again? Well, you should be happy, because on this lovely Music Monday, I bring to you a song by Florence and the Machine. The song is called Kiss With A Fist and it’s from their debut album Lungs.

Now when I first saw Florence Welch, the lead singer, I thought to myself that she’s probably 30ish. Turns out she was born in 1987, which makes her 22. I’m shocked and I feel old. In the recent print issue (August 20, 2009) of Rolling Stone Magazine, she actually mentions that she still lives with her parents.

At any rate, so there is this song, Kiss With A Fist, that she said in some interview I can’t find now is NOT about domestic violence and is just a metaphor. Actually, reading about the song is how I learned what a burning bed scenario is. There actually is a burning bed in the video, so her comment seemed weird. So I looked it up on her website, http://florenceandthemachine.net/index, and there it says:

I was 16 or 17 when I wrote this. I’d just fallen in love for the first time, and I’d also started hanging out with an older group of people, watching how their relationships worked. There was this one couple who were so cool, but so visceral and so intense. The guy never hit the girl, but I saw her lamp him a couple of times, and she’d always give as good as she got. But it wasn’t really the physical violence, it was more about the fact that their animal passion for each other was the thing that was attractive for them. It was how joyful destruction can be, and how alluring it is to be in a relationship that was so fiery. There was never a dull moment when they were around. I don’t know how they do it! I’m a conflict avoider. I think I write about such intense things because I’m actually really bad at expressing anger.

Question answered.

The other catchy song on the album is Drumming (see Drumming on YouTube). It’s not as catchy as Kiss With A Fist, and in the video she’s scantily clad and crawling around on a church floor. I don’t know if that passes as art. Still, it’s a catchy song, too.

Anyway, here’s Kiss With A Fist. Enjoy and comment!

Florence and the Machine
Florence and the flower thingy.

(Alternative link)

Kiss With A Fist by Florence and the Machine

You hit me once
I hit you back
You gave a kick
I gave a slap
You smashed a plate
Over my head
Then i set fire to our bed

You hit me once
I hit you back
You gave a kick
I gave a slap
You smashed a plate
Over my head
Then i set fire to our bed

My black eye casts no shadow
Your red eye sees no pain
Your slaps don’t stick
Your kicks don’t hit
So we remain the same
Blood sticks and
Sweat drips
Break the lock if it don’t fit
A kick in the teeth is good for some
A kiss with a fist is better than none
A kiss with a fist is better than none

Broke your jaw once before
Spilt your blood upon the floor
You broke my leg in return
Sit back and watch the bed burn
Well, love sticks sweat drips
Break the lock if it don’t fit
A kick in the teeth is good for some
A kiss with a fist is better than none
A kiss with a fist is better than none

You hit me once
I hit you back
You gave a kick
I gave a slap
You smashed a plate over my head
Then i set fire to our bed

You hit me once
I hit you back
You gave a kick
I gave a slap
You smashed a plate over my head
Then i set fire to our bed

(Lyrics from songmeanings.net)

 

PS: Go to this Rolling Stone article on Florence and the Machine right now to download two of their songs for free.

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