“Various Storms and Saints” by Florence + The Machine (Song)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dhpYT37krc

“Various Storms and Saints” is the fifth track released on Florence + The Machine’s 2015 album How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful. The album itself represents a shift from Florence’s earlier work while also encapsulating signature elements of her style. She still uses soaring vocals and bold, catchy bridges; however, on this album, she slows down many songs, and on others, there is more of a pop-style feel. This song specifically is one of the slower, more emotional works, inspired by a letter that Frida Kahlo wrote about heartbreak. incorporating some lines from Kahlo’s letter, Florence essentially mimicked Kahlo by writing a letter to herself during a period of her own sadness while she was living in London. In an interview, Florence noted that the song was written to be a motivation as well as an outpouring of feeling and ‘inescapable’ emotions she was feeling at the time. As a result, the song contains a genuinely vulnerable, emotional tone. Florence also noted in her interview that due to the deeply personal aspect of the song, she didn’t want to include it on the album up until the very last minute. Although it is deeply personal, the emotion bared in the song is still relatable.

            The most prominent theme conveyed in “Various Storms and Saints” is the raw emotion and sadness that follows heartbreak. A melancholy, sincere tone is created in the song through Florence’s use of strong lyrics, powerful vocals, very little backup instrumentation, and a minor key. Combined, these elements convey a sense of intimacy and sincere emotion that demonstrates the despondence that can follow a significant emotional loss, which in this case, is a romantic heartbreak. The stark, consistent strumming of single notes on the electric guitar also helps create a mood of eerie loneliness. Following this initial theme, the song conveys the theme of perseverance and regaining strength after a serious emotional setback. As the song progresses, there is the addition of a choir and layered vocals as well as a building chord progression on the guitar—the guitarist shifts from strumming a single note to using full tonal chords. When paired with increasingly hopeful lyrics such as, “But one day this will be over/I swear it's not so far away,” the shift in the song conveys a sense of regaining strength and assurance that there is hope and power left in the future. The lyrics are also in the first person, and addressed to the second person “you,” adding to its emotional and sincere nature.

This song is beautiful to me in many ways. It is one of my favorite songs on the album, as it is really a departure from the pop nature of some of her songs. I’m a huge Florence and the Machine fan, and I believe that “Various Storms and Saints” is an impressive example of Florence Welch’s of masterful writing and vocal performance skills. While this song is definitely a display of talent, it also includes a powerful message and theme. In this way, Florence truly harnessed her talents in order to convey a very pure sense of emotion, which I find quite beautiful. This song is also definitely a song to listen to when I am experiencing intense emotions. Though it is not necessarily uplifting, for me, the emotions conveyed are some that that I can identify with. That in turn makes me feel more reassured and confident in my own emotional fortitude and strength, even though my problems rarely (…never) stem from romantic relationships. I also truly enjoy the simplistic instrumentation in this song, and think that its bare nature helps express emotion in a more genuine way compared to some of her other songs. Overall, the theme, lyrics, and musical characteristics combine in “Various Storms and Saints” to make it one of my favorite songs.