Florence and the Machine – Shake It Out

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  My Opinion:Through my eyes I see Florence as everyone else whenever they have gotten to a point in their lives where they can't simply go on. It's nothing physical, it's the regret that they have gathered through their experiences and actions. The "horse" that she is dragging around could stand for the recurring memories of "regrets gather like old friends". These inhibit her from living so she has to "bury the horse" by "shaking out" everything she has done, and accept that she has made mistakes, but she will continue and persevere ("I'm ready to suffer, and I'm ready to hope"). Lastly, I think that this is an excellent song, not only in it's execution, but in the morale that everyone should understand. No matter what you have done, "shake it out" and realize that the only way to repent is by not wasting your days lamenting on your past choices.

  Flag Etelleseron April 14, 2013   Link

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  My Interpretation:I believe its about her being so overwhelmed and burdened by a relationship she has just decided to "shake it out"; become free and start fresh. She knows that its going to be hard and will hurt her but she realizes that in order for things to get better she has to take a leap of faith.

  Flag Kergirlon February 13, 2013   Link

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  Link(s):vigilantcitizen.com/musicbusiness/the-esoteric-meaning-of-florence-the-machines-shake-it-out-and-no-light-no-light/
  
  and oddly I still like it!

  Flag Ummron January 05, 2013   Link

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  General Comment:From what I recall, this song was inspired by a hangover after a night of drinking. I personally love the full choir sound in the chorus (the "oh whoah"s).
  
  To me, this song is about identifying something in yourself that you don't like and want to change.. but aren't sure how to go about doing so. Maybe it's a habit or an addiction; or maybe not quite so strong.

  Flag flingeonon December 19, 2012   Link

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  My Interpretation:I think it's about the internal battle you fight with your mind, with yourself. You want to know who you really are so you explore your dark side and do everything -- try anything, even wrong things and make bad choices as you go down the road of life. You think these choices will make you stronger and better but they just end up hurting you. Then these regrets come back to haunt you right when you decide to change for the better. But life is a process and you just have to shake off the negativity bit by bit. You just have to accept that life is uncontrollable and it's just the way it is but what you can control is how you handle those things that life throws at you. "And I'm ready to suffer and I'm ready to hope" so bring it on, life.

  Flagged clariceandhersongson October 18, 2012   Link

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  Lyric Correction:it's definitely "but i like to keep my issues drawn"
  makes sense, because it follows "i like to keep some things to myself"

  Flagged joshphilippion July 12, 2012   Link

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  General Comment:It just happened to me several days ago when I almost broke up and heard this song in How I met your mother, perfect song for interpretation of this situation of having difficulty getting rid of memory and past.
  
  "It's always darkest before the dawn"--- it takes lots of internal painful struggle against the beautiful memories and lovely moments that are to be ceased. This indeterminaiton is the darkest and most torturing. The dawn is supposed to be the moment when you make up your mind to get over with it and let it go.
  
  Ironically I decided to let it go and called it to an end, but he proposed that he would like to give it another try and make more effort, which he never did in the past.
  
  This may be a positive ending, but I came to this question: Does it always have to be a goodbye that turns the situation around and make people change?

  Flagged Aquaflowon July 05, 2012   Link

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    +1

    Nope, it’s not the only option. Sometimes a goodbye really is the final solution…

    Flag xatticus11on August 19, 2012  
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  General Comment:I think it's about addiction which can be anything - drugs, people, food. Trying to recover and struggling to move past whatever you have done is often made impossible because our memories hold us prisoner. We look to escape the things we wish we could forget - although we often enjoyed doing horrible things in the moment - yet when we reflect back on them they haunt us. We hope that we will be better in the future, but humans are creatures of habit and they repeat the same mistakes over and over.
  
  "Dragging that horse around" and "bury that horse in the ground" - trying to rid herself of her addictions. People with addictions always swear off of them saying they will never do it again: "Cause I am done with my graceless heart. So tonight I'm gonna cut it out and then restart". They usually do it again.
  
  "Looking to heaven found the devil in me" - she is trying to start a better life, but unable to because inside she is really the person that does terrible things that leave her "undone"
  
  "What the hell I'm gonna let it happen to me" - giving up because she knows that she can't change who she is or doesn't have the will power to change.
  
  I actually don't think the song has a positive ending - which is fine, not everything ends well for people with addictions. In the end she gives up even though she wishes things would have turned out differently.

  Flag mybluskyon June 06, 2012   Link

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    i think you really missed the boat on this one. this does not seem to me to be about addiction, but love.
    
    the wiki for it says:
    Welch revealed that the song was written within an hour and according to her it talked about shaking the regrets and the things that were haunting her
    
    it think that if this was about addiction, to anything, the images would be more violent.
    and darker like mumford & sons
    
    florence is a graceful woman and her lyrics reflect that.
    
    i think it was a love that hurt her and she knows she will hook up with again.
    

    Flag borisfon August 24, 2012  
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  Lyric Correction:I think for the repeated words of "Shake it out" that its actually
  Shake it off, Shake it out
  Shake it off, shake it out.
  Either way works (either with just "Shake it out" or not) but that's what it sounds like

  Flagged Schneidson May 28, 2012   Link

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  General Comment:Its about forgetting anything in your past that is weighting you down. Any regrets, guilt or bad memories you may have you just need to shake them out so you can live life to the fullest

  Flag rabbitheart123on May 25, 2012   Link

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