And the heart is hard to translate
It has a language of it's own
It talks in tongues and quiet sighs
In prayers and proclamations, in the grand deeds
Of great men and the smallest of gestures
In short shallow gasps

But with all my education
I can't seem to command it
And the words are all escaping
And coming back all damaged
And I would put them back in poetry
If I only knew how, I can't seem to understand it

And I would give all this and heaven too
I would give it all if only for a moment
That I could just understand
The meaning of the word you see
'Cause I've been scrawling it forever
But it never makes sense to me at all

And it talks to me in tiptoes
And sings to me inside
It cries out in the darkest night
And breaks in the morning light

But with all my education
I can't seem to command it
And the words are all escaping
And coming back all damaged
And I would put them back in poetry
If I only knew how I can't seem to understand it

And I would give all this and heaven too
I would give it all if only for a moment
That I could just understand
The meaning of the word you see
'Cause I've been scrawling it forever
But it never makes sense to me at all

And I would give all this and heaven too
I would give it all if only for a moment
That I could just understand
The meaning of the word you see
'Cause I've been scrawling it forever
But it never makes sense to me at all

No words, poor language
It doesn't deserve such treatment
And all my stumbling phrases
Never amounted to anything worth this feeling
All this heaven never could describe
Such a feeling as I'm hearing
Words were never so useful
So I was screaming out a language
That I never knew existed before


Lyrics submitted by ValH1618, edited by Mellow_Harsher

All This and Heaven Too Lyrics as written by Isabella Janet Florentina Summers Florence Leontine Mary Welch

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group

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All This and Heaven Too song meanings
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23 Comments

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  • +16
    General Comment

    Okay, so love is really confusing. She can't understand it, no matter how much education she's had or poetry she's written. She's been scrawling songs about it forever, but that doesn't mean she really gets it. She wishes she could comprehend it, if just for a moment. The last line is BRILLIANT. "Words were never so useful, so I'm screaming out a language that I never knew existed before." She knows she can't describe love with words, so this made up language will have to do.

    Nice to know that it's not just us mortals who find love confusing.

    llscienceon October 20, 2011   Link
  • +6
    General Comment

    I remember hearing Florence say before she say this song live that this song was about her home and family. To me, this is her wanted to figure out just what this feeling means; this unconditional, wholesome feeling of comfort and love you experience in life. Love is just a words and as she says: "Words are a language, it doesn't deserve such treatment." This feeling it seems to her can only be put into words but she wants more than that. Love can mean a lot of things, romantically, friendly and between family, however, it is just a word we say. It possesses us, makes us do crazy things, its an indescribable feeling. It means so much more than we even know. She would give it all just to get the answer: Why is this feeling described with one word? What does love actually mean?

    btw2lungson January 14, 2013   Link
  • +2
    Song Meaning

    Firstly it's worth knowing that 'All this, and heaven too" is a 1940 film with Bette Davies playing a French woman who flees tragedy to a new life in America. I don't believe there is any connection apart from the fact it's a nice phrase to use in a song.

    The lyric itself seems to refer to the inadequacy of language to express heartfelt emotions. It's a beautiful song, one of their best.

    raynermanon September 01, 2012   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    I really dont like the sound of ceremonials, but this song is so beautiful.

    praychon November 05, 2011   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    I interpreted this to be an extremely spiritual song. It sounds like she is in a state of confusion and she's hearing something she has never heard before something that is beyond this world, but she can't make out the meaning. I do not think this song is about a romantic kind of love.

    nimota92on December 15, 2011   Link
  • +1
    My Opinion

    'All This And Heaven Too' is one of my favourites. I love Flo's lyrics and music; I can connect to a lot of her songs. This beautiful song, as I believe, is about feeling an emotion that is new to you. Flo is singing about an emotion that she couldn't recognise and she could only describe how her heart feels.

    thejaguarchickon April 28, 2012   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    This is a magnificent song. She doesn't understand the language of love, and wants to give everything to understand it, even just a little of it for a moment. The mystery of love. Great chorus and very catchy. Katy Perry would never sing this, don't dare compare Florence to Avril Lavigne. This isn't as tribal and funky but beautiful. I hate it when "fans" kill songs for others with poor critiques. <3

    annaburron April 30, 2012   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    This song to me is about understanding life. Not just love, but everything, about finding the meaning of life, about finding one's place in the world. It's about trying to find a word to describe one's condition as a human being, and the willingness of some to do whatever it takes to know that word.

    AbbyPaigeon January 05, 2013   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    I missed a few of the trickier lines. If you think you know the actual lyrics, please let me know and I'll change it!

    This song speaks to me deeply. I feel as if she's trying to describe a feeling, but she doesn't know the right words, a feeling I've felt very often.

    ValH1618on October 20, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    I don't think this song is about love, although that's what just about everyone will jump to. I think the reference here is more divine and special than love. The line "It talks in tongues" is very Biblical, as in "speaking in tongues".

    Squizreeon December 09, 2011   Link

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