Heaven Is Here

Album: Dance Fever (2022)
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Songfacts®:

  • When, after several months of quarantine during the COVID-19 pandemic, Florence Welch finally got into the studio, she wanted to come up with "something monstrous." Venting her frustrations about being creatively restricted, "this clamor of joy, fury and grief" was the first music she created.
  • Much of "Heaven Is Here" finds Florence Welch seducing a man. She will protect and feed him and be his girl to the extent he feels he's in heaven. The song ends with a link to Florence + the Machine's preceding single, "King," which is about the push and pull Welch feels between raising a family and pursuing her music career. She concludes "Heaven Is Here" fulfilled in her artistic endeavors even if they impede her romantic life.

    And every song I wrote became an escape rope
    Tied around my neck to pull me up to Heaven
  • I went to the water, drank every drop
    I'll turn your sea to a desert


    Welch frequently uses water imagery in her lyrics. Her obsession with aquatic matters is especially prevalent on Florence + the Machine's 2011 Ceremonials album, particularly the track "What the Water Gave Me."
  • Welch co-produced the empowering song alongside her "King" collaborator Jack Antonoff, Kid Harpoon, and Glass Animals' lead singer Dave Bayley. The musicians are:

    Guitar: Kid Harpoon
    Acoustic Guitar: Florence Welch
    Bass: Kid Harpoon
    Piano: Kid Harpoon
    Synthesizer: Dave Bayley
    Drums: Kid Harpoon
    Percussion: Florence Welch
    Foot Stamping: Florence Welch
    Tubular Bells: Jack Antonoff
  • "Heaven Is Here" is one of the first pieces of music Welch made specifically with contemporary dance in mind - dance studios were shut during lockdown, so it wasn't an option during that time.

    Autumn de Wilde directed the video, bringing the singer's dream to life. Filmed in Ukraine in 2021, it sees Welch twirling and stomping accompanied by a group of Ukrainian dancers.

    De Wilde also shot Florence + the Machine's "Big God" and "King" visuals.
  • Florence + the Machine released the song and the video on March 8, 2022, just under two weeks after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Welch wrote that two of her dancers were sheltering amid the violence: "To my brave and beautiful sisters Marine and Nastia. I love you. I wish I could put my arms around you. Strength."

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