Florence did say that this album would be more raw and more real than the previous two; it is, and you can see that in this song.
She is in a relationship with a lover who is as indecisive as Hamlet about whether to give their romance his all or not, and yet he has this power over Florence that renders her desperately devoted to him. With one kiss, he was able to entice a fiery and powerful fidelity in Florence towards him.
Yet he never makes up his mind; she is broken because of this, yet cannot leave and chooses to toil, "crossing a canyon", passing on and moving towards him, while he stands on the other side still uncertain. As a result, she is heavily burdened, "on a heavy tip" of some scales.
Moreover, "dangle at a cruel angle" further accentuates his power over her; he has her in a situation in which she has no control and is pained, as if she were dangling at some painful angle. She, on the other hand, is powerless, hence keeps repeating the lines about the fiery fidelity and devotion he summons from her, as well as the damage he wrecks on her, over and over.
By describing him as a "holy fool", she both highlights his indecisiveness as well as his potence; as if he were holy he almost seems almighty with the way she cannot break free from him and worships him. Describing him as blue may allude a comparison to the sky -which in turn, alludes the album-, and this could be to show that he is everywhere in her world: , big, blue, and beautiful.
She cannot beat him and she beseeches him for mercy, whenever she thinks she is over their relationship she is pinned back to the wall, figuratively, as her mad devotion and love for him take over.
What Kind of Man loves like this? Unsure of their relationship, yet binding her to him with some misbegotten curse, Florence shrieks this tune, coughing up reality, instead of wanting to "leave her body" to another realm, "shaking it out", or calling upon some dark world of ghouls, as she would have done in Ceremonials.
Florence did say that this album would be more raw and more real than the previous two; it is, and you can see that in this song. She is in a relationship with a lover who is as indecisive as Hamlet about whether to give their romance his all or not, and yet he has this power over Florence that renders her desperately devoted to him. With one kiss, he was able to entice a fiery and powerful fidelity in Florence towards him. Yet he never makes up his mind; she is broken because of this, yet cannot leave and chooses to toil, "crossing a canyon", passing on and moving towards him, while he stands on the other side still uncertain. As a result, she is heavily burdened, "on a heavy tip" of some scales. Moreover, "dangle at a cruel angle" further accentuates his power over her; he has her in a situation in which she has no control and is pained, as if she were dangling at some painful angle. She, on the other hand, is powerless, hence keeps repeating the lines about the fiery fidelity and devotion he summons from her, as well as the damage he wrecks on her, over and over. By describing him as a "holy fool", she both highlights his indecisiveness as well as his potence; as if he were holy he almost seems almighty with the way she cannot break free from him and worships him. Describing him as blue may allude a comparison to the sky -which in turn, alludes the album-, and this could be to show that he is everywhere in her world: , big, blue, and beautiful. She cannot beat him and she beseeches him for mercy, whenever she thinks she is over their relationship she is pinned back to the wall, figuratively, as her mad devotion and love for him take over. What Kind of Man loves like this? Unsure of their relationship, yet binding her to him with some misbegotten curse, Florence shrieks this tune, coughing up reality, instead of wanting to "leave her body" to another realm, "shaking it out", or calling upon some dark world of ghouls, as she would have done in Ceremonials.