I've been losing sleep
I've been keeping myself awake
I've been wandering the streets
For days and days and days
[Chorus]
Going from road to road
Bed to bed
Lover to lover
And black to red
But I believe
I believe
[Post-Chorus]
There's no salvation for me now
No space among the clouds
And I feel I'm heading down
That's alright
That's alright
That's alright
That's alright
[Verse 2]
And I've been taking chances
I've been setting myself up for the fall
I've been keeping secrets
From my heart and from my soul
Going from road to road
Bed to bed
Lover to lover
And black to red
But I believe
I believe
[Post-Chorus]
There's no salvation for me now
No space among the clouds
And I feel I'm heading down
But that's alright
That's alright
That's alright
That's alright
[Chorus]
Road to road, bed to bed
And lover to lover and black to red
And road to road, bed to bed
And lover to lover
[Bridge]
No space among the clouds
And I feel I'm heading down
That's alright
That's alright
That's alright
That's alright
That's alright
That's alright
Yeah, road to road, bed to bed
And lover to lover and black to red
And road to road, bed to bed
Lover to lover, to lover, to lover, to lover, to lover, to lover, to lover
To lover, to lover, to lover, to lover (Woo-hoo)
[Outro]
No salvation for me now
No salvation for me now
No salvation for me now
No salvation for me now
(Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh-oh, oh, oh-oh, oh)
About
“Lover to Lover” is a song from Florence + the Machine’s Ceremonials, reportedly directly inspired by Marvin Gaye and Otis Redding.
Florence stated that she wrote this song thinking of the perspective of an aggressive male soul singer. She claimed to be obsessed by Otis Redding and Sam & Dave, saying that she used to watch a live video from ‘Try A Little Tenderness’ every time before entering the stage.
Shaking off the idea of salvation and kinda embracing this life of sin and touring. It was kind of a more aggressive way to writing for me.
You can listen to this interview for further explanation from Florence herself.
Q&A
Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning
This song finds Florence Welch singing of hopping from “room to room, bed to bed.” It was inspired by ‘60s Soul numbers such as “I Heard It Through The Grapevine.” She explained to Mojo magazine:
It’s me saying, ‘I want to make a song just like this.’ I was listening to lots of Marvin Gaye and lots of Otis Redding, and ‘Lover To Lover’ was me wanting to make a song I could imagine a male Soul singer doing. I was listening to a lot of Sam and Dave, as well.
- 2.Shake It Out
- 6.Lover to Lover
- 8.Seven Devils
- 9.Heartlines
- 12.Leave My Body
- 13.Remain Nameless
- 15.Bedroom Hymns
- 17.Landscape (Demo)