| "Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)" | |||||||||||||
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| Single by Florence + the Machine | |||||||||||||
| from the album Lungs | |||||||||||||
| B-side | "Are You Hurting the One You Love?" | ||||||||||||
| Released |
21 June 2009 [1] |
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| Format | Digital download, CD single, vinyl (7 inch), EP, vinyl (5 inch) | ||||||||||||
| Genre | Alternative rock, art rock | ||||||||||||
| Length | 3:30 (single version) 3:39 (video version) 3:52 (album version) |
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| Label | Universal Island, Moshi Moshi | ||||||||||||
| Writer(s) | Paul Epworth, Florence Welch, Gang Gang Dance | ||||||||||||
| Producer | Paul Epworth | ||||||||||||
| Florence + the Machine singles chronology | |||||||||||||
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"Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)" is a 2009 single by British indie rock band, Florence and the Machine. It was released on the Universal Island Record Label and Moshi Moshi Records on 21 June 2009. It is their second most successful single to-date, peaking at 12 on the UK Singles Chart, only bettered by the cover of "You've Got the Love", which reached number five. Mixed by Cenzo Townshend, the track contains elements of "House Jam" by Gang Gang Dance. It has been remixed by numerous artists, including Jamie T, whose remix is featured on the track's CD single alongside the B-side "Are You Hurting the One You Love?".
Contents |
"Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)" features Welch's voice overdubbed with so many harmonies she sounds like a massed choir of one. She confessed to The Independent: "The guy who mixed it nearly had a nervous breakdown."[2]
The song was co-written by Welch together with Paul Epworth who also produced the song which was recorded by Mark Rankin. The track features Tom Moth on harp and Rob Ackroyd on guitar.[3] During the verses, the song features some of the melody and lyrics (e.g. "How quickly the glamour fades") from Gang Gang Dance's song "House Jam".[4]
Florence described her inspiration behind the song:
I'd written all these dark songs, and the label suggested we should have something that was a bit more upbeat. In the process of trying to do that, I realised maybe I was sacrificing something. So I had a really upbeat piano and drums, but the lyrics that came out were 'This is the gift/It comes with a price/ Who is the lamb/And who is the knife?' The rabbit heart is a reference to fear. I'm so afraid of what's about to happen. Of being in the spotlight.[5]
As part of the single's promotion, the band performed the song on The Jonathan Ross Show[6] as well as on BBC's Live Lounge.[7] The single was also performed at numerous festivals around the UK throughout 2009. Including: Glastonbury, Electric Picnic, Brighton, T in the Park, Bestival and Reading among others.
The song was also featured as BBC Radio 1's Zane Lowe's 'Single of the Week'.[8]
British girl-group the Sugababes performed the song twice, first in Radio 1 Live Lounge alongside their then current single "About a Girl" in November 2009 and again at Camden Crawl in 2010.
UK CD promo
(2710011, Released: June 22, 2009[3])
UK EP promo
(Released: June 21, 2009[1])
UK 7-inch vinyl promo
(0602527100036, Released: June 22, 2009[9])
UK 5-inch vinyl promo
(602527100111, Released: June 22, 2009[10])
The music video for "Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)" was directed by Tom Beard and Tabitha of Queens of Noize. It was shot on May 6, 2009 and later commercially released on June 22, 2009 (the day of the single's full-scale release).[11]
The video starts in a field with a piece of cloth being lifted from in front of Florence's face, she then begins spinning as two girls follow her. The girls then start to dance all around the field, you see a harp being played and then Florence joins in the dancing. Florence sits at a table with six other people, including a man wearing a top hat, there are pig heads served on a plate.
Florence and the other six people then throw the food on the floor and begin to dance, Florence then lies down on the table and the other people lift up the sides to make it into a coffin. The people carry the coffin into the river and it drifts away as the video finishes. The video was uploaded on YouTube on May 14, 2009 and has so far been viewed over 6,000,000 times.
The song received positive reviews. Thisisfakediy.co.uk gave the song a positive review, saying "It's refreshing, telling in fact that perhaps we're getting a little tired of the 'sound of today'", they then said "Her range convinces you of her talents far more than the previous two singles that helped cement her position as a new born talent" and ended by saying "The most intelligent, forward-thinking work to come from Florence and the Machine indeed it may be, but you can't help but expect even more surprises from 'Lungs'".[12] Pitchfork.com gave the song a positive review saying "adding some welcomed ambiguity to a Paul Epworth production that stunningly internalizes every pseudo-psych/freakishly-folk trend that's passed through these parts over the last few years. "The looking glass so shiny and new/ How quickly the glamor fades," wisely observes Welch. A gold record in every way".[13] Glasswerk.co.uk writes, "The bewitchingly beautiful new single throws us into the dark, mysterious world of the enigmatic Florence & The Machine. Like the demos we first fell in love (Girl With One Eye and My Boy Builds Coffins) new single ‘Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)’ sees Florence twist and craft metaphorical couplets and mythical tales, turning them into something wonderfully intriguing and utterly, distinctively her" and ended by revealing their forthcoming tour dates.[14]
Culturedeluxe.com also positively reviewed the song: "Florence and the Machine have accomplished my writer's block that is for sure. The amount of power behind this track is mind-blowing... From the touch of the harp to the authority of Florence's vocals, this song captivates you from start to finish bringing your goose bumps to the surface of your skin... This track is very melodramatic and has you gripping to every word.[15]
On July 4, 2009 "Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)" debuted at 12 on the UK Singles Chart. It spent a total of seven weeks on the top 20, and 17 on the official top 75 chart, a significantly longer charting period than any of the band's previous three singles.[16] As of 26 July 2009, the single surpassed a total of 78,755 copies sold in the UK.[17]
"Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)" debuted at 42 on the Irish Singles Chart on 27 June 2009. The song then went onto peak at 41 and spend a total of eight weeks on the chart, all of these eight weeks being between position 40 and 50. This was the band's first and so far only chart hit outside of the UK. Its underperformance in Ireland was a result of the single being overshadowed by Lungs album track, "Cosmic Love" - which had much more extensive selling success, peaking at #3 on the Irish Singles Chart during the release period of "Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)"[18] mainly due to its use in an advertisement for The O2, Dublin.
| Chart (2009) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Belgium Singles Chart (Flanders)[19] | 50 |
| Irish Singles Chart[20] | 41 |
| UK Singles Chart[21] | 12 |
| Chart (2009) | Position |
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| UK Singles Chart[22] | 102 |
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