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"Breath of Life" is a song by Florence and the Machine for the soundtrack of Snow White and the Huntsman. It then appeared as the fourteenth track on the digital deluxe edition of their sophomore album, Ceremonials.
Background[]
Florence and the Machine recorded this song for the soundtrack to the 2012 film Snow White And The Huntsman. After Florence Welch was given the opportunity to watch a few scenes from the movie, she drew inspiration from the character of the evil Queen Ravenna, played by Charlize Theron. The song is sung from the perspective of the Queen herself and Welch told MTV News: "The Queen is just this incredible character; so hungry for life but so dead inside. She's sort of eternal, but inside there's nothing. She's kind of like charcoal or something. She has this thirst for youth and for life, but for what kind of life? This darkness, but she's so beautiful, so it's this kind of juxtaposition between beauty and, ultimately, death."[1]
Lyrics[]
Ha oh
I was looking for a breath of life
A little touch of heavenly light
But all the choirs in my head sang no
To get a dream of life again
A little of vision of the start and the end
But all the choirs in my head sang no
But I only needed one more touch
Another taste of heavenly rush
And I believe, I believe it so
And I only needed one more touch
Another taste of devouring rush
And I believe, I believe it so
Whose side am I on, whose side am I?
Whose side am I on, whose side am I?
And the fever began to spread
From my heart down to my legs
But the room was so quiet oh
And although I wasn't losing my mind
It was a chorus so sublime
But the room is too quiet (oh, the fever)
I was looking for a breath of life,
A little touch of heavenly light
But all the choirs in my head sang no (I believe it)
To get a dream of life again
A little vision of the start and the end
But all the choirs in my head sang no
Ha oh
Ha oh
It's a harder way
And it's come to claim her
And I always say
We should be together
I can see below
'Cause there's something in here
And if you are gone
I will not belong here
And I started to hear it again
But this time it wasn't the end
And the room was so quiet, oh
And my heart is a hollow plain
For the devil to dance again
And the room was too quiet, oh
I was looking for a breath of life
A little touch of heavenly light
But all the choirs in my head sang no
Music video[]
A music video for "Breath of Life" was directed by Scott Murray and premiered on YouTube on May 14, 2012. The video shows Florence in the studio singing the song as well as clips from Snow White and the Huntsman. The video has received a nomination for Best Video from a Film at the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards Japan.[2]
Composition[]
The orchestra and choir heavy track was recorded at London's Abbey Road studio, under the stewardship of American film composer James Newton Howard. Welch told MTV News that she "almost cried" during the making of the tune. "We went in and demoed the track, these big, clattering drums, huge bass sounds and everything was very intense and then we sent that to the guys in LA who composed it. And it was amazing to see the music we played being turned into this amazing orchestral thing," she said.Welch continued: "You feel in a bit of a way like you're kind of making it up as you go along, and then when you see it done, laid out before you in such a beautiful, orchestral fashion, it's really incredible... I love choirs and I love choral music, and there was a 60-piece choir singing the vocal parts that I had written. When the baritones came in, I nearly wept, it was so emotional."[1]
Critical reception[]
"Breath of Life" received positive reviews from music critics. Jon Dolan of Rolling Stone gave the song three-and-a-half out of five stars, stating it is "Flo at her most toweringly gothed-out. All doom-drum rush and endless-midnight orchestral sweep, it sounds like it was produced by Sauron the Dark Lord of Mordor—but in a good way. The wintry tumult sets the stage for a display of primal vocal acrobatics and white-knuckled emoting." Priya Ellan from NME praise the song "Those resounding, tribal drums are paired up a Greek Chorus of backing vocalists (a 60 piece choir it turns out!). These elements, plus the searching orchestration, give the track a widescreen depth and are, you'd imagine, an appropriately faux-gothic addition to a film about Snow White starring one of the Twilight cast. The bridge finds Florence's vocals blending with the phalanx of voices (appropriate for the "all the choirs in my head,") lyric. If she's set to continue down this path of musical bombast, it feels like the next logical step for her to take".
Refrences[]
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 | |
|---|---|
| Tour • Merch • Photoshoot • Producers | |
| Discography | |
| Releases | Ceremonials |
| Tracklist | Only If for a Night • Shake It Out • What the Water Gave Me • Never Let Me Go • Breaking Down • Lover to Lover • No Light, No Light • Seven Devils • Heartlines • Spectrum • All This and Heaven Too • Leave My Body |
| Deluxe | Spectrum (Say My Name) • Breath of Life • Take Care (BBC Live at Maida Vale) • Remain Nameless • Strangeness and Charm • Bedroom Hymns • What the Water Gave Me (demo) • Landscape (Demo) • Heartlines (acoustic) • Shake It Out (acoustic) • Breaking Down (acoustic) • What the Water Gave Me (acoustic) |
| Extra Releases | Sweet Nothing • Over the Love • Midnight • I Come Apart |
| Other Eras | |
| Lungs • Ceremonials • How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful • High As Hope • Dance Fever | |