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"You’ve Got the Love" is the thirteenth track and fifth single from Florence and the Machine’s debut album, Lungs.
This song is a cover of “You Got the Love” by “The Source”.
It was first released on December 1, 2008 as the B-side to their second single "Dog Days Are Over". It was then later released as a digital download only single on January 5, 2009 in the United Kingdom only, after the mass praise it received during the release of "Dog Days Are Over".
The single was given a re-release on physical format on November 16, 2009 in the United Kingdom. For the reissue a music video was shot.
Background[]
The track, which is significantly shorter than the original, was produced by Charlie Hugall, who also produced three other tracks on Lungs. Hugall was also involved in the bass and percussion development of the song. The track features Isabella Summers on piano, Christopher Lloyd Hayden on drums, Tom Moth on harp, Rob Ackroyd on guitar and Florence Welch on vocals.[1]
Florence Welch explained her inspiration behind covering "one of her favourite songs ever":
”As a kid, going to clubs and raves, this song made me feel love. At Bestival last year we were top of the bill on that stage, so we were thinking of an amazing cover we could do, and I thought of Candi Staton. Even in rehearsals, playing it was just the most euphoric feeling. Then playing it live and seeing everyone's arms in the air, and the faces – it was the best feeling ever! I was dressed as a genie sea-monster, and I remember looking at my guitarist as we played the first chords, and then there was the reaction and it was like tearing ourselves open and just exploding on the crowd, and then all did it back. It's a feeling you couldn't express. I'm really excited that now in our live shows I'm going to be playing one of my favourite songs ever, loads.”[2]
"You've Got the Love" is a fan favourite of the band and has been played at numerous festivals around the United Kingdom during 2008 and 2009. Including the Bestival, Glastonbury, Way Out West, Brighton, Electric Picnic, Leeds, Smash & Grab and with an acoustic version being performed at a festival in Reading. It's also been performed Live In Ibiza on BBC Radio 1 and at the BBC Live Big Weekend. Florence also made a guest appearance during The xx's 2010 Glastonbury Festival performance, where they played their remix of the track. In 2013, a children's choir rendition of the song was used in TV spots for Coca-Cola.[3]
Lyrics[]
Sometimes I feel like throwing my hands up in the air
I know I can count on you
Sometimes I feel like saying "Lord I just don't care"
But you've got the love I need to see me through
Sometimes it seems that the going is just too rough
And things go wrong no matter what I do
Now and then it seems that life is just too much
But you've got the love I need to see me through
When food is gone you are my daily meal
When friends are gone I know my saviour's love is real
You know it's real
'Cause you've got the love
You've got the love
You've got the love
You've got the love
You've got the love
You've got the love
Time after time I think "Oh, Lord, what's the use?"
Time after time I think it's just no good
'Cause sooner or later in life, the things you love you lose
But you've got the love I need to see me through
You've got the love
You've got the love
You've got the love
You've got the love
You've got the love
You've got the love
You've got the love
You've got the love
You've got the love
You've got the love
You've got the love
You've got the love
Sometimes I feel like throwing my hands up in the air
'Cause I know I can count on you
Sometimes I feel like saying "Lord I just don't care"
But you've got the love I need to see me through
Music video[]
Despite originally being released as a single almost nine months earlier, the band announced on September 18, 2009 that a music video would be made for the song and would be shot on September 21, 2009 in London. It features Welch in a white, sparkly leotard dancing on a large moon-shaped platform suspended over a nightclub, an homage to Studio 54. The video later shows many people beneath her dancing to the song. The video that aired on United Kingdom television has a different version of the song to the one on the album.[4]
Critical reception[]
"You've Got the Love" received positive reviews who notably commented on the song in reviews of "Dog Days Are Over". MusicOMH commented on the song by saying that "Following with her tradition of some finely chosen cover versions, there's even an excellent rendition of The Source's You Got the Love." [5] Altsounds.com reviewed the track, writing, "You've Got the Love" is a standard pop number that does something in a non-standard fashion – it isn't afraid of looking at its simplistic melodic hooks and accepting it with a touch of lyrical honesty and contemplative imprint."[6]
Contactmusic.com also commented on the song by saying that "The B-side cover of The Source ft. Candi Staton's "You Got the Love" is equally strong."[7] Dailymusicguide.com also positively reviewed the single, writing, "Florence + The Machine have used the format of the original remix but have certainly breathed new life into this old classic. With Florence Welch's distinctive voice she makes this song her own. The inclusion of a harp only adds to the gentle sway effect produced by the track, bursting gently in without malice at around eighteen seconds in. The song's lyrics are empowering: Florence's heavenly voice has a vulnerable quality which, as it has with relatively short career so far, grows stronger through You've Got The Love's verse and chorus. It's empowering, liberating and moving all at the same time, not least conveyed by the emotion in Welch's vocals. Rating: 4/5"[8]
Commercial performance[]
Upon its original release, "You've Got the Love" reached number 158 on the UK Singles Chart. The song later re-entered the chart at number 124 and moved up to number 68 in the next week's chart. The following week it fell to number 75 before dropping out of the top 100.
It then re-entered the chart, two weeks later on August 22, 2009 at number 59, where it peaked before dropping out the top 100 again. Its re-entry pattern then continued when it re-entered three weeks later on September 12, 2009 at number 88. The song peaked at number 16, after the single's actual release in 2009. It spent a total of eight weeks within the top 100, longer than both previous singles "Kiss with a Fist" and "Dog Days Are Over".
In November 2009, BBC Sport used the song at the end of the Formula 1 coverage of the 2009 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (and the whole 2009 season) for a season review video which covered highlights of all 17 races that were held that year.[9]
On January 3, 2010, "You've Got the Love" climbed 18 places to a new peak of number 13 on the UK Singles Chart after its use in the last episode of Gavin & Stacey on January 1, 2010. One week later, on January 10, 2010, the song peaked at number five in its 34th week on the chart, becoming the band's first top-10 single. Following their Brit performance in February 2010, "You've Got the Love" climbed to number 12, just missing out on the Top 10. It has spent 30 weeks on the UK Singles Chart. As of June 2018, the song has sold over 1.8 million combined sales/streams in that country.
On January 8, 2010, "You've Got the Love" climbed up the Irish Singles Chart, reaching a peak of number 21, whereas before it had only reached number 30. After falling out of the chart, on February 26, 2010, "You've Got the Love" re-entered the Irish chart, reaching a new peak of number 16.
In January, "You've got the Love" entered the Australian singles ARIA Charts at number 50, and remained within the top 50 for a large amount of time. In February and March, it was consistently increasing positions, where it eventually reached a peak of number 30. Due to popular television shows like Domestic Blitz and MasterChef Australia using it in commercials, the song rapidly climbed to number 17, on April 4, and to its highest peak of number nine on April 11.
In New Zealand the single began receiving mainstream radio airplay causing it to rise to 50[10] on the airplay chart, however, the airplay has since dropped.
Refrences[]
- ↑ http://www.discogs.com/Florence-The-Machine-Lungs/release/1872408
- ↑ http://www.florenceandthemachine.net/news/24-30/florence-on-lungs-part-three/0-6
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20131230234436/http://tvcommercialssongs.com/even-reasonstobelieve-coca-cola/
- ↑ http://www.florenceandthemachine.net/news/0-6/appear-in-the-video-for-youve-got-the-love
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20090109130126/http://www.musicomh.com/singles/florence-and-the-machine-2_1108.htm
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20100324222150/http://hangout.altsounds.com/reviews/107878-florence-and-the-machine-a-lot-of-love-a-lot-of-blood-ep.html
- ↑ http://www.contactmusic.com/new/home.nsf/singlereview/florence-and-the-machine-dog-days-are-overx09x12x08
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20150629044129/http://www.dailymusicguide.com/Reviews/florence-and-the-machine-youve-got-the-love-single-review-26022009-2043.aspx
- ↑ https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211219/ewB0rU28Hks |archive-date=2021-12-19
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20100515093450/http://www.radioscope.net.nz/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2631&Itemid=32
