Useless Magic: Lyrics, Poetry and Sermons

“THEN LIGHTNING STRUCK / NOW I’M TOTALLY F****D.” I had the supreme joy of reading Florence Welch’s lyrics and poetry, ‘Useless Magic’, a couple of days early. What a monumental gift this book is. The lyrics-by-album serve as a retrospective, a chronology of the artist’s growth over ten years; lyrics which (excepting High As Hope) have been subjective and disputed. Laid out on the page there is no denying the sheer power and poetry of Florence’s song-writing; never does a lyric become a dead thing, flattened to the printed page. And what a joy to read through and discover new meanings. The book is stunningly packaged, complete with photographs and artwork, of/by her and her influences, as well as sketches/notes from her notebooks over the years, seeds planted to bloom much later. But it is the poetry I was most excited for, and most enjoyed. Though only sixteen poems in all, it feels like plenty, with each poem its own marvel, Florence’s voice confident and contemplative. In ‘Oh You’re A Real Man’, a verse in ‘Patricia’ is altered to ask “how many have to die / so that you can feel loved?”, while in ‘Rage’ Florence mourns the “age of rage” we find ourselves living in, the seeming obsolescence of softness and compassion. The inadvertent triptych of ‘Love Hospital’, ‘Wedding’ and ‘Honeymoon’ make a really stunning moment of both circularity and progression, while the insistence of ‘American Mother’ and its personal introspection provide another perspective to Florence’s near-romanticised processing of the world. ‘Monarch Butterflies’ handles the problem of putting written lyrics and poems into the world, “confined to the page so permanent”, while ‘I Guess I Won’t Write Poetry’ muses on “the blank face of god / your demon door / your own personal sad machine”. A true delight in every sense and hopefully merely a prologue of all the poetry to come.

This book offers a fantastic insight into the mind of Florence Welch, and everything about it, from the cover to the very last page, suits Florence's aesthetic so very well, in a way that fans will instantly recognise this book as a creation of the mind of Flo. I love having this book on my shelf, as it's like my own little piece of Florence's mind.

I ordered this for my dearest friend, a long time fan of Florence + The Machine. It's an intimate and touching view into the soul of Florence Welch through her poems, lyrics and artwork, some reproduced directly from the pages of her notebooks. Beautifully arranged and packaged into a book that will undoubtedly be a treasured item for anyone who feels a connection to Florence's music.

Beautiful lyrics

Bought this as a gift and my friend was more than pleased, great poetry book if you like Florence or just want to read some good and heart warming poetry.

I loved how personal this book feels, the lyrics, poetry, art and sermons. Perfect for any fan of Florence + the Machine

Book itself is fantastic

Must-have for any fan of Florence - having been a fan since Ceremonials this is such a nice book to have. It provides all the lyrics to every song off all 4 albums, accompanied by illustrations and notes made by Florence and gives an insight into her thought and song-writing processes. Well worth the money.

Cuando lo compré tenía miedo de que no fuese a llegar en buen estado y llegó perfecto.

The media could not be loaded.  Florence is not only a phenomenal singer but above all she is a poet first. If you love her you must buy this book now. A treasure.

Llegó en excelentes condiciones.

O livro é a coisa mais linda, a capa de veludo é de uma elegância! É um livro para fãs da banda e da Florence, já que contém as letras das músicas de 4 álbuns da banda, e alguns poemas da Flo. Os desenhos e imagens são incríveis, é um livro adorável, muito bem feito !♡

Un libro con poemas y dibujos de puño y letra de la propia Florence Welch. De coleccionista