Sympathy Magic – English Lyrics

• By: Florence + The Machine
• Album: Everybody Scream

Lyrics & Translation

Dive into the intense emotional landscape of Florence + The Machine's 'Sympathy Magic,' a track from *Everybody Scream* that uses driving percussion and dark lyrical imagery to explore themes of trauma and artistic catharsis. While you explore the powerful English lyrics, you can learn vivid vocabulary related to struggle, transformation, and reclaiming personal power through the band's signature blend of baroque pop and mysticism.

[English]

Memory fails me

names and faces blur

There is only after

or before

Am I so different?

Have I changed?

I do not recognize my face

The scar fades

but pulls inside

Tugging at me all the time

Chewing on a feeling

and spitting it out

Crouched in a ball gown

Anxious and ashamed

The vague humiliations of fame

I do not find worthiness in virtue

I no longer try to be good

It didn't keep me safe

Like you told me that it would

So come on, tear me wide open

A terrible peace

Let the chorus console me

Sympathy magic

And light coming in the window just so

And the wind through my fingers

The only God that I know

And it does not want me on my knees to believe

Head high, arms wide

Aching, aching, aching

And alive

And alive

So I don't have to be worthy

I no longer try to be good

It didn't keep me safe

Like you told me that it would

So come on, tear me wide open

'Til I'm losing my mind

'Til I cannot contain it

La-da-da-da-da-da-da

So come on, come on, I can take it

Give me everything you got

What else? What else? What else? What else?

So come on, come on, I can take it

Give me everything you got

What else? What else? What else? What else?

Sympathy magic

Sympathy magic

So come on, come on, I can take it

(Come on, come on, come on, come on)

Sympathy magic (come on, come on, come on, come on)

Sympathy magic (come on)

Sympathy magic (come on, come on, come on, come on)

Sympathy magic (come on, come on, come on, come on)

Sympathy magic (come on, come on, come on, come on)

Sympathy magic (come on)

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
sympathy /ˈsɪmpəθi/ B2	noun - an expression or feeling of pity and sorrow for someone else's misfortunes
magic /ˈmædʒɪk/ A2	noun - the power of apparently influencing events by using mysterious or supernatural forces adjective - having or appearing to have an extraordinary or supernatural ability to affect something
peace /piːs/ A2	noun - freedom from disturbance; tranquility
alive /əˈlaɪv/ B1	adjective - living, not dead
worthy /ˈwɜːrði/ B2	adjective - deserving effort, attention, or respect
virtue /ˈvɜːrtʃuː/ B2	noun - behavior showing high moral standards
humiliations /hjuːˌmɪliˈeɪʃənz/ C1	noun - the action of humiliating someone or the state of being humiliated
fame /feɪm/ B1	noun - the state of being known by many people
scar /skɑːr/ B2	noun - a mark left on the skin or within body tissue where a wound, burn, or sore has not fully healed verb - mark with a scar or scars
feeling /ˈfiːlɪŋ/ A2	noun - an emotional state or reaction
believe /bɪˈliːv/ A1	verb - to accept that something is true
recognize /ˈrekəɡnaɪz/ B1	verb - to identify someone or something from having encountered them before; to acknowledge the existence, validity, or legality of
fades /feɪdz/ B1	verb - become progressively weaker
console /kənˈsoʊl/ B2	verb - to comfort someone at a time of grief or disappointment
take /teɪk/ A1	verb - to endure or tolerate verb - to remove something from a place
give /ɡɪv/ A1	verb - to provide or present something to someone

Key Grammar Structures

• There is only after or before

  ➔ Existential there + be + only + time phrase

  ➔ 'There is' shows existence or presence; 'only' emphasizes exclusivity.

• Have I changed?

  ➔ Present perfect tense with inversion for questions

  ➔ Asking about a change using the present perfect with question inversion.

• The scar fades but pulls inside

  ➔ Present tense with 'but' coordinating two clauses

  ➔ Using simple present to describe ongoing or general states with coordinating conjunction.

• I do not recognize my face

  ➔ Negative form with 'do not' + base verb

  ➔ Forming negative statements using 'do not' plus the base form of the verb.

• Give me everything you got

  ➔ Imperative sentence / command with 'give' + indirect object

  ➔ Imperative mood used to give a command or request, with the verb 'give' directed towards the indirect object.

• So come on, tear me wide open

  ➔ Imperative phrase with 'come on' + verb + object + description

  ➔ An urgent or motivating imperative phrase encouraging action, combining colloquial 'come on' with a verb phrase.

• Sympathy magic

  ➔ Noun phrase as a repeated chorus or theme

  ➔ A noun phrase that functions as a recurring motif or chorus within the song.