"Cosmic Love" is a song by English

indie rock Indie rock is a subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the music they produc ...

band Florence and the Machine from their debut studio album ''

Lungs The lungs are the primary organs of the respiratory system in humans and most other animals, including some snails and a small number of fish. In mammals and most other vertebrates, two lungs are located near the backbone on either side ...

'' (2009). The song was written by the band's lead singer

Florence Welch Florence Leontine Mary Welch (born 28 August 1986) is an English singer, the lead vocalist and primary songwriter of the indie rock band Florence and the Machine. The band's debut studio album, ''Lungs'' (2009), topped the UK Albums Chart and wo ...

and keyboardist

Isabella Summers Isabella Janet Florentina Summers (born October 31, 1980) is an English musician, songwriter, producer, remixer and composer. She is a founding member of English indie rock band Florence and the Machine. Biography Summers lived her first nin ...

, and produced by Paul Epworth, with additional production from Summers. "Cosmic Love" was released as the sixth (seventh, counting the re-release of "

Dog Days Are Over "Dog Days Are Over" is a song by English indie rock band Florence and the Machine from their debut album ''Lungs'' (2009). It was originally scheduled for release on 24 November 2008 through Moshi Moshi Records in the UK as the album's second s ...

") and final single from ''Lungs'' on 5 July 2010. The song was critically acclaimed, with many critics calling it the best song on the album, and was certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. The song was used in a scene on

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

soap-opera '' Coronation Street'' in May 2018, in which the character

Aidan Connor '' Coronation Street'' is a British soap opera first broadcast on 9 December 1960. The following is a list of characters that appeared in 2015, by order of first appearance. All characters are introduced by series producer Stuart Blackburn. Beth ...

(

Shayne Ward Shayne Thomas Ward (born 16 October 1984) is an English actor and singer. He rose to fame as the winner of the second series of ''The X Factor''. His debut single, "That's My Goal", was released in the United Kingdom on 21 December 2005 an ...

) takes his own life.

Background and writing

Lead singer

elaborated on the writing of the song:

'Cosmic Love' was a joke title, but it stuck. The most hungover I’ve ever been when writing a song. I went to [ Isabella Summers's] studio after having been to a party, and I was lying on the floor wanting to vomit. We were working really hard on a song and just trying to make this sh*t piano part work, and all of a sudden I hit on one note, and I’d got it. We wrote the whole song in ten minutes.

Welch told

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, w ...

that it's a song about how being in love means "you give yourself up to the dark, to being blind".

Critical reception

"Cosmic Love" has been widely praised by

music critics Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on w ...

, with many critics calling it the best song on the album. ''

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'' says the song is "audaciously huge" and one of the album's "finest" tracks, alongside "Blinding".

Chart performance

"Cosmic Love" debuted on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

at number 162 on 26 June 2010 before climbing to number 116 the following week. On 11 July 2010, following the physical release of the single, it rocketed into the Top 100 at number 51, giving Florence her seventh Top 100 hit from the album ''Lungs''. "Cosmic Love" is Florence's second least successful single in the UK charts behind " Drumming Song", along with " Kiss with a Fist", which also peaked at number 51. Conversely, the song is Florence and the Machine's highest-charting song in Ireland, as due to high digital sales it charted at number 3 there, almost a year before its physical release after it was featured in an advert for The O₂ in Dublin.

Music video and use in other media

A promotional

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...

was shot on 24 March 2010. Welch's manager Mairead Nash described it as "amazing." The video was debuted on the band's official website on 11 May 2010.

Synopsis

The video begins with a shot of a lightbulb flashing. Lead singer Florence Welch is then seen to walk through some trees with autumn leaves, and a light falls into her eye, making her scream. The video then moves on to show Welch lying on the floor in a black outfit, in a mirrored room filled with different coloured lights around her. She then stands up and dances in the room. The video then moves back to Florence walking through the autumn leaves, with blue, green and purple lighting shining on her, and she appears to be lost as she is surveying her surroundings. The scene of Welch in the room of lights then changes to darker lighting, and her outfit changes into a white dress with lights. Later in the song, during this scene, leaves are seen to surround her as she is dancing. The video ends with Florence taking the light from inside her chest, and releasing it into the air, and it floats into the lightbulb which started the video.

In other media

In 2013, American rapper Sikai and XV sampled "Cosmic Love" for the song "Falling Star". The song was also sampled in the same year by American rapper Marcus Orelias for the song "Rebel of the Underground" and in 2014 by rapper, MZ on the song "Lune De Fiel" featuring french rapper Marlo.

Track listing

UK 7-inch vinyl #"Cosmic Love" #"Cosmic Love"

Charts

Weekly charts

Certifications

References

{{Authority control 2009 songs 2010 singles Florence and the Machine songs Island Records singles Song recordings produced by Paul Epworth Songs written by Florence Welch Songs written by Isabella Summers