Florence Welch has this way of turning personal wreckage into something that feels ancient and alive, like she’s channeling ghosts through her voice. “Sympathy Magic,” the fourth track on her new album Everybody Scream, out October 31 via Republic Records, does exactly that.
It’s a spell of a song, built on piano swells and those choral builds that make you feel like you’re in some candlelit ritual. She debuted it live last night on The Tonight Show, barefoot and fierce, her arms wide as the band crashed in behind her, and the clip’s already blowing up online. Fans are calling it her rawest moment since Ceremonials, especially after she opened up in that Guardian piece about her ectopic pregnancy in 2023. “The closest I came to making life was the closest I came to death,” she said, tying the album’s fury to that near-loss during her Dance Fever tour. Everybody Scream isn’t just recovery music; it’s a dive into witchcraft and womanhood, with Welch exploring spells and wise women as alternatives to the systems that failed her.
The song’s title nods to that old idea of sympathetic magic, where like calls to like, but here it’s flipped into a plea for release. Lines about memory failing and scars pulling inside hit like confessions from someone who’s stared down fame’s humiliations and come out sharper. She teased the video earlier this week on X, a shadowy clip of her in a gown, wind whipping through, hinting at the folk-horror vibes running through the record. In a recent NME chat, Welch talked about sharing moodboards with producer Mark Bowen from IDLES, pulling in mysticism and JADE’s experimental pop to shape these tracks.
With guests like Mitski and Aaron Dessner adding layers, Everybody Scream feels like a coven gathering, and “Sympathy Magic” is the invocation. It’s her sixth album, her most personal, born from pain but aimed at power. Dive into the Sympathy Magic lyrics below and unpack its raw narrative. Don’t miss other Everybody Scream tracks for more of Florence’s witchy, unyielding fire.
| Lead Vocals | Florence Welch |
| Songwriter | Florence Welch & Danny L Harle |
| Music Producer | Aaron Dessner |
| Label | Polydor Records & Republic Records |
| Release Date | October 31, 2025 |
| Song Language | English |
| Copyright © | Universal Music Group |
Lyrics of Sympathy Magic by Florence + the Machine
[Verse 1]
Memory Fails Me
Names And Faces Blur
There Is Only After Or Before
Am I Still 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
Crushed In A Ball Gown
Anxious And Ashamed
The Vague Humiliations Of Fame
[Chorus]
I Do Not Find Worthiness Or 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 Gift
Let The Chorus Console Me
Sympathy Magic
[Verse 2]
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
[Chorus]
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-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la
[Bridge]
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
What Else, What Else, What Else
[Outro]
Sympathy Magic (Ooh)
Sympathy Magic
Sympathy Magic (Ooh)
Sympathy Magic
So Come On, Come On, Come On, Come On
Come On, Come On, Come On, Come On
Come On, Come On, Come On, Come On
Come On
So Come On, Come On, Come On, Come On
Come On, Come On, Come On, Come On
Come On, Come On, Come On, Come On
Come On (Sympathy Magic)
