"Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)" is a song by English

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was originally used to describe rock music released through independent reco ...

band

Florence and the Machine Florence and the Machine (stylised as Florence + the Machine) are an English indie rock band formed in London in 2007 by lead vocalist Florence Welch, keyboardist Isabella Summers, guitarist Rob Ackroyd, drummer Christopher Lloyd Hayden and harp ...

from their debut

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

Lungs The lungs are the primary organs of the respiratory system in many animals, including humans. In mammals and most other tetrapods, two lungs are located near the backbone on either side of the heart. Their function in the respiratory syste ...

'' (2009). It was released as the album's third

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

on June 21, 2009, by

Island An island or isle is a piece of land, distinct from a continent, completely surrounded by water. There are continental islands, which were formed by being split from a continent by plate tectonics, and oceanic islands, which have never been ...

and Moshi Moshi Records. The song was written by

Florence Welch Florence Leontine Mary Welch
(born 28 ...

and

Paul Epworth Paul Richard Epworth (born 25 July 1974) is an English record producer, songwriter, musician, and remixer. He has worked with artists including Adele, Florence and the Machine, Rihanna, and Maxïmo Park, among many others. He is a member of th ...

, produced by Epworth and mixed by

Cenzo Townshend Vincenzo "Cenzo" Capellini Townshend (born 25 March 1963) is an English record producer, mixer, and audio engineer, and has worked with artists and bands including the Rolling Stones, a-ha, Kaiser Chiefs, U2, Snow Patrol, Florence and the Machi ...

. The song contains elements of "House Jam" by

Gang Gang Dance Gang Gang Dance is an American band based in Manhattan, New York City. They are known for their distinctive sound which blends elements of psych-rock, ambient electronics, hip-hop, and Eastern music influences with the vocals of singer Lizzi ...

. It has been remixed by numerous artists, including

Jamie T Jamie Alexander Treays (born 8 January 1986), better known by his stage name Jamie T, is an English singer, songwriter, rapper, guitarist and record producer from Wimbledon, South London. Jamie T released his debut album, '' Panic Prevention' ...

, whose remix appears on the single's CD and digital releases. "Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)" peaked at number 12 on the UK Singles Chart, becoming the band's third most successful single to date, behind "

Spectrum A spectrum (: spectra or spectrums) is a set of related ideas, objects, or properties whose features overlap such that they blend to form a continuum. The word ''spectrum'' was first used scientifically in optics to describe the rainbow of co ...

", which peaked at number one, and "

You've Got the Love "You Got the Love" is a song by British songwriting team the Source featuring American singer-songwriter Candi Staton. Originally released in 1986, the song was remixed and re-released in 1991, 1997, and 2006. It has reached number three on the ...

", which has reached number five.

Background

"Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)" features

Florence Welch Florence Leontine Mary Welch
(born 28 ...

's voice overdubbed with many harmonies in order to sound like a massed choir of one. She confessed to ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'': "The guy who mixed it nearly had a nervous breakdown." The song was co-written by Welch together with

who also produced the song which was recorded by Mark Rankin. The track features Tom 'Moth' Monger on harp and Robert Ackroyd on guitar. During the verses, the song features some of the melody and lyrics (e.g. ''"How quickly the glamour fades"'') from

's song "House Jam". Florence described her inspiration behind the song:

I'd written all these dark songs, and the label suggested we should have something that was a bit more upbeat. In the process of trying to do that, I realised maybe I was sacrificing something. So I had a really upbeat piano and drums, but the lyrics that came out were 'This is the gift/It comes with a price/ Who is the lamb/And who is the knife?' The rabbit heart is a reference to fear. I'm so afraid of what's about to happen. Of being in the spotlight.

As part of the single's promotion, the band performed the song on ''

The Jonathan Ross Show ''The Jonathan Ross Show'' is a British comedy chat show presented by Jonathan Ross. It was first broadcast on ITV on 3 September 2011 and airs on Saturday evenings following the conclusion of Ross' BBC One chat show, ''Friday Night with Jona ...

'' as well as in

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and Contemporary hit radio, current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including ...

Live Lounge The Live Lounge is a segment on the British radio stations BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 1Xtra. It was originally hosted by Simon Mayo, and later by Jo Whiley on her weekday mid-morning, and later weekend lunchtime radio shows, then by Fearne Cott ...

. The single was also performed at numerous festivals across the United Kingdom throughout 2009, including

Glastonbury Glastonbury ( , ) is a town and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low-lying Somerset Levels, south of Bristol. The town had a population of 8,932 in the 2011 census. Glastonbury is less than across the River ...

Electric Picnic Electric Picnic is an annual arts-and-music festival which has been staged since 2004 at Stradbally Hall in Stradbally, County Laois, Ireland. Overview It is organised by Pod Concerts and Festival Republic, who purchased the majority sh ...

Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

T in the Park T in the Park festival was a major Scottish music festival that was held annually from 1994 to 2016. It was named after its main sponsor, Tennents. The event was held at Strathclyde Park, Lanarkshire, until 1996. It then moved to the disused ...

Bestival Bestival was a four-day music festival held in the south of England. The name Bestival is a portmanteau of the words best and festival. It had been held annually in the late summer since 2004 at Robin Hill on the Isle of Wight. In 2017 the festi ...

and

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...

, among others. The song was also featured as

Zane Lowe Alexander Zane Reed Lowe (born 1973) is a New Zealand radio DJ, live DJ, record producer, and television presenter. After an early career in music creation, production and DJing, he moved to the UK in 1997. He came to prominence through pr ...

's "Single of the Week".

Critical reception

"Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)" received critical acclaim from

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 ...

Pitchfork Media ''Pitchfork'' (formerly ''Pitchfork Media'') is an American online music magazine founded in 1996 by Ryan Schreiber in Minneapolis. It originally covered Alternative rock, alternative and independent music, and expanded to cover genres includin ...

wrote that Welch "add some welcomed ambiguity to a Paul Epworth production that stunningly internalizes every pseudo-psych/freakishly-folk trend that's passed through these parts over the last few years. 'The looking glass so shiny and new/ How quickly the glamor fades,' wisely observes Welch. A gold record in every way."

Chart performance

On 4 July 2009, "Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)" debuted at number twelve on the UK Singles Chart. It spent a total of seven weeks in the top twenty, and seventeen in the official top seventy-five, a significantly longer charting period than any of the band's previous three singles. "Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)" debuted at number forty-two on the

Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is the Republic of Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) and compiled on their behalf by the Official Charts Company. Chart rankings are ...

on 27 June 2009. The song then went on to peak at number forty-one, spending a total of eight weeks on the chart. As of July 2018 in United Kingdom the track has shifted 308,000 combined sales and streams.

Music video

The music video for "Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)" was directed by Tom Beard and Queens of Noize's Tabitha Denholm. It was shot on location at

Painshill Park Painshill (formally Painshill Park) is a restored 18th-century English park and landscape garden in Cobham, Surrey, England. It was designed and created between 1738 and 1773 by the owner, Charles Hamilton. Painshill is Grade I- listed and is ...

in Cobham, Surrey on May 6, 2009 Welch told ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

'' that the video shoot had "a twisted mid summer night's dream feel to it." The video premiered on

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

on May 14, 2009.

Cover versions

English girl group the

Sugababes The Sugababes are an English girl group composed of Mutya Buena, Keisha Buchanan, and Siobhán Donaghy. The lineup changed three times before returning to the original lineup in 2011. Formed in 1998 by Ron Tom, the manager of All Saints, ...

performed the song twice, first in BBC Radio 1's Live Lounge alongside their single " About a Girl" in November 2009 and again at

Camden Crawl Camden Crawl was a music festival in London Borough of Camden, Camden, London, which first appeared in 1995 and then was held annually from 2005 to 2014. Overview Rather than a single venue, Camden Crawl operated at multiple venues simultaneous ...

in 2010.

Track listings

* UK CD single # "Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)" (album version) – 3:54 # "Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)" (

's Lionheart remix) – 4:49 # "Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)" (Leo Zero remix) – 8:09 * Digital EP # "Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)" – 3:52 # "Are You Hurting the One You Love?" – 2:58 # "Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)" (Jamie T & Ben Bones Lionheart mix) – 4:50 # "Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)" (Leo Zero remix) – 8:05 # "Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)" (Switch mix) – 4:44 * UK 7-inch single :A. "Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)" – 3:52 :B. "Are You Hurting the One You Love?" – 2:58

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

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