Florida, is one hell of a drug/ Florida, can I use you?

I need to forget, so take me to Florida/ I’ve got some regrets, I’ll bury them in Florida

Florence Welch, of Florence + the Machine, delivers the haunting second verse. Her voice is deep and chilling as the scene unfolds.

The hurricane was my name when it came

I got drunk and I dared it to wash me away

Barricaded in the bathroom with a bottle of wine

There was actually a hurricane named Florence that formed on Aug. 31, 2018 — the first major hurricane of the 2018 Atlantic storm season. It killed two people in Florida before devastating the Carolinas, where 49 others perished. The World Meteorological Organization has since retired the name.

If you’re wondering, Taylor has never appeared on the storm list for the Atlantic basin, and won’t anytime soon: The names for the next six years are Tony, Tanya, Teddy, Teresa, Tobias and Tammy. These will rotate unless a storm is catastrophic enough for a name to be retired.

Welch continues, leaning into the stereotypical image of the state as a hotbed of crime with poetic flair:

All my girls got their lace and their crimes and your cheating husband disappeared/ Well, no one asks any questions here.

So I did my best, too lay to rest/ All of the bodies that have ever been on my body and in my mind

They sink into the swamp/ Is that a bad thing to say in a song?

In a world of over-the-top Florida Man headlines, the song is another caricature, albeit a fun one. Swift and Welch sell this scandalous escape with a wink. Like sand sticking to you after the beach, this one will linger for a while.

What a crash, what a rush

F— me up, Florida

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