Another twisted cliché. The saying goes “bury the hatchet.” Here she’s burying the “horse” she’s been dragging around. She’s going to bury all her mistakes and forget about them.

Perhaps Flo’s also referring to the saying about a ‘beating a dead horse’, which refers to when a line in a conversation has repeated so many times it’s futile to continue anymore. This lyric represents her getting rid of all of those sins once and for all, so that no one can beat the horse (talk about it) any longer.

Her problems are like an old horse that cling onto her, dragging her down as she tries to move on

This is one of a few twisted cliches in the song. It’s usually “wild horses could not drag me away” but instead it’s her dragging the horse(s) i.e. the past, her demons, her mistakes.

The titular criminal breaks and enters through a seemingly random building window. Jackson, however, refers to the window as “the window” to indicate its relevance.

Jackson uses the musical term “crescendo” meaning a gradual increase in volume. This describes the break and entry as not only being delicate and precise but almost musical.

The simple lyric choice: “he came into” instead of “he broke into,” leads the listener to infer the slyness and skill of the criminal.

These people/gangs will hurt you badly and get away with it because they make the rules – they run the streets.

These many demons she has to face up to are rutheless in their demands. The wager suggested refers to this – it originates from Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice. The insistence by Shylock of the payment of Antonio’s flesh is the central plot device of the play.

In an interview with Chelsea Handler, Florence talks about how song-writing is exorcising the “demons of the night before”, and the “pound of flesh” reference is the offering of a song to the demon.

Two meaning are present:

1. Shaking the devils of regrets off her back. It’s a metaphor for moving on and letting go of her past problems.
2. Literally, this refers to “shaking out” the sluggish feeling of a hangover; Florence was in a hangover when writing this song.

Further, the line “It’s hard to dance with a devil on your back” is almost certainly a direct reference to the church hymn, “The Lord of the Dance”:

I danced on a Friday when the world turned black
It’s hard to dance with the devil on your back
They buried my body; they thought I was gone
But I am the dance, and the dance goes on