The Shake It Out Songfacts reports that the song is about having a hangover and wanting to shake it out. Speaking to XFM radio, Florence explained: "I wanted to just shake something out, shake out these regrets, shake out these things that haunt you. It was one of those songs that came in about half an hour and when you've got a hangover, it is almost like a hangover cure. You're like, thank you!" She continued: "I don't want everyone to think that I always write songs with a hangover! Cause I don't, I really don't. But with this one I have to say there was a bit of one lurking in my mind as I wrote it. It was like I was trying to write a hangover cure." Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.