Florence Welch Opens Up About Advice Taylor Swift Gave Her That Saved Her Life

"You must sing about what's happening in your life," she says

Florence Welch of Florence and the Machine went through a rough patch so severe, she thought she would ultimately have a breakdown.

In Billboard's new cover story, Welch opens up about how life on tour kept her sane for so long before she ultimately had to face her own "chaos" and deal with her life. "Without the structure of touring, you have to face your own chaos," she tells the magazine.

"I was playing gigs nonstop since I was 21. When I was left to my own devices, I realized I was f---ing everything up. I was in and out of a relationship, in and out of drinking too much. It was like constantly picking yourself up and then dropping yourself, picking yourself up and dropping yourself."

She adds, "And that was exhausting."

But one of her really good friends was able to guide her through the dark times and give her the advice she needed to turn her life around before it was too late: Taylor Swift.

"Taylor said that you must sing about what's happening in your life," Welch says. So the "Dog Days Are Over" crooner put pen to paper and wrote a record about her on-again, off-again relationship with British event producer James Nesbitt. But she clarified that the album is "not about trying to be vindictive."

"It's about being honest. This could've been a breakup record," she adds. "But it was much more about trying to understand myself."

The magazine also talks to Swift about her friendship with Welch, and the "Style" singer described her gal-pal as truly "electric."

"She's the most fun person to dance with at a party, but then five minutes later you find yourself sitting on the stairs with her having an in-depth conversation about love and heartbreak," Swift tells Billboard.

Together, however, they were able to make each other more comfortable about singing about the issues going on in their lives. Florence and the Machine's "What Kind of Man" addresses Welch's emotions regarding her tumultuous relationship.

"...I was in this purgatory with this man. That push and pull thing where you are just stuck and you're like, 'Why do we keep doing this to each other?'" describes Welch of her experience.

"It's an aggressive song, but I can see my own part in the whole process. I was just as crazy as he was. People think the men in the video represent my ex-boyfriends, but they really represent a lot of different forces that weren't working for me."