Hozier has a special relationship with musicality that is not often seen, especially in today’s popular music. Typically, songs and artists with a more pop or rap based background are the ones to be dignified by the public; however, I think that there is something to be said for songs such as “Talk” that coalesce past and present into a story that is applicable to anyone at all points of history.
To summarize the story of Orpheus and Euridyce in the realm of Greek Mythology: They were lovers when Euridyce was bitten by a viper and died. Orpheus, who was a great musician, strummed his lyre as he ventured into the underworld in an attempt to bring Eurydice back to life. When facing Hades, Orpheus played a tune that was so sweet that Hades agreed to allow Orpheus the chance to take Euridyce out of the underworld… under one condition: Orpheus was forbidden to look behind him to make certain that Eurydice was truly there. Orpheus was worried that Hades was playing a trick on him, so as soon as Orpheus had stepped into the light, he turned around. However, Eurydice was still in the darkness of the underworld, breaking the deal and condemning her for the rest of eternity. The story of Euridyce and Orpheus is one that relays the importance of trust within a relationship, a theme that Hozier plays with in the song “Talk.”
Hozier is known to play with themes of love, lust, sex, and desire within his music. What he does with the song “Talk” is no different, however, the way in which he does this leaves listeners in a trance before they divulge the true meaning of the song. Hoizer describes the protagonist of the song as an “unreliable narrator” who may not have the best intentions when speaking to his lover. Taking this into account, Hozier, or the protagonist, promises many things throughout the song to their lover. For example, he promises to “be the voice that urged Orpheus when her body was found,” “be the choiceless hope in grief that drove him underground,” as well as “be the dreadful need in the devotee that made him turn around.”
They sound acoustically beautiful to the listeners ears, but when listening to the chorus, along with these promises, with the notion of the protagonist is an unreliable narrator, the truth of the words present themselves. Within these bars, Hozier is implying that he (the protagonist) would walk into Hell, disobey God, and forgive leaving him in Hell, all for his lover. While doing this, Hozier is putting the protagonist into the shoes of Euridyce, and therefore the “lover” or audience, into the shoes of Orpheus – changing the interpreted power structure of the story as applied to his current day relationship.
This alteration in power structure allows the audience to feel as though the strength is in their hands, and as though he is confessing a love for them through this imagery through language. These promises are then followed by the chorus where the protagonist refers to his allusions: “Imagine being loved by me!” followed by, “I try and talk refined, for fear that you’d find out how I’m imagining’ you.” The slight truth given within the chorus allows for the audience to begin to understand that his flowery language, despite being beautiful, is just that: a facade to woo the audience so that they may miss the narrator’s true intentions.
“Talk” by Hozier is simply just the charming of an audience, or lover, to distract them from the narrator’s true intentions. The inclusion of the Greek Myth of Orpheus and Euridyce allows for the flowery language to become even more captivating as he imbues a story of true love into his flourishments. The message of the song is easily connected to by the audience as this type of speech becomes more and more relevant to the love lives of younger generations as the typical “old-school” style relationships become less desirable.“Talk” describes the singer’s theoretical devotion to the lover while also hiding the fact that the true intention of their conversation is physical release, seducing the lover into allowing just that.
“I’d be the voice that urged Orpheus
When her body was found (hey ya)
I’d be the choiceless hope in grief
That drove him underground (hey ya)
I’d be the dreadful need in the devotee
That made him turn around (hey ya)
And I’d be the immediate forgiveness
In Eurydice
Imagine being loved by me!
I won’t deny I’ve got in my mind now all the things we’d do
So I’ll try to talk refined for fear that you find out how I’m imaginin’ you
I’d be the last shred of truth
In the lost myth of true love (hey ya)
I’d be the sweet feeling of release
Mankind now dreams of (hey ya)
That’s found in the last witness
Before the wave hits
Marvelling at God (hey ya)
Before he feels alone
One final time
And marries the sea
Imagine being loved by me
I won’t deny I’ve got in my mind now all the things I would do
So I’ll try to talk refined for fear that you find out how I’m imaginin’ you
I won’t deny I’ve got in my mind now all the things we could do
So I’ll try to talk refined for fear that you find out how I’m imaginin’ you”
Source: LyricFind
Songwriters: Andrew Hozier-Byrne
Talk lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC