Not to be dramatic, but I love Hozier. Like, I have an unhealthy obsession with him. (I got tickets to his tour for Christmas and literally haven’t stopped talking about it since.) My top-streamed track on Spotify is “Almost (Sweet Music).” I have streamed it 1,886 times, aka I have listened to it for 4 days, 17 hours, 41 minutes, and 2 seconds. I’ve listened to Hozier for over 30 days, according to my Spotify listening history. I think he is simply brilliant, and I could teach an entire English class about him and his lyrics. The symbolism and alliteration in his lyrics are other-worldly. That said, I want to tell you about my five favorite lyrics of his (I don’t even want to talk about how hard it was to just choose five lyrics, so maybe I’ll be expanding this list soon).
“When I was a man, I thought it ended / When I knew love’s perfect ache / But my peace has always depended / On all the ashes in my wake”
“Arsonist’s Lullaby” – Hozier
So maybe I’m cheating by choosing a bridge (a common theme throughout this piece), but this lyric is so universally melancholic. I mean, how many of us convince ourselves that our life will be perfect once we find that one true love, only to discover that misfortune shapes life? Relationship girlies: don’t go break up with your boyfriends, but I love this reminder from Hozier that the sad moments often turn into some of the most beautiful moments. True peace comes from being okay with misfortune and seeking the good in it. Hozier reminds us that life doesn’t end when we think it is perfect; instead, he suggests that we are lucky to experience the lows. I say this because the lowest points we experience often magnify the beauty of life when we make it up that mountain again.
“All the fear and the fire of the end of the world / Happens each time a boy falls in love with a girl”
“Wasteland, Baby!” – Hozier
This is probably my favorite opening line of all of Hozier’s music. In this song, he compares falling in love to an apocalypse, but not in a negative sense. Instead, it analyzes how, with a new relationship, the world can often feel refreshed and full of new beginnings. This sense of falling in love may be destructive in some aspects of life, but it will fix itself in the end. The comparison of fear and fire paints an image of the possibility of rebirth or total destruction. I think it is so cool that a lyric about something as cliche as falling in love can carry many new meanings behind it, including the world being destroyed. His voice is so soft and sweet in this opening line, and I get goosebumps whenever I hear it.
“I couldn’t utter my love when it counted / Ah, but I’m singing like a bird ‘bout it now”
“Shrike” – Hozier
Cue the ugly sobbing. Are you kidding me? He couldn’t say I love you when he needed to, but now that she is gone, she is the only thing on his mind. Because of this lyric, I’m tearing up as I write and drink my vanilla latte while sitting in the business building on campus. The song title, “Shrike,” alludes to this first verse; Hozier continues the metaphor of singing about his lost lover as loudly as a bird throughout the song. The lyrics remind me of a relationship that might not have always been positive but still had a deep connection. To continue the bird metaphor, Hozier wants his lover to know that in the next life, they will find someone who reminds them that they count, while Hozier will be like a shrike singing on his thorn about his missed love for them. So basically, listen to “Shrike” if you’re still a little in love with your emotionally unavailable ex-boyfriend/situationship while wishing they treated you better.
“And the first time you kissed me / I drank dry the River Lethe”
“First Time” – Hozier
Where do I even start with this one? In Greek mythology, the Lethe is a river in the underworld; once you drink out of it, you lose all memories from your past lives, which prepares you for reincarnation. So, what Hozier is saying here is that he was hooked the first time his lover kissed him. He forgot everything about his past life because of how ethereal and significant the kiss was. To take it a step further, though (because Hozier never does anything halfway), he drinks the river dry. Going back to mythology, a simple drop was often enough to wipe the dead’s memories of their past life. However, Hozier had such a powerful kiss that it caused him to forget everything and become new again. Wow! I don’t know about you, but if a guy said he drank the Lethe dry after kissing me to forget everything but us, I think I would fall in love on the spot.
“So in awe, there I stood as you licked off the grain, / though I’ve handled the wood, I still worship the flame, / long as amber of ember glows / all the ‘would that I’d loved’ is long ago”
“Would That I” – Hozier
Did I choose a whole verse? Maybe, but it was only because this song may be one of the most beautiful things I have ever heard. This song is full of so much imagery that I could write a whole post on it, but we are focusing on this verse instead. This verse packs multiple metaphors in just a few words. Throughout the song, Hozier compares his new lover to fire while referring to his past lovers as wood. To me, this verse represents how Hozier worships his new lover (“I still worship the flame”) while his past lovers melt away in the “amber of ember glows.” There’s a double meaning in the last part of the verse, which contains Hozier’s rumination on how all the “’would that I’d loved’ is long ago.” There’s a literal meaning in the word “would”; it represents a past full of promises and what he would have done, but also, as “would” sounds like “wood,” it signifies his lovers (remember the metaphor from earlier) and how they belong to the past.
These five lyrics are such small snippets of Hozier’s discography. I highly recommend listening to songs like “Almost (Sweet Music),” “NFWMB,” “Like Real People Do,” and “Work Song” to understand the magic that is Hozier. His music quite literally makes me feel like the main character in an indie coming-of-age film. He is beautiful and adds tremendous value to the music industry.