The Beauty of Hozier’s Words
“When my time comes around
Lay me gently in the cold, dark earth
No grave can hold my body down
I'll crawl home to her”
- Work Song, Hozier
Since the release of his first single ‘Cherry Wine’ on July 3, 2014, Andrew Hozier-Byrne has been blessing music lovers and all with his artistry. Byrne, who goes by his middle name, Hozier, was born in the folk roots of Bray, Ireland, on March 17, 1990. He has accrued an enormous fan base, largely credited to his heart-wrenchingly beautiful lyrics and charismatic personality. Hozier, famous for his songs like “Take Me To Church” and, more recently, “Too Sweet,” combines intricately written lyrics and enthralling tunes into thought-out messages. As an avid Hozier listener, here are some of my favorite and presumed best Hozier lyrics (though, may subjectivism lie in the gaps and debates. All is beautiful when it’s Hozier).
1. NFWMB (Nothing Fucks With My Baby)
(The song was originally released in 2018 in Hozier’s Nina Cried Power EP.)
“If I was born as a blackthorn tree
I’d wanna be felled by you
Held by you
Fuel the pyre of your enemies”
I am just as in awe with the lyrics as Hozier is with the person he is singing about. I love this line because it’s short and simple but speaks volumes in meaning. The line “fuel the pyre of your enemies” particularly stands out as it is Hozier declaring his love not only for this person’s light but also their darkness, rage, and desires. It’s a statement of complete and utter love, so much so that he devotes himself to the person and would even dispose of himself for them.
2. Sunlight
(Beautiful track thirteen of Hozier’s sophomore album, Wasteland, Baby! )
“Betray the moon as acolyte
On first and fierce affirming sight
Of sunlight, sunlight, sunlight”
/
“Know that I would gladly be
The Icarus to your certainty
Oh, my sunlight, sunlight, sunlight
Strap the wing to me
Death trap clad happily
With wax melted, I’d meet the sea
Under sunlight, sunlight, sunlight”
For those unfamiliar with the Greek myth, Icarus and his father, Daedalus, create makeshift wings with wax to escape a desolate island. Their plan is successful, and both Icarus and Daedalus fly off the island. Icarus, despite his father’s warning, becomes overcome with confidence and flies higher, nearing the sun. The heat melts his wax wings, and he falls into the sea, drowning.
In this verse of “Sunlight,” Hozier masterfully weaves together a tale of love and sacrifice, drawing from Icarus’ tragic fate. His words are not just poetic, but they ebb in a symphony of emotions that easily and deeply resonates. It’s absolutely beautiful. I find it difficult to discover lyrics that are this poetic and meaningful nowadays, making Hozier’s songs all the more enrapturing.
3. De Selby
(The opening track from Hozier’s latest album, Unreal Unearth. This song extends to a second part, of which I will be counting together as one for this article.)
“When all of the world is asleep
you take in the blackness of air
the likes of a darkness so deep
that God at the beginning could not bear”
Part one of the song later contains a portion in Irish (Gaelic). Most translations of this section include something along the lines of:
“Although you’re bright and light
You come to me like nightfall”
The first verse discusses the loneliness one must have felt before the creation of everything—this directly references religion. Hozier’s wording, however, is what makes the verse so beautiful. The second verse mentioned hearkens back to the idea of beauty in darkness, pointing to philosophies of life, religion, and even metamorphosis. Typically, “nightfall” entails a loss of faith, implying the love experienced transforms the subject so much they convert their devotion to their partner—an artful metamorphosis. Also, note how Hozier specifies that the person arrives in darkness. He commonly references Icarus’ story in his songs, implying that too much light can result in pain and ashes. The person in the song, however, cannot hurt Hozier this way as they first appear during nightfall.
Hozier has mentioned in several interviews that Unreal Unearth includes songs relating to Dante’s Inferno, but “De Selby” seems to be the only exception. However, if we take a closer look, we can see this isn’t true.
“De Selby” is known to have references to works by Flann O’Brien, specifically to images of darkness and black air. One of O’Brien’s works involves a scientist named De Selby who releases chemicals into the air, leaving an atmosphere that opens access to the underworld—hence, Dante’s Inferno. This song is a perfect opening to the album since it introduces a path to the realm of the dead, allowing the rest of the songs to follow Dante in the underworld. It’s brilliant.
4. Talk
(The lyrics from “Talk” are some of the most beautiful words ever put into a song. Once again, Hozier demonstrates his ability to smoothly incorporate ancient mythology into songs—and I’m all here for it. “Talk” is based on the story of Orpheus and Eurydice. The lovers were torn apart by death when a snake bit Eurydice. Orpheus, drowning in his grief, trekked to the underworld, hoping to retrieve her. A deal was struck in the under realm: Eurydice could follow Orpheus out of the underworld, but he could not look back to see if she was following until they emerged above.)
“I’d be the voice that urged Orpheus
When her body was found
I’d be the choiceless hope in grief
That drove him underground
I’d be the dreadful need in the devotee
That made him turn around
And I’d be the immediate forgiveness
In Eurydice
Imagine being loved by me!”
Their story is heartbreaking, but Hozier captures their devotion to each other beautifully. Orpheus, too eager and anxious, had to confirm Eurydice was behind him, for he loved her too much not to. Eurydice understood this. Her forgiveness and acceptance as a bid farewell to Orpheus is proof of that. She loved him too much not to give him that closure.
I also love his language here—his narration, wording, and pacing, it’s all quite genius. These lyrics target that deep gut feeling that makes me want to scream my heart out at 3 A.M. Simply put, I am obsessed with Hozier’s artistic abilities. If you enjoyed this verse or any of the others, I highly recommend checking out the full song and lyrics. They continue in the same narration and are incredibly worth listening to.
5. Better Love
(If there is only one song readers take away from this article, let it be this one. “Better Love” is one of my favorites, and I highly encourage you to read through the full lyrics—they’re just remarkable.)
“Staring in the blackness at some distant star
the thrill of knowing how alone we are, unknown we are”
/
“And I’ve never loved a darker blue
Than the darkness I have known in you, own from you
You, whose heart would sing of anarchy
You would laugh at meanings, guarantees, so beautifully
When our truth is burned from history
By those who figured justice in fond memory, witness me
Like fire weeping from a cedar tree
Know that my love would burn with me
We’ll live eternally”
The song was written for The Legend of Tarzan and remains a standalone single in Hozier’s discography. Under the premise of Tarzan’s story, the lyrics become clearer. Tarzan begins his story as a lone human, raised by a gorilla (“the thrill of knowing how alone we are, unknown we are”). When he encounters a group of human explorers, he falls in love with one of the women (“You, whose heart would sing of anarchy”). A hunter attempts to break the two apart (“When our truth is burned from history / By those who figured justice in fond memory”), but Tarzan perseveres (“Know that my love would burn with me”). There are very few people who can capture and articulate love like Hozier does. The lyrics above possess such reverence and ardor that it makes it easy to fall headfirst into the artist’s perception of love.
I find Hozier’s articulation of love pure and ethereal (it also sounds it!). He writes about his partners as if they are to be worshiped—and it seems he does worship them, for he writes of them with such high regard. It is clear from the metaphors, comparisons, wording, language, etc. that he considers his relationships sacred. That golden, flawless image he paints of love—as a hopeless romantic, I am addicted to it.
Hozier, in all his brilliance, has songs that arguably can only be completely admired as a whole. To finish, here are some songs with lyrics that are much more powerful when read in the context of the entire song.
“Swan Upon Leda”
“Would That I” - Wasteland, Baby!
“Francesca” - Unreal Unearth
“Shrike” - Nina Cried Power / Wasteland, Baby!
“From Eden” - Hozier
“Cherry Wine” - Hozier
“Through Me (The Flood)” - Unreal Unearth
“Like Real People Do” - Hozier
