Hozier’s gospel EP “Take Me to Church” made ripples in the music industry for some time before it hit the top charts worldwide. Whether you heard the catchy tune on the radio or watched the music video on YouTube, it probably left a lasting impression. At the root of the lyrics and soul of the song there lays an evident conflict presented by singer-songwriter Andrew Hozier-Byrne.
For the first time in about a decade (with the exception of Ed Sheeran), an Irishman punctured the Top 40 charts worldwide. Hozier’s music style, not taking the form of Bono or Snow Patrol, is refreshing and a sign of a notable change in the music today. And that style is genuine soul. Hozier’s biggest hit, “Take Me To Church,” originally released in 2013, takes a jab at passion, sex, and religion during modern times and how they often do not mix well together.
In an interview with Gigwise, Hozier said, “I wouldn’t consider it an indictment against religion or an indictment against the church but more of an indictment against institutions…that undermine some of the more natural parts of being a person, undermine humanity itself.”
Although Hozier claims to not be directing the song directly at the Church or Catholicism, the lyrics tend to speak for themselves. The chorus intertwines liturgical language and a love song, “Take me to church/ I’ll worship like a dog at the shrine of your lies/ I’ll tell you my sins and you can sharpen your knife/ Offer me that deathless death/ Good God, let me give you my life.”
Lyrics today are often overlooked because a catchy beat and rhythm take precedence in our club-oriented society. The pop music scene is flooded with icons who are sexualized but do not truly address the issues of sex.
Take Nick Jonas’ “Jealous,” for example: “I turn my chin music up/ and I’m puffing my chest/ I’m getting red in the face/ You can call me obsessed/ It’s not your fault that they hover/ I mean no disrespect/ It’s my right to be hellish/ I still get jealous.”
These lyrics dance around the issue of a relationship, and its vague outlines can relate to many people who are jealous, sure. But the question of substance in a songwriter’s lyrics lies within the motivation for writing what they write.
It does not need to be complex or long-winded. Hozier’s roughly four-minute song addresses social and political strife with current institutions. In a world where the iniquities of gender, race and, in this case, sexual orientation are often tossed under the rug, addressing such issues can be uncomfortable.
Hozier’s motivation for “Take Me To Church” comes from the struggles of the LGBT community in an unaccepting landscape. The straightforward lyrics coupled with the harsh reality of the music video bring about a feeling of discontented morality for the listener. That is the feeling that facilitates change.
Brendan Canty directed the music video with help from his creative team at Feel Good Lost, a multi-faceted company that creates film, art and music. The almost haunting experience induced from watching the video sends a clear message to the viewer: one of nightmarish hostility.
“The video references the recent increase of organized attacks and torturing of homosexuals in Russia, which is subsequent to a long, hateful, and oppressive political campaign against the LGBT community,” said Hozier in an interview.
After the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, Russia loosened its grip on its anti-LGBT laws. However, in recent months, Putin’s totalitarian regime has swayed back into darker times. The increase of federal law over such matters is a remission into Soviet-era totalitarianism. Although Hozier’s dark gospel song contains liturgical language and is an open opposition to the church, the music video takes the same message and applies it to a completely different institution: government.
At the conclusion of the video, a gang beats one of the homosexual characters next to a blazing bonfire. Fire is a ferocious symbol to be used in any context. Once a fire spreads, it reaches the point of being uncontrollable. In this music video it symbolizes the uncontrollable conflict of outwardly anti-LGBT groups pointing the finger at the LGBT community.
Although the music video spreads the awareness of an oppressed and often overlooked group in society, does it not escalate the issue by continuing the finger pointing?
Fire cannot be fought with fire, but rather ousted by a unified group under one goal.
IMAGE TAKEN from bacc.cc
