Originally released by Hozier, “Take me to Church” was one of the most played songs of 2013 and 2014. It was even nominated for “Song of the Year” at the 57th Grammy Awards in 2015. The lyrics and music video are both vividly strong in the specific messages they convey. Ideally, the main focus is how love (sex) is viewed and belittled by religion.
Hozier uses female pronouns to symbolize both the woman he loves and his Catholic church. He describes the Church’s teachings as something that are both obsolete and poisonous to the mind. The practice of praying to God alone at night before retreating to bed is allegorized for taking his lover to his room to have sex. The next lyrics of the chorus reference how the Church uses its practices, like confession, as weapons to manipulate their power, but also the power of vulnerability his woman has over him in the bedroom. All of Hozier's references to religion are all underlined with some sort of sexual innuendo that cleverly express different views on humanity.
The second verse of the song takes a turn into describing the judgmental followers of religion, after all religion is a manmade concept. Hozier reveals how religious people believe themselves to be higher than others because of their faith and they “feed” (force) their ideas to those that are “hungry” (impulsive or desperate.) The last connection Hozier makes is that only when the beliefs of the Church are fully accepted will one be seen as human and clean. This idea is even further expressed through the music video which targets a gay couple against the presumed to be religious mob. The idea of sex being sin is shifted to specifically mean homosexuality and the result is powerful.
No comments:
Post a Comment