Meaning of “I, Carrion (Icarian)” by Hozier

The title of this song (“I, Carrion (Icarian)”) is split into two sections, i.e. a main title and a subtitle. The former features the word “carrion”, which is basically a term used to describe a decaying animal, i.e. one that is already dead and rotting. 

It can also be said that the early parts of this song touch on the concept of death, i.e. Hozier coming off as someone who is recklessly ambitious. But by and large, I, Carrion isn’t about death or anything like that per se.

And speaking of reckless ambition, that then brings us to the subtitle, whereas the singer is likening himself to Icarus. Icarus is one of the more famous characters from Greek mythology, despite not having been part of the pantheon, because his story is not only compelling but also encapsulates an important lesson.

As the legend goes, Icarus’s dad was, most simply put, a genius. He got into some beef with a king, which resulted in both he and Icarus being imprisoned on an island. So pop dukes decided to make two pairs of artificial wings for them to fly away on. 

Whereas said wings were a clever construct they were also flimsy, with the feathers being held together with beeswax. So Icarus’s dad warned him not to fly too close to sea nor too close to the sun, or else the wings would become undone.

But Icarus got caught up in the exhilaration of flying and indeed headed towards the sun, thus melting the beeswax and sealing his own fate. As generally understood, this tale is meant to serve as a warning against getting ahead of yourself or failing to follow proper safety procedures. 

But Hozier, being who he is, rather blamed Icarus’s death on his dad, as he’s the one who “strapped him up in a death trap” and instructed the boy to fly across the sea to begin with

But that said, the actual lyrics of this song do not seem to reference Icarus’s dad at all. Instead, once again going back to Hozier’s explanation, he is taking on the role of Icarus, imagining that the lad was so caught up in the moment that he never actually realized that he had died. 

And that idea does sorta come through in the intro and into the first verse. But it doesn’t take long after that to come to the realization that what we’re dealing with here is akin to a love song.

At the end of the first verse, you will notice that Hozier uses the term “us”, thus bringing an addressee into the equation. And in the pre-chorus that follows, the vocalist states that he’s “lifted by every word” that this person ‘says to him’. 

Or put otherwise in context, the singer is admittedly reckless like Icarus, to the point where the quest of euphoria may well lead to his downfall. But he does not perceive failure as a possibility so long as the addressee is by his side.

The second verse then serves the outright purpose of celebrating this person whom Hozier is singing to as being, simply interpreted, his support system. And later on, we are met with notions such as the vocalist expressing that even if he does fail, he’d be willing to give up anything in the process, except for the addressee. 

To note, it is never specified that they are romantic interests, but that is the impression being relayed, all lyrics considered.

The bridge is the only part of the song where we find the phrase “Icarian carrion”. Given the passage in whole, that may be the vocalist’s way of acknowledging that he is indeed suicidally reckless, so to speak. That is to say that perhaps the “carrion” Hozier is referring to is himself, if he were to “hit a squall” and subsequently plummet to the earth while out pursuing his ambitions or whatever.

So putting all of that together, we may conclude by saying that in “I, Carrion”, the singer is taking on the role of sort of an I-don’t-give-AF type of character. That is why he is comparing himself to Icarus, someone who laid it all on the line for the ultimate thrill. But there is one thing in this world that he does genuinely care about, which keeps Hozier grounded, if you will.  And that would be the addressee.

“We’ll float away, but if we fall
I only pray, don’t fall away from me”

Credits and Date of Release

Hozier, who hails from Ireland, wrote and produced this song with award-winning behind-the-scenes’ American musician Jennifer Decilveo.

This track was released on 18 August 2023 as the fifth track on the playlist of “Unreal Unearth”, which is Hozier’s third-studio album.

The labels behind “I, Carrion (Icarian)” are Columbia Records and Rubyworks Records.