To Be Alone by Hozier Lyrics Meaning – Unraveling the Poetic Exploration of Intimacy and Isolation
Lyrics
With folks around
When they’re playing
The anthems of rape culture loud
Crude and proud
Creatures baying
All I’ve ever done is hide
From our times
When you’re near me
Honey, when you kill the lights
And kiss my eyes
I feel like a person for a moment of my life
But you don’t know what hell you put me through
To have someone kiss the skin that crawls from you
To feel your weight in arms I’d never use
It’s the god that heroin prays to
It feels good, girl, it feels good
It feels good, girl, it feels good
It feels good, girl, it feels good
Oh to be alone with you
There are questions I can’t ask
Now at last
The worst is over
See the way you hold yourself
Reel against
Your body’s borders
I know that you hate this place
Not a trace
Of me would argue
Honey, we should run away
Oh someday
Our baby and her momma
And the damaged love she make
But I don’t know what else that I would give
Than try to kiss the skin that crawls from you
Then feel your weight in arms I’d never use
It’s the god that heroin prays to
It feels good, girl, it feels good
It feels good, girl, it feels good
It feels good, girl, it feels good
Oh to be alone with you
It feels good, girl, it feels good
It feels good, girl, it feels good
It feels good, girl, it feels good
Oh to be alone with you
In the pantheon of modern music, Hozier stands as a sculptor of linguistic monuments, his songs both haunting and profound. ‘To Be Alone’ is a track that captures the complex interplay of desire and detachment, a ballad spun from the threads of yearning and the stark reality of human existence.
The song dips its lyrical quill into the inkwell of intimacy, scripting a narrative that dances between the visceral and the vulnerable. Each verse is a stroke of introspection and revelation, as Hozier invites his listeners into a private world where the shadows of personal demons and the light of fleeting connection converge.
Dismantling the Facade of Society’s Anthem
The opening lines paint a vivid scene of discomfort and alienation amidst the collective. Hozier’s aversion to the ‘crowds’ and their loud, crude ‘anthems’ speaks to a defiance against the societal normalization of toxic behaviors—a sharp critique of ‘rape culture’, as he puts it.
This portion of the song is potent in its condemnation, as Hozier takes aim at the brazenness with which harmful attitudes are not only displayed but celebrated. The use of ‘anthems’ suggests these are not isolated incidents but a pervasive and systematic issue that has become ingrained and even accepted.
A Solemn Whisper to Intimate Moments
Blockaded by the unknowable exterior world, the chorus offers a solemn respite—’it feels good’—repeated as a mantra that finds solace in the sanctuary of a shared, intimate connection. This is the sacred space where the singer feels ‘like a person’, a rare moment of life breathed into an otherwise existentially weary being.
The poignant contrast between the intensity of public life and the serenity of solitude is a stage where Hozier’s invocation of being ‘alone’ with another contains multitudes. The companionship depicted is not merely about physical proximity but a profound spiritual and psychological relief.
The Paradoxical Embrace of Pain and Comfort
Perhaps the most striking paradox of ‘To Be Alone’ lies in its exploration of finding comfort in another’s presence while also acknowledging the internal hell that such closeness can elicit. Hozier correlates intimacy with the self-destructive desire for heroin—a dark, yet painfully honest metaphor.
This juxtaposition is an ode to the complexities of human connection—the inherent struggle in allowing oneself to be vulnerable with another, to ‘feel your weight in arms I’d never use’ suggests a resignation to an embrace that’s both necessary and laden with the potential for self-destruction.
The Hidden Meaning: Identity Within and Without
‘To Be Alone’ harbors a deeper introspection into the singer’s wrestle with identity. The ‘skin that crawls from you’ evokes a sense of self-disgust, a yearning to escape one’s own form and, perhaps, a wish to be perceived beyond one’s own skin.
The lyrical journey Hozier takes us on is emblematic of the internal battle we face when our own borders—physical, psychological, and emotional—are called into question. The track is as much about being alone with another as it is about being alone with oneself, reckoning with the parts of us we hide from the public eye.
Memorable Lines that Echo with Empathy
Amidst the darkness of Hozier’s verse, lines such as ‘Honey, when you kill the lights and kiss my eyes,’ offer a glimmer of tender humanity. These words are a balm, signifying a moment of gentleness in a world that often demands steeliness.
The duality captured in this song—its raw edge juxtaposed with moments of softness—remains with the listener, echoing the core message: in the end, what truly resonates are the small havens of understanding and affection, those fleeting moments we carve out of chaos to simply ‘be alone with you.’
