Unknown / Nth by Hozier Lyrics Meaning – Peeling Back the Layers of Desire and Isolation
Lyrics
I swam a lake of fire, I’d have walked across the floor of any sea
Ignored the vastness between all that can be seen
And all that we believe
So I thought you were like an angel to me
Funny how true colours shine in darkness and in secrecy
If there were scarlet flags
They washed out in the mind of me
Where a blinding light shone on you every night
And either side of my sleep
Where you were held frozen like an angel to me
It ain’t the being alone
Sha-la-la (sha-la-la-la-la-la)
It ain’t the empty home, baby
Sha-la-la (sha-la-la-la-la-la)
You know I’m good on my own
Sha-la-la
Sha-la-la, baby, you know it’s more the being unknown
So much of the living, love, is the being unknown
You called me angel for the first time, my heart leapt from me
You smile now, I can see its pieces still stuck in your teeth
And what’s left of it, I listen to it tick
Every tedious beat going unknown as any angel to me
Do you know, I could break beneath the weight
Of the goodness, love, I still carry for you?
That I’d walk so far just to take
The injury of finally knowing you
It ain’t the being alone
Sha-la-la (sha-la-la-la-la-la)
It ain’t the empty home, baby
Sha-la-la (sha-la-la-la-la-la)
You know I’m good on my own
Sha-la-la
Sha-la-la, baby
You know it’s more the being unknown
And there are some people, love, who are better unknown
In the labyrinth of contemporary music, where lyrics often serve as a treasure map to the innermost sanctums of the artist’s soul, Hozier’s offering ‘Unknown / Nth’ emerges as a profound exploration of the human experience. The track delves deep, swimming through themes of longing, perception, and the sublime pain of recognizing one’s reality.
The song, like a siren call, beckons listeners into its emotive depths, where every line resonates with a complexity begging to be unraveled. Through poetic finesse, Hozier articulates the nuances of connection and the haunting specter of being ‘unknown.’
The Quest for Intimacy Amidst Emotional Infernos
The opening lines of ‘Unknown / Nth’ set ablaze the notion that Hozier is no stranger to the trials of pursuing intimacy. He speaks of enduring a ‘lake of fire’ and traversing ‘the floor of any sea,’ metaphors revealing the lengths one will go to bridge the distances love demands.
Hozier’s willingness to ‘ignore the vastness’ reflects a common human denial – the belief that love can conquer the insurmountable, even when the space between two people isn’t just physical but also emotional and existential.
Angelic Illusions and the Jarring Reality of True Colors
Calling someone ‘an angel’ is to vest them with a purity and grace perhaps undeserved. Hozier’s use of this imagery tells us of the pedestals we build, often painting our beloved in strokes of idealism, only to find that in the shadows, ‘true colours shine.’
The irony here is bitter – in the darkness or ‘in secrecy,’ the flaws emerge, and those once-deemed ‘angels’ reveal themselves to be mortally flawed. The ‘scarlet flags’ of warning fade under the potent glow of adoration, an experience far too many listeners can painfully relate to.
Understanding the Isolation Anthology: ‘It Ain’t the Being Alone…’
Hozier crafts a chorus that is at once an anthem and a confession – ‘It ain’t the being alone… it’s more the being unknown.’ This juxtaposition between loneliness and the existential dread of anonymity speaks to the core of human fears – not merely to be by oneself, but to be misunderstood, unrecognized, and unseen.
There’s an undercurrent of self-assurance, however. He claims independence – ‘You know I’m good on my own’ – yet still grapples with the essence of love and living being tied to this notion of remaining ‘unknown.’ It speaks volumes about our need for personal recognition, not just companionship.
The Delicate Anatomy of a Broken Heart
‘You called me angel for the first time, my heart leapt from me,’ Hozier recalls a moment where endearment led to vulnerability, which in hindsight, reveals a painful aftermath. A heart, once beating with hope, now a shattered keepsake, with ‘its pieces still stuck in your teeth.’
The imagery here is visceral, conjuring scenes of emotional cannibalism where one’s affections are not just unreciprocated but consumed, reminding the protagonist of their constant, pulsing worthlessness in the sight of their desired.
The Hidden Melancholy in ‘Better Unknown’
The closing of the song ushers in a paradoxical resolve, whispering the line ‘And there are some people, love, who are better unknown.’ Hozier here acknowledges a somber resignation – that sometimes, the objects of our love are best left as mysteries, untouched by the disillusioning force of truth.
Within these words lies a hidden melancholy, a difficult acknowledgment that love can be toxic, that sincerities, when unravelled, might breed more pain than the affection they’re wrapped in. Hozier, through his lyricism, builds a compendium of human connection – one where love isn’t just light and warmth, but also the shadow and cold that accompanies the unknown.
