Work Song by Hozier Lyrics Meaning – A Soul-Stirring Exploration of Devotion and Redemption
Lyrics
Is that the kinda way to face the burning heat?
I just think about my baby
I’m so full of love I could barely eat
There’s nothing sweeter than my baby
I’d never want once from the cherry tree
‘Cause my baby’s sweet as can be
She give me toothaches just from kissin’ me
When my time comes around
Lay me gently in the cold, dark earth
No grave can hold my body down
I’ll crawl home to her
Boys, when my baby found me
I was three days on a drunken sin
I woke with her walls around me
Nothin’ in her room but an empty crib
And I was burnin’ up a fever
I didn’t care much how long I lived
But I swear I thought I dreamed her
She never asked me once about the wrong I did
When my time comes around
Lay me gently in the cold, dark earth
No grave can hold my body down
I’ll crawl home to her
When my time comes around
Lay me gently in the cold, dark earth
No grave can hold my body down
I’ll crawl home to her
My babe would never fret none
About what my hands and my body done
If the Lord don’t forgive me
I’d still have my baby and my babe would have me
When I was kissing on my baby
And she put her love down soft and sweet
In the low lamplight I was free
Heaven and hell were words to me
When my time comes around
Lay me gently in the cold, dark earth
No grave can hold my body down
I’ll crawl home to her
When my time comes around
Lay me gently in the cold, dark earth
No grave can hold my body down
I’ll crawl home to her
In the pantheon of modern balladeers, few have captured the poetic confluence of love and redemption quite like Hozier. His track ‘Work Song,’ off the eponymous 2014 debut album, is a poignant reflection on the transformative power of love against life’s bleakest backdrops. The song’s haunting earnestness lays bare the human soul, beckoning listeners into a contemplative state of mind regarding the lengths to which one will go for the one they love.
The track doesn’t just simmer, it burns with a quiet intensity, its lyrics eschewing fanciful poetics for a raw, unvarnished honesty. Through a careful examination of its verses, ‘Work Song’ reveals itself not merely as a melody, but a narrative set against the throes of a life lived hard and redeemed by love’s soft embrace. It’s an examination of salvation found not in the heavens, but in the arms of an earthly paramour.
The Unyielding Flame of Human Spirit
At its core, ‘Work Song’ delves into the labors of the heart, how the visceral need for a dearly beloved can render all other pursuits secondary. The opening lines paint the protagonist’s labor as empty without the thought of his love, suggesting that it’s the connection to his partner that fuels his very existence. This powerful sentiment, ‘I’m so full of love I could barely eat,’ lies at the song’s heart, epitomizing the hunger for affection that surpasses even basic human needs.
‘Is that the kinda way to face the burning heat?’ Hozier ponders, paralleling the oppressive external world with the intense inner fire for one’s partner. The heat becomes a metaphor for life’s challenges, which pale in comparison to the warmth ignited by true love.
Love Beyond Mortal Restraints
Hozier’s refrain, ‘No grave can hold my body down,’ is more than a declaration of the afterlife’s impotence in the face of love; it’s a testament to a connection so profound that not even death can sever it. The artist sings of a desired burial simplicity, casting aside fears of mortality because the promise of reunion with his beloved provides an unparalleled solace. The imagery of crawling home, even from beyond the grave, is emblematic of love’s enduring pull.
This refrain captures the essence of Hozier’s ode — a bond so strong that worldly constraints, whether it’s the physical toil of work or the finality of death, cannot quench its power. It’s the kind of love that imbues life with purpose and makes the thought of eternity without it inconceivable.
The Hidden Meaning: A Dirge of Forgiveness
‘My babe would never fret none about what my hands and my body done,’ Hozier croons in a tone tinged with both remorse and gratitude. The song’s hidden meaning unearths itself here as a dirge not just for the departed, but for the sins of the narrator. ‘Work Song’ becomes a narrative of seeking redemption not through divine intervention, but through the absolution found in the heart of a forgiving lover.
Despite the transgressions — the ‘three days on a drunken sin’ — the protagonist’s partner stands as a relentless champion of forgiveness. The song then morphs into a celebration of unconditional love, implying that true salvation can be found in the embrace of one who sees beyond our flaws to the core of our beings.
The Power of Love’s Simple Evidences
‘In the low lamplight I was free / Heaven and hell were words to me,’ Hozier confesses, underscoring his lover’s ability to eclipse existential concepts with the purity of their affection. Love’s physical manifestations — the soft kisses, the embraced confessions, the shared warmth — are what liberate him, rendering metaphysical contemplations secondary to the palpable evidence of love’s power experienced in the simplest of moments.
It’s in the calm steadiness of the lamplight, a symbol of clarity and comfort, where the narrator finds a respite from his turmoil. Love, therefore, becomes not an abstract ideal but a tangible sanctuary from life’s tempests.
Memorable Lines That Echo In The Silence
‘She give me toothaches just from kissin’ me,’ stands among the song’s most memorable lines. It portrays love not merely as a soothing balm but as an overwhelming sensation capable of inducing pain in its intensity — a testament to love’s ability to affect us profoundly and viscerally. Hozier’s lyrics, with their piercing simplicity, showcase why ‘Work Song’ has resonated so deeply with listeners.
Hozier’s gift of echoing silences that live within the human heart ensures that this song’s most evocative lines resonate long after the last note has played. Every word is a careful step in a dance of allegory and earnestness. The ‘toothache’ is a romantic affliction we wouldn’t mind bearing, a pain that speaks of a sweetness impossible to find within the spoils of an untouched cherry tree.
