Analysis of Song Meaning
Hozier's song Take Me To Church talks about the how religion can be harmful to people in society. Specifically, the main message behind this song is based on homophobia caused by religions shaming people. Stumme, C. suggests that Hozier's song comes in two parts at first he speaks of his adoration for a female lover and then "the indictment of the church". We can see Hozier's adoration for an imaginary lover within the first stanza in which he says "She's the giggle at a funeral" and "I should've worshipped her sooner", this female in my opinion is a representation of a pagan god, "Knows everybody's disapproval" suggests she can see all sins however, the fact she "giggles at a funeral" suggests she is a juxtaposition of normal religion, she endorses sinning. She is the god that the artist wants to worship which can be seen when he says "Sunday's getting more bleak" suggesting normal religion is miserable and dreary therefore, he wants to worship something more sinful and natural. The artist states his new representation of religion "offers no absolutes" suggesting that he doesn't repent for acts a religion would class as sinful such as "worship in the bedroom" which is a metaphor for sexual intercourse, the idea of worship in a bedroom suggests he feels as though when he is being intimate with his partner he feels closer to god, the lyrics "the only heaven I'll be sent to is when I'm alone with you", although he believes he will not go to heaven because of sinning he suggests that being intimate with his partner it allows him to feel as though he is in heaven showing how his idea of religion is based upon love rather than shaming people like a normal religion does. The line "I was born sick" is a reference to the idea that most religions believe that sexuality is a choice or a mental illness and those who chose to be anything other than heterosexual are choosing to sin whereas here Hozier suggests he was born with a different sexuality he didn't chose to be who he is. The fact that he "loves it" shows how he is comfortable with what religion views as an ailment, although by asking for the god to "command me to be well" he seems to be juxtaposing his original message, the idea of being commanded shows the forceful nature of religion in which they force everyone to abide by they're rules, here Hozier uses the idea of a forceful religion in a mocking way, he was born a sinner but religion can try command his "illness" out of him.
Within the chorus Hozier suggests that religious people are like "dogs", they are loyal to their religion even though it is "a shrine of lies" that feeds them false idols and harsh rules. The artist also references the idea of confessing with the line "I'll tell you my sins", the idea of telling a religious figure your sins suggests that you can find forgiveness however instead here, Hozier suggests that "they sharpen their knives" meaning that they listen to your sins in order to blackmail you into following their rules. Next, the artist speaks of a "deathless death", in an interview with Una Mullally in The Irish Times Hozier suggests that he "found the experience of falling in love or being in love was a death, a death of everything. You kind of watch yourself die in a wonderful way, and you experience for the briefest moment - if you see yourself for a moment through their eyes - everything you believed about yourself gone. In a death and rebirth sense". Alternatively people could link "deathless death" to the idea of a baptisms as the idea of finding religion in some sense can make a person feel "born again" in a spiritual sense as though they have found themselves or inner peace and enlightenment.
Later Stumme, C. suggests that Hozier reinforces his opinion that sex is an act of love far better than religion through the lyrics in which he claims to be "a pagan of the good times" who worships his lover who is "the sunlight". He keeps up the pagan imagery by suggesting his pagan representation of a god "demands a sacrifice" referring to the idea of sex. The artists uses many innuendos to link further to sex such as "something meaty for the main course" , "that looks tasty" and "this is hungry work".
In conclusion, the main idea behind this song is to show how religion is damaging to society because it shames people for being themselves and it uses false idols and ideas that they can save you from eternal damnation if only you listen to all their rules without fail. The idea of confessing sins shows how religion forces people to believe that if they confess they will find forgiveness however they actually are making their situation worse by giving religions a way to "sharpen their knife" and blackmail you into listening to their ideologies.
Analysis of how The Video Represents the Lyrics
Within the video the artist reflects upon the treatment of homosexual people specifically in Russia this can be seen as he uses footage which is shot through a TV which shows protestors in Russia protesting against same sex couples. The video was shot in greyscale, I believe this was done to show the sadness oft he situation when talking about the video in an interview with Fuse TV in which he says "If you feel offended or disgusted by the image of two people kissing"..."but you're more disgusted by that than the actual violence I think you should take a look at your values". The use of the greyscale reflects how sad it is that homophobic people actually are attacking people however, the artists is more saddened by the fact people who watch the video are more offended by the gay imagery than they ae by the violence. Furthermore, the greyscale amplifies the lyrics, the lyrics give off a very sad/tragic tone therefore, the use of greyscale makes the production seem sadder having a stronger effect on the audience. The video is a narrative production which fits with the conventions of the genre (Indie Rock, Soul), the message behind the video isn't generally conventional, alternative rock videos usually represent political agendas therefore the representation of violence caused by community homophobia isn't very normal. The location in which the video was shot in is very rural which is conventional for the genre of Indie, the artist may have chose to shoot outside in order to represent humanity in its most natural form. The video uses a somewhat circular narrative, it starts with burning fire in which they torture the gay man later in the video at. The circular narrative may have been used to show how humanity is stuck in a cycle of violence, the church tells them homosexuality is wrong, they commit violent acts towards homophobic people and then later use religion to ask for forgiveness for committing such an act and then use religion to justify their wrongdoings. The video follows conventions discussed in Vernallis theory (C., Vernallis, 2011) in which she suggests that master shots of characters completing actions and close ups are often repeated throughout a music video, in this case long shots of the character riding his bike erratically to go save his partner are use followed by close ups of fire, this has been done to make the message of the song about homosexual abuse stronger to the audience, this sequence reflects the emotional turmoil the character is experiencing, it makes the audience connect with the character as they feel for their emotional situation. Furthermore,
When the lyrics "the only heaven ill be sent to is when I'm alone with you" are sang, the video contradicts this by showing another man silently stalking the couple. The use of the contradiction here suggests to the audience that homosexuals feel unsafe as though they are never alone, it is as though they always have prying eyes watching them. Later on, as the artist says the religious word "amen" repeatedly, the video uses contradictive imagery of the same sex couple kissing, this is seen as a sin therefore, contradicts the lyrics, it is as though the artist is mocking the idea of religion here. As Hozier sings the line "take me to church" we see imagery of a group of men attacking the house in which one of the men live in, they are using Molotov's to set the place on fire, this reminds the audience of when in biblical times people would be burned at the stake for the act of heresy. The use of the imagery is uses to once again contradict the lyrics, usually when thinking of going to church we think of praying for forgiveness for our sins we think of a loving god whereas here we see people committing acts of violence against members of humanity for not following the churches rules. When speaking of a "sad earthly scene", we see footage of the house that has been destroyed for the sins of the men, this footage is used to illustrate the lyrics to represent the damage caused to people who have been discriminated against. Near the end of the song when the artists signs "ill tell you my sins and you can sharpen your knife", as stated earlier this lyrics shows how when we confess our sins to a religion they use that to blackmail us, here the angry mob are recording the man struggle as they try to open a mysterious box, this amplifies the message that religion will "sharpen their knife" and blackmail us into conforming with their rules.
The video uses a lot of handheld footage, this may have been used to represent the realism of the situation, the events which take place in the video are things that happen in real life as well. The use of close ups shots within the video are used to reflect emotion, the characters feel scared and saddened even when not being harassed it is as though they are tired and they have suffered hate crimes all their lives. A close up of the couple smoking reinforces the idea that couple is tired of suffering from hate crimes, the use of smoking is used as a maladaptive coping mechanisms therefore, the use of it in a production is usually used to the suggest the character is struggling. The video also uses interesting angles and shadows for example in the picture below you can see the footage is shot from a low angle looking up on the couple, it is as though they are above the homophobic men and they are better than them however, at the same time the fact that the couple is completely covered by shadows suggests they are shameful in the eyes of those looking upon them (the homophobic men).
References
Stumme, C. 2015, What does "Take Me to Church" by Hozier Mean (Online)
Available at - https://www.popsongprofessor.com/blog/2015/04/15/what-does-take-me-to-church-by-hozier-mean
Hozier, 2014, Take Me To Church (Online)
Available at - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVjiKRfKpPI
Mullally, U. 2014. An Interview With Hozier (Online)
Available at - https://www.irishtimes.com/blogs/poplife/2013/10/14/an-interview-with-hozier/
Fuse Tv, 2014. Hozier Talks "Take Me to Church", His First Full-Length Album and More (Online)
Available at - https://www.fuse.tv/videos/2014/08/lollapalooza-2014-hozier-interview
Vernallis, C., The Kindest Cut: Functions and Meanings of Music Video Editing, Screen, Volume 42, Issue 1, Spring 2001, Pages 21-48 (Article)
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