The first in a mainstream debut for the Irish singer-songwriter and the song is just amazing to listen to and a powerhouse in its own right. Take Me to Church has a sombre tone straight from the start and all the way to the finish and has very dramatic tones that accompany it. For a soul song it’s both haunting and melodious. The video itself was shot in Cork, Ireland which stands in for Russia and was shot in grayscale monochrome.
The video tells the story of two men in a relationship who, despite being very happy together, try and keep their relationship a secret from the community. However, the community learns of the men’s sexuality and kidnap and torture him in a violent homophobic backlash. The other man learns of what has happened to his partner and rushes to try and get him but realises he is too late the he sees a violent homophobic mob drag him towards a big pyre.
Hozier openly admits that the lyrics for the song came about from his anger on the Catholic Church’s stance and attitudes towards LGBT+ Rights. Judging by the way many religious organisations treat the LGBT+ community it can easily be argued that he’s got a point.
Another aspect of the song that highlights the issues is the lyrics as they are quite poignant
“Every Sunday’s getting more bleak, a fresh poison each week, we were born sick, you heard them say it, my church offers no absolutes”
“Take me to church I’ll worship like a dog at the shrine of your lies, I’ll tell you my sins and you can sharpen your knife, offer me that deathless death Good God, let me give you my life”
In terms of the lyrics they give a direct reference on how religion is easily used to attack minority groups and how sermons are easily used to preach ignorance and lies.
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