| Hozier – In the Woods Somewhere Lyrics | 10 years ago |
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I love this song- it reminds me alot of a fairy tale. And like a fairy tale I feel like it is a simple tale (the sick protagonist has a close call in the woods) with a much deeper background (see my interpretation below): The first few lines refer to the protagonist suffering from some unspecified illness and calling out to someone. The interesting thing about this is that the protagonist is completely alone- whoever he calls out to is gone. The next few lines deal with the peak of the illness passing. I find the line "I prayed my mind be good to me" interesting as it could just be referring to the sickness, but it could also be referring to depression or grief. When the scream is heard the protagonist is instantly put in mind of a woman and rushes off (defenseless) to help her. I feel like this urgency means the protagonist is in some way thinking of the unnamed person they were calling to earlier. When they discover the fox things get interesting: "I spoke no words, No sound he made"- the protagonist sees himself reflected in the injured fox... and due to these injuries the protagonist immediately decides to end the foxes life "to end his pain". However as he is about to strike the fox down, he begins to reflect upon what caused the foxes injuries in the first place. The moment this happens the protagonist becomes aware of something watching him in the darkness. The creature attacks and the protagonist runs "To save a life I didn't have." There is a sense of emptiness in this line- the protagonist has already lost their life in some way and yet they are still fleeing death. Then we get the protagonist reflecting: "Dear, in the chase There as I flew Forgot all prayers of joining you" followed by: "I clutched my life And wished it kept. My dearest love I'm not done yet" The unnamed person is likely dead and the protagonist was wishing to join them, however when faced with certain death they still cling to life. In the final lines they state they will bare their pain for many years as whatever they found "in the woods somewhere" caused them to realize they still wanted to live after all. TLDR: The underlying message of the song is about someone facing their own mortality and choosing to live on after grief or loss because of it. |
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