I had a thought, dear
However scary
About that night
The bugs and the dirt
Why were you digging?
What did you bury
Before those hands pulled me
From the earth?
I will not ask you where you came from
I will not ask you, neither should you
Honey just put your sweet lips on my lips
We should just kiss like real people do
I knew that look dear
Eyes always seeking
Was there in someone
That dug long ago
So I will not ask you
Why you were creeping
In some sad way I already know
I will not ask you where you came from
I will not ask you and neither would you
Honey just put your sweet lips on my lips
We should just kiss like real people do
I could not ask you where you came from
I could not ask you, neither could you
Honey just put your sweet lips on my lips
We could just kiss like real people do
However scary
About that night
The bugs and the dirt
Why were you digging?
What did you bury
Before those hands pulled me
From the earth?
I will not ask you where you came from
I will not ask you, neither should you
Honey just put your sweet lips on my lips
We should just kiss like real people do
I knew that look dear
Eyes always seeking
Was there in someone
That dug long ago
So I will not ask you
Why you were creeping
In some sad way I already know
I will not ask you where you came from
I will not ask you and neither would you
Honey just put your sweet lips on my lips
We should just kiss like real people do
I could not ask you where you came from
I could not ask you, neither could you
Honey just put your sweet lips on my lips
We could just kiss like real people do
Lyrics submitted by YearsWasted
Like Real People Do Lyrics as written by Andrew Hozier Byrne
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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I was wondering though why they are not 'real people'...
Well, if you are not real person you could be... a zombie. ;) Yeah, laugh.
But if you think about it, after ending a relationship you may feel like a dead person, especially if it 'sucked all life out of you'. And in the lyrics there is a part saying 'before you pulled me from earth' meaning that person was burried and then brought me back to life again. However, after coming back to life you are not real person anymore, you are... a zombie?
So I imagine that one person from the song was devastated by a relationship that ended, felt like dead and now was trying to come back to life, to love again, but can't forget about the past, about the fact that he or she lived once before...
I agree with your interpretation.
I believe it starts with him thinking to the beginning of the relationship, where he was in a really dark place, and she pulled him out of there while she was also in that place:
I had a thought, dear
However scary
About that night
The bugs and the dirt
Why were you digging?
What did you bury
Before those hands pulled me
From the earth?
Then, when he goes on to say:
I will not ask you where you came from
I will not ask you, neither should you
Honey just put your sweet lips on my lips
We should just kiss like real people do
I don't really think it's about avoiding their past, but it's something more. When you know that someone has a dark past you don't just come out and ask about it. I believe that they're waiting for the relationship to get to a point where you trust the other with your past. So, they move on with their relationship, trying to move forward and away from their dark pasts.
I knew that look dear
Eyes always seeking
Was there in someone
That dug long ago
So I will not ask you
Why you were creeping
In some sad way I already know
In this verse, what I imagine is this:
He recognizes the look in her eyes from someone else he once knew, I think it's an anxious or scared look where you look around waiting for your past to catch up with you. He's saying he he won't ask her about the past or why she's the way she is because he already guessed(and it's not a lovely guess).
I don't know, I could be completely wrong, but as someone who has a past that has more dark than light, it's what I invision. Surprisingly, instead of this song making me sad, it gives me hope that I'll someday meet someone like that who understands and let's me go my own pace.
I had a thought, dear
However scary
It's the Intro, he's had a thought, where had this person trying to love him come from?
About that night
The bugs and the dirt
Why were you digging?
What did you bury
Before those hands pulled me
From the earth?
This night, the one where she starts to love him, that night, the bugs and dirt go with the theme of burying and earth, what love has she just buried, said goodbye to?
My favourite line, 'before those hands pulled me from the earth' says how he felt dead and buried without a love, but has been pulled from the earth by those hands, her hands, and brought to life.
I will not ask you where you came from
I will not ask and neither should you
He's realizing he shouldn't ask from where did she come from, better yet, from what she has come from, and neither should she ask him.
Honey just put your sweet lips on my lips
We should just kiss like real people do
He's saying, just give up, don't ask question, just love, and they should just kiss like real people do, real people with love and without these worries.
I knew that look dear
Eyes always seeking
Was there in someone
That dug long ago
He knows that look, of someone trying to figure out a person, always seeking to know them and their past, he knows, for he's seen it too, in past lovers and himself.
So I will not ask you
Why you were creeping
In some sad way I already know
So, he won't ask why she's had this look, and never truly felt safe, always creeping, looking around, because in such a sad way, he already knows. Other people can have a past too.
So I will not ask you where you came from
I would not ask and neither would you
Honey just put your sweet lips on my lips
We should just kiss like real people do
I could not ask you where you came from
I could not ask and neither could you
Honey just put your sweet lips on my lips
We could just kiss like real people do
If you noticed, the chorus has changed from 'I will not ask' to 'I would not' to 'I could not'. The last being the largest change, he's gone from just not doing something to being unable to do it, because it could taint a love.
Beautiful.
I interpret the lyrics as two people with significant pasts. For some reason, they have become jaded, and cynical of love. They come with baggage, and are afraid of vulnerability. The vulnerability it takes to let someone have all of you. The vulnerability it takes to realize that you could be destroyed if things go wrong. Two people, afraid of vulnerability meet, and they’re scared to take the plunge.
To me, Hozier is insinuating that sometimes it’s better not to ask too many questions. Overanalyzing wounds causes more pain. You must be able to overlook the pain of the past, and fall freely into a new relationship. Let love develop organically, and authentically. Don’t let the cynicism and heartbreak of a past relationship shadow new love. Be able to take someone as they are, with all of their baggage and yours, and grow together. Be vulnerable, and learn how to follow your heart again.
“honey just put your sweet lips on my lips, we should just kiss like real people do”
To me “real people” constitutes people who aren’t jaded yet. They haven’t had love rip them apart and challenge everything they’ve ever believed. They allow themselves to be vulnerable, and still believe that love can conquer all. After a while, it becomes almost impossible to approach love as “real people”, but it’s the only way to find true, all-encompassing love. Hozier wants to put away all the doubt, and fall in love the way that innocent “real people” do.