Someone New

I think this song is about seeing the beauty in other people and embracing diversity. To me, there is beauty in every person. There are 7 billion people on this planet and not a single one of us is the same, the sheer amount of diversity is beautiful and awe-inspiring in itself. I fall in love with people because of the fact that everyone is unique in their own way. And by love, I don't mean anything sexual, just a pure love for the human race as a whole. Also, when people choose to share a small part of themselves with me, I fall in love with them just a little more, because they're making the decision to share their authentic selves and that's beautiful to me in a society that is so guarded.

I relate to this song based on my own life. I'm in a relationship (which seems to be suggested in this song) and my partner doesn't fully understand my love for all people. People seem to associate love with something romantic or sexual but in this case, it's not that at all - as he says, "honey, there is no right way" because there is no right way to love, there are multiple ways to love!

"There's an art to life's distractions To somehow escape the burning weight The art of scraping through Some like to imagine The darker caress of someone else I guess any thrill will do"

With this, I think he meant that life is heavy sometimes but when you "fall in love a little more with someone new," you start to see the beauty in everything and suddenly you've discovered an art to distracting yourself from life's burning weight. Some people choose to "fall in love" in a sense that would be considered cheating because they "imagine the darker caress of someone else" but Hozier sings of a pure love.

"Love with every stranger, the stranger the better" Here's a secret: EVERYONE is strange! And it's amazing! We're just afraid to express our strangeness because for fear of being judged. So when someone shows their strangeness, "the stranger the better!" If you show others you are strange, they will share their strangeness too. :)

It's difficult to understand how you can fall in love with someone a little every day with someone new if you don't see the world in an extensively loving and compassionate manner. It also requires empathy, curiosity, and genuine enthusiasm for everyone's story. But when you change your view on the world, you start to fall in love with people and all the things. There is beauty in everyone and everything, just look for it and start falling in love a little bit every day with someone new.