Okay. I'm 99% certain I know what this song's about, and it doesn't have an interpretation yet, so I'll do a write-up.
In briefest possible terms, it's about fighting a battle with oneself and losing. That's clear.
Anything more in-depth involves me applying traditional literary symbolism, and accepting the only explanation for the narrative I've found that doesn't produce inconsistencies.
Line-by-line:
My head was war,
My skin was soaked.
I called your name 'til the fever broke.
This is blunt, but I only see one thing here: Acute opiate withdrawal. The war is the question of whether the speaker should continue using drugs or stop. At this point, he's calling the name of a woman because he's using the desire to be sober with her as a reason to quit, and as a source of strength to get through the physical difficulties (fevers, sweating) involved in making that decision.
When I awoke
The moon still hung.
The night so black that the darkness hums.
The acute phase was finished, he awoke. At this point, one would expect to be seeing clearly -- perhaps for the first time in a long time, with open eyes and sobriety in hand.
The moon is in the sky, and there's an air of disappointment. It "still" hangs. The moon is a celestial body that illuminates, but exudes no light of its own. It's effectively a false god floating in the sky, something that claims to guide but, in reality, has no virtue or purpose. I'm not entirely certain, but I think this is meant to represent still having a psychological devotion to the drug in spite of having chosen not to consume it any longer. It still hangs, overbearing, the desire attempting to guide him with its false light.
A black night is symbolic of fear, confusion, sightlessness, and uncertainty. Anything could be in the blackness.
In short: He does not have the clarity of purpose or conviction he was hoping for, he is still not free of the false god that's stalking him, even though the physical sickness has abated.
I raised myself.
My legs were weak.
I prayed my mind be good to me.
Fairly straightforward. He raised himself, continued to persevere in spite of it being difficult (weak legs), and hoped his mind would treat him well -- that he could steel his will, and keep his resolve to remain on the path he chose.
An awful noise
Filled the air.
I heard a scream
In the woods somewhere.
Woods in literature are really loaded. They are frequently used explicitly to reference the unconscious mind, which fits nicely in the context of this song. They represent growth, unexpected and unforeseen changes, danger, and generally all the nice and nasty things that we don't like thinking about too often in our own heads. They can bear fruit, positive fruit, but never without struggle and confusion.
The scream is, I think, representative of the struggle and strife within the speaker's own mind. Parts of his mind that he cannot control are screaming at him -- hence it coming from within the metaphorical woods, and never being attributed to any character we see.
A woman's voice!
I quickly ran
Into the trees with empty hands.
The noise that once seemed awful now seems appealing, or at least vulnerable. In either case, it's something that compels him to run towards the voice that's been screaming at him. (To be more explicit: Cravings were screaming at him, and while they first seemed awful, it's gone on long enough that it now seems like going towards That Which Is Craved may be the right, even the virtuous decision.)
Going into the woods implies giving in to unconscious desires, rather than following the rational path.
He comes with empty hands, which implies that he is both defenseless and receptive. It's a position of weakness.
A fox it was,
He shook afraid.
I spoke no words,
No sound he made.
His bone exposed,
His hind was lame.
I raised a stone to end his pain.
Foxes are deceivers in literature, much as addictions are in life. The characters are seeing each other clearly. The speaker sees deceit where he expected to find salvation (a woman, for instance). The fox is afraid, and we see the cause of its fear: It is now known by the speaker that he does not need it, it is not the salvation he was seeking when he ran into the woods and stopped behaving rationally. It's just a lame animal, inept and senseless. He seeks to put the fox, the addiction, out of its misery and destroy it with any tool at hand.
What caused the wound?
How large the teeth?
I saw new eyes were watching me.
Hesitation. The other side of the coin. If this addiction formed, if this wounded creature had to exist within his mind to be killed, what caused it to begin with? There is an additional implication: If the cause behind the addiction is just, letting the fox live and nurturing it -- saving it from the other creature -- may be a valid and virtuous choice. He is no longer worried about the fox, but the other, deeper eyes that caused the initial wound.
The creature lunged.
I turned and ran
To save a life I didn't have.
The creature is never identified, I love that. Unlike his addiction, which he can openly acknowledge, he could not see this other, more frightening creature clearly. He chose not to, he chose to run away. And in running away, he gets lost in the woods, rather than killing his demons (the fox) and finding his way out and back to rational existence.
He flees his fears, whatever they are, and falls back into escapism. Meanwhile, escapism is not living. It's a half-life, a life that embraces illusions in a desperate gambit to flee one's fears.
Dear, in the chase
There as I flew
Forgot all prayers of joining you.
Punny. First, the sonic deer/dear bit: he has chosen to be a prey item, acknowledging that he is merely fleeing pain rather than seeking anything actively.
This segment is likely meant to be interpreted two other ways. One is as an appeal to the woman for whom he was attempting to get clean, as an apology for flying away and being unable to join her in a real, full life.
The second is a bit more base, an open acknowledgement that while he "flew," or got higher (rather than just fleeing), as he started chasing that which was truly "dear" to him, he forgot any desire he had to be among the normal, living denizens of the world.
I clutched my life
And wished it kept.
My dearest love
I'm not done yet.
His life can now be clutched, a physical object. A drug, to be explicit, is what he has in lieu of the life he'd hoped to have. He wished that the life he wanted, the life he had before the drug, could have kept, because currently the drug is all he has left.
"My dearest love/I'm not done yet," is another pairing that is probably meant in two ways.
The first, another apology to the woman for his choice.
The second, addressed to his drug, his "dearest love," acknowledging that it isn't over.
How many years
I know I'll bare,
I found something in the woods somewhere.
I don't think I actually need to clarify anything else at this point, do I?
Sad song, but lovely.
Kinda hope I've just read too much Baudelaire, but that's what I got out of it either way. Would love to hear different views.
@teaspill wow you explained this perfectly and in detail. From where there was a lack of understanding, now there is pure illumination and an ability to grapple with the lyrics on a deeper level. You're smart - thank you! Pure poetry
@teaspill wow you explained this perfectly and in detail. From where there was a lack of understanding, now there is pure illumination and an ability to grapple with the lyrics on a deeper level. You're smart - thank you! Pure poetry
@rainbow777 Thank you. I'm actually skeptical of some of my own fine details at this point. The overarcing theme and traditional analysis of the symbolism I have more faith in than previously, but the specific application feels less necessary. Haven't connected all the details as well as I want to though. Again, I do appreciate knowing that people read my interpretations and don't think I'm completely bonkers. :)
@rainbow777 Thank you. I'm actually skeptical of some of my own fine details at this point. The overarcing theme and traditional analysis of the symbolism I have more faith in than previously, but the specific application feels less necessary. Haven't connected all the details as well as I want to though. Again, I do appreciate knowing that people read my interpretations and don't think I'm completely bonkers. :)
@teaspill I think you're spot-on. I suppose the beginning doesn't necessarily have to be about drug-withdrawal although I agree it does have that feel to it (and the whole thing could be about any type of addiction, really). I too agree with your analysis of the symbolism. Truth be told, there may be other interpretations to some of the lyrics (not that I can think of), but you argued your own stance extremely well, providing evidence and totally sold it to me. There's no right or wrong, but your response was so good it reminded me of an English literature...
@teaspill I think you're spot-on. I suppose the beginning doesn't necessarily have to be about drug-withdrawal although I agree it does have that feel to it (and the whole thing could be about any type of addiction, really). I too agree with your analysis of the symbolism. Truth be told, there may be other interpretations to some of the lyrics (not that I can think of), but you argued your own stance extremely well, providing evidence and totally sold it to me. There's no right or wrong, but your response was so good it reminded me of an English literature paper haha , I'm into that though
@rainbow777 It could be about something as simple as infidelity. Particularly with moons being changeable and running towards a woman's voice (not the one he prays to). He could be clutching his life (freedom from committment, independence) as he runs scared in the woods and gets lost.
@rainbow777 It could be about something as simple as infidelity. Particularly with moons being changeable and running towards a woman's voice (not the one he prays to). He could be clutching his life (freedom from committment, independence) as he runs scared in the woods and gets lost.
The fleeing something he's too afraid to look at, that is capable of rendering a faerie-tale fox into genuine lameness nags at me though.
The fleeing something he's too afraid to look at, that is capable of rendering a faerie-tale fox into genuine lameness nags at me though.
Escapism and the damage it causes is such a persistent trope in Hozier's work. Along with a handful of other things. So that being tied to his inability to...
Escapism and the damage it causes is such a persistent trope in Hozier's work. Along with a handful of other things. So that being tied to his inability to get "out of the woods" seems right to me, but we can use people/fantasy for that as much as anything else.
I read Pinocchio for the first time after I wrote this interp, and at one point in it (immediately after a debate concerning whether Pinocchio was alive or dead, entertainingly) he's sick on a bed, unwilling to take medication from his female benefactor, because he's more afraid of the cure than his own mortal illness. I feel like there's something of that in here, too.
Sorry. My brain's a spiderweb, and not a prettily structured one.
@teaspill don't apologise! Love hearing your insights :)
It probably could be interpreted to be about infidelity but I like your former interpretation better. I only just yesterday discovered Hozier's songs, but from what I've heard I would agree that escapism is a common theme. I definitely get that Pinocchio vibe you're talking about: basically, being afraid to get better or the 'cure' as you say. The sentiment has been reiterated in other songs in which people feel a comfort in staying depressed, or staging where they are even if it's not good for them, because people fear the unknown...
@teaspill don't apologise! Love hearing your insights :)
It probably could be interpreted to be about infidelity but I like your former interpretation better. I only just yesterday discovered Hozier's songs, but from what I've heard I would agree that escapism is a common theme. I definitely get that Pinocchio vibe you're talking about: basically, being afraid to get better or the 'cure' as you say. The sentiment has been reiterated in other songs in which people feel a comfort in staying depressed, or staging where they are even if it's not good for them, because people fear the unknown , they fear change. While some of his songs are more specific I like that this one is more mysterious and symbolic. People can choose to apply it to whatever they relate to.
Why is the fox part nagging at you? Surely the fox represents the negativity that's sprouted from the underlying source of the problem, like the addiction as you were saying. I love that, and the fact that there's something else lurking behind it that's unidentified - e.g. the underlying cause that drove him to drugs in the first place.
@teaspill are you wondering about why the fox is lame? I think it's because he finally sees his vice (represented by the fox) for what it really is and hence is made less powerful. They say acknowledgement of your problem is half the battle and so the fox is weak, easier to kill...because it has been exposed - not as the mysterious alluring woman, but a sly fox.
Maybe you're not confused about that at all, I don't know.
I like that it's as if he's just about to have the power to end his addiction "end his pain", but then the...
@teaspill are you wondering about why the fox is lame? I think it's because he finally sees his vice (represented by the fox) for what it really is and hence is made less powerful. They say acknowledgement of your problem is half the battle and so the fox is weak, easier to kill...because it has been exposed - not as the mysterious alluring woman, but a sly fox.
Maybe you're not confused about that at all, I don't know.
I like that it's as if he's just about to have the power to end his addiction "end his pain", but then the thing that caused it in the first place rears it's ugly head and means he is unable to. Quite relatable to many situations.
@rainbow777 Not confused, that was my assessment as well. It's just gnaws at me because it's a really unique situation to find a fox in, given the very traditional, literary setting, which means it has to be important. And it makes it harder to get other solutions to the puzzle to work, and I reeeally want something else to work. xD
@rainbow777 Not confused, that was my assessment as well. It's just gnaws at me because it's a really unique situation to find a fox in, given the very traditional, literary setting, which means it has to be important. And it makes it harder to get other solutions to the puzzle to work, and I reeeally want something else to work. xD
@teaspill Well I think the puzzle does work, in that the meaning I understood from you is satisfying enough for me. I'm not sure why you want there to be another meaning "something else to work", but that's just your feelings I guess. :P thanks for the insights anyway
@teaspill Well I think the puzzle does work, in that the meaning I understood from you is satisfying enough for me. I'm not sure why you want there to be another meaning "something else to work", but that's just your feelings I guess. :P thanks for the insights anyway
@teaspill I think your interpretation is the closest to my own. I interpret this as a breakup instead of addiction though. And you touch on the woman screaming in the woods where I couldn't make sense of that. So I appreciate your thorough interpretation of this song.
@teaspill I think your interpretation is the closest to my own. I interpret this as a breakup instead of addiction though. And you touch on the woman screaming in the woods where I couldn't make sense of that. So I appreciate your thorough interpretation of this song.
I would like to share my thoughts about the song. I see the beginning as him feeling ill from a breakup. Breakups can make us depressed and feel like we can't go on. But he thinks about it and thinks about it until he thinks he's over it. So then he tries to...
I would like to share my thoughts about the song. I see the beginning as him feeling ill from a breakup. Breakups can make us depressed and feel like we can't go on. But he thinks about it and thinks about it until he thinks he's over it. So then he tries to get up and move on, but he's still surrounded by darkness and he's weak.
He thinks he's okay to move on even though he's weak, but he hears a scream, he's still haunted by the breakup in some way. He goes to it, he sees the damaged yet innocent parts of himself (the wounded, afraid fox). He thinks this is the source of his pain, why he can't get over the breakup. So he kills it. He kills his pain.
But then he realizes what haunts him is something else. He doesn't know what it is but he runs from it. He's afraid of it. He wonders how many more years of pain he'll bear because he can't face this creature in his woods, his mind.
@teaspill I can't edit what I said so I'll add that you helped me by talking about foxes represent deception. Maybe it means that he thought the fox was the source of his true pain, so he killed it. But he was deceived. It wasn't the source.
@teaspill I can't edit what I said so I'll add that you helped me by talking about foxes represent deception. Maybe it means that he thought the fox was the source of his true pain, so he killed it. But he was deceived. It wasn't the source.
Okay. I'm 99% certain I know what this song's about, and it doesn't have an interpretation yet, so I'll do a write-up.
In briefest possible terms, it's about fighting a battle with oneself and losing. That's clear.
Anything more in-depth involves me applying traditional literary symbolism, and accepting the only explanation for the narrative I've found that doesn't produce inconsistencies.
Line-by-line:
My head was war, My skin was soaked. I called your name 'til the fever broke.
This is blunt, but I only see one thing here: Acute opiate withdrawal. The war is the question of whether the speaker should continue using drugs or stop. At this point, he's calling the name of a woman because he's using the desire to be sober with her as a reason to quit, and as a source of strength to get through the physical difficulties (fevers, sweating) involved in making that decision.
When I awoke The moon still hung. The night so black that the darkness hums.
The acute phase was finished, he awoke. At this point, one would expect to be seeing clearly -- perhaps for the first time in a long time, with open eyes and sobriety in hand. The moon is in the sky, and there's an air of disappointment. It "still" hangs. The moon is a celestial body that illuminates, but exudes no light of its own. It's effectively a false god floating in the sky, something that claims to guide but, in reality, has no virtue or purpose. I'm not entirely certain, but I think this is meant to represent still having a psychological devotion to the drug in spite of having chosen not to consume it any longer. It still hangs, overbearing, the desire attempting to guide him with its false light. A black night is symbolic of fear, confusion, sightlessness, and uncertainty. Anything could be in the blackness. In short: He does not have the clarity of purpose or conviction he was hoping for, he is still not free of the false god that's stalking him, even though the physical sickness has abated.
I raised myself. My legs were weak. I prayed my mind be good to me.
Fairly straightforward. He raised himself, continued to persevere in spite of it being difficult (weak legs), and hoped his mind would treat him well -- that he could steel his will, and keep his resolve to remain on the path he chose.
An awful noise Filled the air. I heard a scream In the woods somewhere.
Woods in literature are really loaded. They are frequently used explicitly to reference the unconscious mind, which fits nicely in the context of this song. They represent growth, unexpected and unforeseen changes, danger, and generally all the nice and nasty things that we don't like thinking about too often in our own heads. They can bear fruit, positive fruit, but never without struggle and confusion. The scream is, I think, representative of the struggle and strife within the speaker's own mind. Parts of his mind that he cannot control are screaming at him -- hence it coming from within the metaphorical woods, and never being attributed to any character we see.
A woman's voice! I quickly ran Into the trees with empty hands.
The noise that once seemed awful now seems appealing, or at least vulnerable. In either case, it's something that compels him to run towards the voice that's been screaming at him. (To be more explicit: Cravings were screaming at him, and while they first seemed awful, it's gone on long enough that it now seems like going towards That Which Is Craved may be the right, even the virtuous decision.) Going into the woods implies giving in to unconscious desires, rather than following the rational path. He comes with empty hands, which implies that he is both defenseless and receptive. It's a position of weakness.
A fox it was, He shook afraid. I spoke no words, No sound he made.
His bone exposed, His hind was lame. I raised a stone to end his pain.
Foxes are deceivers in literature, much as addictions are in life. The characters are seeing each other clearly. The speaker sees deceit where he expected to find salvation (a woman, for instance). The fox is afraid, and we see the cause of its fear: It is now known by the speaker that he does not need it, it is not the salvation he was seeking when he ran into the woods and stopped behaving rationally. It's just a lame animal, inept and senseless. He seeks to put the fox, the addiction, out of its misery and destroy it with any tool at hand.
What caused the wound? How large the teeth? I saw new eyes were watching me.
Hesitation. The other side of the coin. If this addiction formed, if this wounded creature had to exist within his mind to be killed, what caused it to begin with? There is an additional implication: If the cause behind the addiction is just, letting the fox live and nurturing it -- saving it from the other creature -- may be a valid and virtuous choice. He is no longer worried about the fox, but the other, deeper eyes that caused the initial wound.
The creature lunged. I turned and ran To save a life I didn't have.
The creature is never identified, I love that. Unlike his addiction, which he can openly acknowledge, he could not see this other, more frightening creature clearly. He chose not to, he chose to run away. And in running away, he gets lost in the woods, rather than killing his demons (the fox) and finding his way out and back to rational existence. He flees his fears, whatever they are, and falls back into escapism. Meanwhile, escapism is not living. It's a half-life, a life that embraces illusions in a desperate gambit to flee one's fears.
Dear, in the chase There as I flew Forgot all prayers of joining you.
Punny. First, the sonic deer/dear bit: he has chosen to be a prey item, acknowledging that he is merely fleeing pain rather than seeking anything actively. This segment is likely meant to be interpreted two other ways. One is as an appeal to the woman for whom he was attempting to get clean, as an apology for flying away and being unable to join her in a real, full life. The second is a bit more base, an open acknowledgement that while he "flew," or got higher (rather than just fleeing), as he started chasing that which was truly "dear" to him, he forgot any desire he had to be among the normal, living denizens of the world.
I clutched my life And wished it kept. My dearest love I'm not done yet.
His life can now be clutched, a physical object. A drug, to be explicit, is what he has in lieu of the life he'd hoped to have. He wished that the life he wanted, the life he had before the drug, could have kept, because currently the drug is all he has left. "My dearest love/I'm not done yet," is another pairing that is probably meant in two ways. The first, another apology to the woman for his choice. The second, addressed to his drug, his "dearest love," acknowledging that it isn't over.
How many years I know I'll bare, I found something in the woods somewhere.
I don't think I actually need to clarify anything else at this point, do I? Sad song, but lovely. Kinda hope I've just read too much Baudelaire, but that's what I got out of it either way. Would love to hear different views.
Oh. The moon. Lunacy. It's just reiterating the right/wrong thoughts dichotomy that's in the rest of the song. I feel slow. Wish you could edit these.
Oh. The moon. Lunacy. It's just reiterating the right/wrong thoughts dichotomy that's in the rest of the song. I feel slow. Wish you could edit these.
@teaspill wow you explained this perfectly and in detail. From where there was a lack of understanding, now there is pure illumination and an ability to grapple with the lyrics on a deeper level. You're smart - thank you! Pure poetry
@teaspill wow you explained this perfectly and in detail. From where there was a lack of understanding, now there is pure illumination and an ability to grapple with the lyrics on a deeper level. You're smart - thank you! Pure poetry
@rainbow777 Thank you. I'm actually skeptical of some of my own fine details at this point. The overarcing theme and traditional analysis of the symbolism I have more faith in than previously, but the specific application feels less necessary. Haven't connected all the details as well as I want to though. Again, I do appreciate knowing that people read my interpretations and don't think I'm completely bonkers. :)
@rainbow777 Thank you. I'm actually skeptical of some of my own fine details at this point. The overarcing theme and traditional analysis of the symbolism I have more faith in than previously, but the specific application feels less necessary. Haven't connected all the details as well as I want to though. Again, I do appreciate knowing that people read my interpretations and don't think I'm completely bonkers. :)
@teaspill I think you're spot-on. I suppose the beginning doesn't necessarily have to be about drug-withdrawal although I agree it does have that feel to it (and the whole thing could be about any type of addiction, really). I too agree with your analysis of the symbolism. Truth be told, there may be other interpretations to some of the lyrics (not that I can think of), but you argued your own stance extremely well, providing evidence and totally sold it to me. There's no right or wrong, but your response was so good it reminded me of an English literature...
@teaspill I think you're spot-on. I suppose the beginning doesn't necessarily have to be about drug-withdrawal although I agree it does have that feel to it (and the whole thing could be about any type of addiction, really). I too agree with your analysis of the symbolism. Truth be told, there may be other interpretations to some of the lyrics (not that I can think of), but you argued your own stance extremely well, providing evidence and totally sold it to me. There's no right or wrong, but your response was so good it reminded me of an English literature paper haha , I'm into that though
@rainbow777 It could be about something as simple as infidelity. Particularly with moons being changeable and running towards a woman's voice (not the one he prays to). He could be clutching his life (freedom from committment, independence) as he runs scared in the woods and gets lost.
@rainbow777 It could be about something as simple as infidelity. Particularly with moons being changeable and running towards a woman's voice (not the one he prays to). He could be clutching his life (freedom from committment, independence) as he runs scared in the woods and gets lost.
The fleeing something he's too afraid to look at, that is capable of rendering a faerie-tale fox into genuine lameness nags at me though.
The fleeing something he's too afraid to look at, that is capable of rendering a faerie-tale fox into genuine lameness nags at me though.
Escapism and the damage it causes is such a persistent trope in Hozier's work. Along with a handful of other things. So that being tied to his inability to...
Escapism and the damage it causes is such a persistent trope in Hozier's work. Along with a handful of other things. So that being tied to his inability to get "out of the woods" seems right to me, but we can use people/fantasy for that as much as anything else.
I read Pinocchio for the first time after I wrote this interp, and at one point in it (immediately after a debate concerning whether Pinocchio was alive or dead, entertainingly) he's sick on a bed, unwilling to take medication from his female benefactor, because he's more afraid of the cure than his own mortal illness. I feel like there's something of that in here, too.
Sorry. My brain's a spiderweb, and not a prettily structured one.
@teaspill don't apologise! Love hearing your insights :) It probably could be interpreted to be about infidelity but I like your former interpretation better. I only just yesterday discovered Hozier's songs, but from what I've heard I would agree that escapism is a common theme. I definitely get that Pinocchio vibe you're talking about: basically, being afraid to get better or the 'cure' as you say. The sentiment has been reiterated in other songs in which people feel a comfort in staying depressed, or staging where they are even if it's not good for them, because people fear the unknown...
@teaspill don't apologise! Love hearing your insights :) It probably could be interpreted to be about infidelity but I like your former interpretation better. I only just yesterday discovered Hozier's songs, but from what I've heard I would agree that escapism is a common theme. I definitely get that Pinocchio vibe you're talking about: basically, being afraid to get better or the 'cure' as you say. The sentiment has been reiterated in other songs in which people feel a comfort in staying depressed, or staging where they are even if it's not good for them, because people fear the unknown , they fear change. While some of his songs are more specific I like that this one is more mysterious and symbolic. People can choose to apply it to whatever they relate to. Why is the fox part nagging at you? Surely the fox represents the negativity that's sprouted from the underlying source of the problem, like the addiction as you were saying. I love that, and the fact that there's something else lurking behind it that's unidentified - e.g. the underlying cause that drove him to drugs in the first place.
@teaspill are you wondering about why the fox is lame? I think it's because he finally sees his vice (represented by the fox) for what it really is and hence is made less powerful. They say acknowledgement of your problem is half the battle and so the fox is weak, easier to kill...because it has been exposed - not as the mysterious alluring woman, but a sly fox. Maybe you're not confused about that at all, I don't know. I like that it's as if he's just about to have the power to end his addiction "end his pain", but then the...
@teaspill are you wondering about why the fox is lame? I think it's because he finally sees his vice (represented by the fox) for what it really is and hence is made less powerful. They say acknowledgement of your problem is half the battle and so the fox is weak, easier to kill...because it has been exposed - not as the mysterious alluring woman, but a sly fox. Maybe you're not confused about that at all, I don't know. I like that it's as if he's just about to have the power to end his addiction "end his pain", but then the thing that caused it in the first place rears it's ugly head and means he is unable to. Quite relatable to many situations.
@rainbow777 Not confused, that was my assessment as well. It's just gnaws at me because it's a really unique situation to find a fox in, given the very traditional, literary setting, which means it has to be important. And it makes it harder to get other solutions to the puzzle to work, and I reeeally want something else to work. xD
@rainbow777 Not confused, that was my assessment as well. It's just gnaws at me because it's a really unique situation to find a fox in, given the very traditional, literary setting, which means it has to be important. And it makes it harder to get other solutions to the puzzle to work, and I reeeally want something else to work. xD
@teaspill Well I think the puzzle does work, in that the meaning I understood from you is satisfying enough for me. I'm not sure why you want there to be another meaning "something else to work", but that's just your feelings I guess. :P thanks for the insights anyway
@teaspill Well I think the puzzle does work, in that the meaning I understood from you is satisfying enough for me. I'm not sure why you want there to be another meaning "something else to work", but that's just your feelings I guess. :P thanks for the insights anyway
@rainbow777 No particularly good reason, I just know I tend to err towards too-dark interpretations. Even with Hozier, which is saying something.
@rainbow777 No particularly good reason, I just know I tend to err towards too-dark interpretations. Even with Hozier, which is saying something.
You made me a bit more comfortable with my own thoughts though. Thank you for that. <3
You made me a bit more comfortable with my own thoughts though. Thank you for that. <3
@teaspill I think your interpretation is the closest to my own. I interpret this as a breakup instead of addiction though. And you touch on the woman screaming in the woods where I couldn't make sense of that. So I appreciate your thorough interpretation of this song.
@teaspill I think your interpretation is the closest to my own. I interpret this as a breakup instead of addiction though. And you touch on the woman screaming in the woods where I couldn't make sense of that. So I appreciate your thorough interpretation of this song.
I would like to share my thoughts about the song. I see the beginning as him feeling ill from a breakup. Breakups can make us depressed and feel like we can't go on. But he thinks about it and thinks about it until he thinks he's over it. So then he tries to...
I would like to share my thoughts about the song. I see the beginning as him feeling ill from a breakup. Breakups can make us depressed and feel like we can't go on. But he thinks about it and thinks about it until he thinks he's over it. So then he tries to get up and move on, but he's still surrounded by darkness and he's weak.
He thinks he's okay to move on even though he's weak, but he hears a scream, he's still haunted by the breakup in some way. He goes to it, he sees the damaged yet innocent parts of himself (the wounded, afraid fox). He thinks this is the source of his pain, why he can't get over the breakup. So he kills it. He kills his pain.
But then he realizes what haunts him is something else. He doesn't know what it is but he runs from it. He's afraid of it. He wonders how many more years of pain he'll bear because he can't face this creature in his woods, his mind.
@teaspill I can't edit what I said so I'll add that you helped me by talking about foxes represent deception. Maybe it means that he thought the fox was the source of his true pain, so he killed it. But he was deceived. It wasn't the source.
@teaspill I can't edit what I said so I'll add that you helped me by talking about foxes represent deception. Maybe it means that he thought the fox was the source of his true pain, so he killed it. But he was deceived. It wasn't the source.