Work Song Essay

Group essay
An Analysis of Work Song by Hozier
In Hozier’s Work Song we hear a song that laments how strong the love between two
people can be and how devastating it can be to be apart from your partner. Hozier uses vivid
language throughout his song to show how intense their love for one another is, for example he
says his baby is so sweet he gets toothaches from kissing her. Throughout the song we hear
more and more about how intense and strong the love Hozier and his lover have for one
another, but we also hear about the potential heart ache each of them has had to go through.
One significant moment in the song we hear about how Hozier was in a bad place using alcohol
as a coping mechanism when his significant other pulled him out his rut. We soon find out that
in their home there is an empty crib, from this we can gather they may have had a miscarriage
or lost their child early in their life. This is one of the most heart-breaking things anyone could
ever imagine going through. Amid this heart break, we see the strength of the couple’s
relationship shine through with his significant other understanding how this is affecting him and
comforting him through one of the strongest griefs he will have in his life. Through the whole
song we can gather Hozier’s relationship with his significant other survived and is thriving as he
describes how not even his death could keep him and his lover apart. Though whether his
relationship is a healthy one with reasonable boundaries is hard to say.
Work Song has parallels between most works we viewed this semester. We will begin by
focusing on how it compares to the Royal Tenenbaums. In work song we see a love so strong
that Hozier “can barely eat” in the Royal Tenenbaums we see this same affection from Richie.
However, in Richie’s case it is a love that is very forbidden considering that Margot is his
adopted sister. Richie goes on to learn more about Margot through a private investigator and
takes the news so hard that he attempts suicide. This is topical considering Hozier says
explicitly that dying could not keep him away from his lover, while in contrast Richie is
attempting suicide as an escape from the reality that he was dealt. However, Richie and Hozier
both had self-destructive tendencies in their grief, Alcoholism and suicidal ideations
respectively. Luckily however Richie survives and he and Margot confess their shared love and
kiss one another.
On the topic of alcoholism, we can also make the comparison to Amy Winehouse on
Back to Black. Both Hozier and Winehouse utilize alcohol to numb the pain that they both feel,
oftentimes with incredibly bad side effects. We see Hozier “three days on a drunken sin”, which
leads him to wake up somewhere seemingly unfamiliar. Winehouse seems to rely so heavily on
alcohol that the people that care about her try to send her to rehab to deal with her addiction. It
is unknown whether or not Hozier continues to rely on alcohol once he was found by his ”baby”,
but we can look back on the life and unfortunate early passing of Amy Winehouse to see that
her ultimate fate was not as ambiguous.
Hozier mentions that he didn’t care how long he lives, which at first glance seems to tie
into the more depressive ideas presented in Ecclesiastes; namely that everything is “vanity” and
superficial, while at the core of existence, nothing really matters, even one’s own life. But upon
further examination, it appears to be deeper than that. He appears to be so drawn to his “baby”
that he forgets about the bad things in life. This is reminiscent of Nick Adams and how he would
stay awake at night thinking of the river. Both would use this idealized image of a person or
thing in order to get them through hard times. The background hum introduced at the beginning
of the song has a sort of chain gang feel, or even reminiscent of old spirituals that slaves would
sing out in the fields. But I think these all tie the song back to hope and how the idea of a
brighter future can pull you through even the toughest times.
Once again, there might be another connection to Ecclesiastes. A major theme in
Ecclesiastes is finding that thing that makes life worth living, and I think that Work Song really
hits on this idea. When Hozier has his ”baby”, he has a new lease on life. Although life may
have it’s tragedies, it is hope that will pull us out of our dark and depressive times.

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Group essay

An Analysis of Work Song by Hozier

relationship is a healthy one with reasonable boundaries is hard to say.

kiss one another.

her ultimate fate was not as ambiguous.

Once again, there might be another connection to Ecclesiastes. A major theme in

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