Midway upon the journey of our life
I found myself within a forest dark,
For the straightforward pathway had been lost.
In Dante, the protagonist finds himself in the woods, and is terrified by beasts until his love interest in Heaven, Beatrice, sends a mentor, Virgil, to pull him out of the woods and set him back on the virtuous path he had lost.
In this song, the protagonist walks into the woods, pities one beast, is terrified by another, and runs deeper into the woods in an attempt to escape. He prays and speaks to a woman consistently, but no help is sent, and he remains lost.
In a tweet responding to the question, “has a dream ever been the inspiration for a song?” Hozier said about the dream that inspired In the Woods Somewhere:
“Once dreamt I had to fight a horse in a nearby field as it was kicking and maiming a group of tiny school children. I found an axe but as I ran through the trees I found my hands were empty.
This is directly referenced in the song with the lyric, I quickly ran / Into the trees with empty hands.“
In the Woods Somewhere
Hozier Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Her skin was soaked
I called your name 'til the fever broke
When I awoke
The moon still hung
The night so black that the darkness hummed
My legs were weak
I prayed my mind be good to me
An awful noise
Filled the air
I heard a scream in the woods somewhere
A woman's voice!
I quickly ran
Into the trees with empty hands
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
What caused the wound?
how large the teeth?
I sure knew eyes were watching me
The creature lunged
I turned and ran
To save a life I didn't have
Deer in the chase
There as I flew
Forgot all prayers of joining you
I clutched my life
And wished it kept
My dearest love I'm not done yet
How many years
I know I'll bear
I found something in the woods somewhere
Hozier's song "In the Woods Somewhere" tells a story of a person waking up from a fever dream and hearing a woman's scream in the woods. The singer goes to investigate and comes across a wounded fox with exposed bones and a lame hind. As they raise a stone to end the fox's pain, the creature lunges towards them and the singer runs away to save themselves. The song ends with the singer reflecting on their desire to continue living and finding something in the woods that will stay with them for years.
The lyrics are ambiguous and can be interpreted in different ways by different people. Some interpretations suggest that the song is a cautionary tale about the dangers of isolation and loneliness, while others see it as a commentary on the cycle of violence and nature. The use of animal imagery and symbolism in the lyrics adds to the complexity of the song's meaning.
Line by Line Meaning
Her head was warm
She was passionately in love with someone
Her skin was soaked
She was crying because of the intensity of her love
I called your name 'til the fever broke
I was so desperate to be with you that I almost lost my mind, but eventually I realized that I needed to move on
When I awoke
After recovering from my obsession with you
The moon still hung
The world continued on, even after my emotional turmoil
The night so black that the darkness hummed
The emptiness of my life felt suffocating
I raised myself
I picked myself up and moved on
My legs were weak
It was hard to move on, and I felt vulnerable
I prayed my mind be good to me
I hoped that my thoughts would be kind to me, and that I wouldn't fall back into obsession
An awful noise
Something terrible caught my attention
Filled the air
The sound was overwhelming
I heard a scream in the woods somewhere
Someone was in trouble, and I couldn't help but investigate
A woman's voice!
A female was screaming for help
I quickly ran
I was eager to help
Into the trees with empty hands
I had nothing to protect myself
A fox it was
The cause of the scream was a frightened animal
He shook afraid
The fox was so scared that it was shaking
I spoke no words, no sound he made
I didn't have anything to say to the fox, and it didn't reply anyways
His bone exposed
The fox had been wounded badly
His hind was lame
The fox couldn't walk properly anymore
I raised a stone to end his pain
I put the fox out of his misery
What caused the wound?
I wondered how the fox got hurt
how large the teeth?
I was curious about the predator that caused the fox's injuries
I sure knew eyes were watching me
I was being observed by something, and I felt very vulnerable
The creature lunged
The predator from earlier attacked me suddenly
I turned and ran
I panicked and fled
To save a life I didn't have
I valued my life more than I had before, and I didn't want to die
Deer in the chase
I became aware of the beauty of nature again
There as I flew
As I escaped from the predator, I was surrounded by stunning scenery
Forgot all prayers of joining you
I stopped hoping that I could be with you again
I clutched my life
I held onto my own existence tightly
And wished it kept
I realized that life is fragile, and I wanted to preserve my own
My dearest love I'm not done yet
I had more to experience in my life, even though I wasn't with my loved one
How many years
I wondered how many more years I would have to live
I know I'll bear
I accepted that I would have to go through life alone
I found something in the woods somewhere
During my adventure, I found a new appreciation for life and the natural world
Contributed by Taylor B. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Sergio Biancu
on Take Me to Church
Stupendaaaaaaa!!!!
Saul Giron Pineda
on Take Me to Church
.s.xñékeokdp2
Music Masti
on In A Week
Bored. QC stuff
Gregg Andely
on Take Me to Church
hi
Sanae Chairi
on Take Me to Church
very nice
Firoj Khan
on Run
good
William Lawrence Brown
on Take Me to Church
hp
Faizan Aziz
on Take Me to Church
baby blue eyes
Djlux DangiwanGregg Andely
on Take Me to Church
baby blue eyes
Srikar Dora Jaram
on Take Me to Church
amen