To Be Alone
Hozier feat. Karen Cowley Lyrics
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With folks around
When they're playing
The anthems of rape culture loud
Crude and proud
Creatures baying
All I've ever done is hide
From our times
Honey, when you kill the lights
And kiss my eyes
I feel like a person for a moment of my life
But you don't know what hell you put me through
To have someone kiss the skin that crawls from you
To feel your weight in arms I'd never use
It's the god that heroin prays to
It feels good, girl, it feels good
It feels good, girl, it feels good
It feels good, girl, it feels good
Oh to be alone with you
There are questions I can't ask
Now at last
The worst is over
See the way you hold yourself
Reel against
Your body's borders
I know that you hate this place
Not a trace
Of me would argue
Honey, we should run away
Oh someday
Our baby and her momma
And the damaged love she make
But I don't know what else that I would give
Than try to kiss the skin that crawls from you
Then feel your weight in arms I'd never use
It's the god that heroin prays to
It feels good, girl, it feels good
It feels good, girl, it feels good
It feels good, girl, it feels good
Oh to be alone with you
It feels good, girl, it feels good
It feels good, girl, it feels good
It feels good, girl, it feels good
Oh to be alone with you
The song "To Be Alone" by Hozier featuring Karen Cowley is a haunting exploration of the complexities of intimacy, vulnerability, and addiction. The lyrics depict a person who struggles to interact with others in crowds, feeling uncomfortable with the prevailing culture of crude and prideful behavior that often includes anthemizing rape. The only time they feel like a person is when they're with the person they love, in the dark, and kissed on the eyes. However, the singer acknowledges that being with this person can be agonizingly difficult due to their addiction, as they are so deeply enmeshed in the user’s skin that they crawl.
The person’s addiction is a source of struggle for the singer, but they express a willingness to hold that person and try to love them in spite of it. The person's addiction is described as a “god that heroin prays to.” The singer feels good with this person but acknowledges the pain and difficulty that come with their relationship. They recognize that there are questions they cannot ask due to the constraints of society, but they hope to someday run away with this person and raise a family. The song ends with the longing to be alone with this person despite everything they are going through.
Overall, the song is a powerful commentary on the difficulties and complexities of romantic relationships that involve addiction. It highlights how addiction can simultaneously destroy the person experiencing it while also eliciting a deep and passionate love from those around them.
Line by Line Meaning
Never feel too good in crowds
Being in a crowd doesn't make me feel good
With folks around
When there are people nearby
When they're playing
When they're singing or performing
The anthems of rape culture loud
Performing songs that promote rape culture loudly
Crude and proud
Being openly and proudly disrespectful
Creatures baying
People behaving like wild animals
All I've ever done is hide
I've always tried to keep myself hidden
From our times
From the present era
When you're near me
Whenever you're close by
Honey, when you kill the lights
When you turn off the lights, my dear
And kiss my eyes
And kiss my eyes
I feel like a person for a moment of my life
For a moment in time, I feel like a real person
But you don't know what hell you put me through
You have no idea of the pain you've caused me
To have someone kiss the skin that crawls from you
To have someone kiss your skin that makes me feel disgusted
To feel your weight in arms I'd never use
To hold your body, something I never wanted
It's the god that heroin prays to
It's like the addiction to heroin, an unhealthy obsession
It feels good, girl, it feels good
Being with you feels good
Oh to be alone with you
Oh, how I wish to be alone with you
There are questions I can't ask
There are things I am unable to ask
Now at last
Finally, after a long time
The worst is over
The most difficult part is now finished
See the way you hold yourself
The way you carry yourself
Reel against
Fighting against
Your body's borders
Boundaries of your body
I know that you hate this place
I know that you don't like it here
Not a trace
Nothing at all
Of me would argue
I wouldn't argue about it
Honey, we should run away
We should escape from here, my dear
Oh someday
Perhaps one day
Our baby and her momma
Our child and her mother
And the damaged love she make
And the love that is broken between them
It feels good, girl, it feels good
Being with you feels good
Oh to be alone with you
Oh, how I wish to be alone with you
Lyrics © Wixen Music Publishing, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Junior Kimbrough, Andrew Hozier Byrne
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@aidanraymond2423
I have never known peace
Like the damp grass that yields to me
I have never known hunger
Like these insects that feast on me
A thousand teeth
And yours among them, I know
Our hungers appeased
Our heartbeats becoming slow
We lay here for years or for hours
Thrown here or found
To freeze or to thaw
So long we become the flowers
Two corpses we were
Two corpses I saw
And they'd find us in a week
When the weather gets hot
After the insects have made their claim
I'd be home with you
I'd be home with you
I have never known sleep
Like the slumber that creeps to me
I have never known color
Like this morning reveals to me
And you haven't moved an inch
Such that I would not know
If you sleep always like this
The flesh calmly going cold
We lay here for years or for hours
Your hand in my hand
So still and discreet
So long we become the flowers
We'd feed well the land
And worry the sheep
And they'd find us in a week
When the cattle show fear
After the insects have made their claim
After the foxes have known our taste
I'd be home with you
I'd be home with you
They'd find us in a week (Lay here for years or for hours)
When the weather gets hot (So long we become the flowers)
They'd find us in a week (Lay here for years or for hours)
When the cattle shows fear (So long we become the flowers)
And they'd find us in a week
When the buzzards get loud
After the insects have made their claim
After the foxes have known our taste
After the raven has had its say
I'd be home with you
I'd be home with you
I'd be home with you
I'd be home with you
I'd be home with you
I'd be home with you
@imesunny
We lay here for years or for hours
Thrown here or found
To freeze or to thaw
So long we become the flowers
Two corpses we were
Two corpses I saw
And they'd find us in a week
When the weather gets hot
After the insects have made their claim
I'd be home with you
I'd be home with you
I have never known sleep
Like the slumber that creeps to me
I have never known color
Like this morning reveals to me
And you haven't moved an inch
Such that I would not know
If you sleep always like this
The flesh calmly going cold
We lay here for years or for hours
Your hand in my hand
So still and discreet
So long we become the flowers
We'd feed well the land
And worry the sheep
And they'd find us in a week
When the cattle show fear
After the insects have made their claim
After the foxes have known our taste
I'd be home with you
I'd be home with you
They'd find us in a week (Lay here for years or for hours)
When the weather gets hot (So long we become the flowers)
They'd find us in a week (Lay here for years or for hours)
When the cattle shows fear (So long we become the flowers)
And they'd find us in a week
When the buzzards get loud
After the insects have made their claim
After the foxes have known our taste
After the raven has had its say
@morganjones4281
"So who wants to go out into the woods with me and sing a song about dying and decomposing into the Earth?"
@rezwanaparveen6970
I volunteer as tribute....
@yoyohan9
Absolutely. Let's go.
@forgetmetoo
Me
@Den-hg5is
Hozier is the kind of artist that creates pieces so beautifully that it gives something as terrifying as death a chance to be called beautiful.
@JackFrost1111
seeing the beauty within tragedies
@keats182
Only an Irishman can make a song about death and rotting into the earth beautiful.
@WRamos1775
keats182 certainly
@ssayali
not an, the😍
@catherinecox1909
No song has ever touched me the way this song does. no words to describe it other than wow.