Hozier Interview – LGBT Community
Interview with Andrew Hozier-Byrne, professionally known by
the mononym, Hozier, is a singer song-writer from Dublin, Ireland.
What inspired you to make a song like
“Take me to Church”?
“4 years ago, I was in my house
fumbling around with some lyrics, chords and trying to find a right chorus for
this song. I was frustrated with organizations, (especially religion like the
Catholic Church) that has a history of mistreating gays or determining what is
natural to humans. I feel like sexuality, and sexual orientation- regardless of
the orientation – is just natural. So I made a song about it.”
How did you get the idea of making the
music video for “Take me to Church”
“The music video itself,is a stark black-and-white
clip about a homosexual man who gets brutally beaten by a gang of
thugs while his lover looks on helplessly. The video refrences what is going on in Russia. They passed anti-gay
laws, that restricted gay-right movements. This lead to an increase in attacts
on LGBT groups by far-right gangs. That is what the video is mostly
referencing.”
When reading the lyrics of the song, it
reads as if “the lover”, is female, but the video the two lovers are gay men.
How did you make this?
“This song was written in the wake of
the breaking up of my first girlfriend. This song is very much a love song and
a break-up song in a way. This song is a love song and a contemplation of sin.
The song is about asserting yourself and reclaiming your humanity through an
act of love, no matter your, sexuality and sexual orientation. Organizations
like the church. Through its doctrine, undermine sexuality by teaching shame to
certain sexual orientation- that it is a sin and it offends god. This song is
about taking back that control.
This song however is not an attack on
faith. Coming from Ireland, there is still a cultural “hangover” from the
influence of the church. Lots of people carry disappointment and a heavy weight
in their hearts, and that carries from generation to generation. This song is
just reclaiming one’s self.
How do you want your song, “Take me to
Church” to influence others?
If anything , I want people just to be
more aware of the LGBT community and what it goes throught and be more open-minded.
That’s all I can really wish for.
What are your thoughts on the USA
having legalized gay marriage in all 50 states in 2015, the same year your song
went viral?
I am very happy and very proud and
honored to somehow be part of that movement. I never expected the song or the
album to get this big and have some influence in the legalization of gay
marriage. I hope now that more and more countries will follow suite.
Sources:
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