This song is a scathing rebuke of the Roman Catholic Church in Ireland, and it’s truly about the sexuality between lovers.
Hozier sings of the repressed sexuality that people in the Roman Catholic Church in Ireland are forced to endure. In the video, a gay person buries a lock box as a metaphor for having to hide his true self so that he doesn’t face persecution from the church or even worse. Hozier is a Quaker, but even at that, he acknowledges the unhealthy grip of unyielding Catholicism on all aspects of Irish life. Hozier also drew inspiration from the 16th century poet Fulke Greville. Greville says that humanity is created sick but commanded to be sound. It’s a fatalistic belief, and Hozier does his best to refute that by saying, through metaphor, that human beings are sound even if they have sexual tendencies and wants that are “outside the norm.” Gay is gay, after all, and God made gay people the way they are.
The Struggling Artist
In 2013, which is when Hozier composed the song, the artist was barely eking out a living. He was doing odd jobs and appearing at open-mic nights around Dublin. Hozier was living in his parents’ attic, which is where he laid out the first versions of the song and did the first demo. Interestingly, despite months of studio polishing, none of the recorded tracks of him singing were anywhere near as raw and powerful as the original that he did in that cramped attic. After many months of this brutal existence, Hozier got his big break when someone from Rubyworks heard the demo. Rubyworks’s producer, whose name is Rob Kirwan, immediately agreed that the song would be a hit. Thereafter, the song came out to great acclaim and success.
Chart Performance
The song reached No. 2 on the United States Billboard Hot 100 and No. 1 on the Billboard Adult Top 40. It soared to No. 1 in no fewer than 15 countries around the world as far flung as Iceland and Lebanon. It was in the top five in another dozen countries and the top 10 in another dozen. In the United States, “Take Me to Church” is a dodecaplatinum record and is a gold, platinum, and diamond record in 18 other countries around the world. The song is Hozier’s signature hit.
Other Media
As popular as the song is, it is no surprise that it has appeared in the soundtracks of dozens of television programs. The themes of these shows are eclectic, from reality programs like “Dancing With the Stars” and “The Voice” to dramas like “Alter Ego” and “Supernatural.” Showrunners for other supernatural dramas, such as “Teen Wolf” and “The Leftovers,” picked the song as well.
Lyrics
My lover’s got humor
She’s the giggle at a funeral
Knows everybody’s disapproval
I should’ve worshiped her sooner
If the Heavens ever did speak
She’s the last true mouthpiece
Every Sunday’s getting more bleak
A fresh poison each week
“We were born sick”, you heard them say it
My church offers no absolutes
She tells me, “Worship in the bedroom”
The only Heaven I’ll be sent to
Is when I’m alone with you
I was born sick, but I love it
Command me to be well
A-, Amen, Amen, Amen
Take me to church
I’ll worship like a dog at the shrine of your lies
I’ll tell you my sins and you can sharpen your knife
Offer me that deathless death
Good God, let me give you my life
Take me to church
I’ll worship like a dog at the shrine of your lies
I’ll tell you my sins and you can sharpen your knife
Offer me that deathless death
Good God, let me give you my life
If I’m a pagan of the good times
My lover’s the sunlight
To keep the Goddess on my side
She demands a sacrifice
Drain the whole sea
Get something shiny
Something meaty for the main course
That’s a fine looking high horse
What you got in the stable?
We’ve a lot of starving faithful
That looks tasty
That looks plenty
This is hungry work
Take me to church
I’ll worship like a dog at the shrine of your lies
I’ll tell you my sins so you can sharpen your knife
Offer me my deathless death
Good God, let me give you my life
Take me to church
I’ll worship like a dog at the shrine of your lies
I’ll tell you my sins so you can sharpen your knife
Offer me my deathless death
Good God, let me give you my life
No masters or kings when the ritual begins
There is no sweeter innocence than our gentle sin
In the madness and soil of that sad earthly scene
Only then I am human
Only then I am clean
Oh, oh, Amen, Amen, Amen
Take me to church
I’ll worship like a dog at the shrine of your lies
I’ll tell you my sins and you can sharpen your knife
Offer me that deathless death
Good God, let me give you my life
Take me to church
I’ll worship like a dog at the shrine of your lies
I’ll tell you my sins and you can sharpen your knife
Offer me that deathless death
Good God, let me give you my life
Source: LyricFind
Songwriters: Andrew Hozier Byrne
Take Me to Church lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
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