How Hozier Exposed the Essence of Institutional Hypocrisy

00:15:55
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vshmsn93pQc

Summary

TLDRThe discussion explores the intricate themes in Hozier's music, particularly focusing on the contrast between light and happy songs versus darker, deeper ones like "Take Me to Church." The song is analyzed as a critique of society’s and religious institutions’ approach towards natural human desires and LGBTQ acceptance. Through his music, Hozier uses religious language to challenge oppressive cultural ideals and highlights the irony and difficulties faced by individuals under these societal norms. There is an emphasis on the role of humor in dealing with dark topics and the need for compassion over judgment in religious contexts. The analysis includes biblical references to emphasize the points of accepting love and individuality beyond societal constraints.

Takeaways

  • 🎶 Hozier blends dark themes with an intriguing musical style.
  • 🏛️ "Take Me to Church" critiques societal views using religious metaphors.
  • 😁 Humor is present in Hozier's music, even amidst serious topics.
  • 💔 The song addresses rejection by societal norms.
  • ✝️ Religious language in the song challenges oppressive ideologies.
  • 💬 The narrative explores the disconnect between institutional teachings and personal truths.
  • ⛪ Discusses the irony of judgment within religious doctrines.
  • 📜 Biblical references enhance the critique of societal norms.
  • 🤝 Emphasizes compassion over condemnation in human interactions.
  • ⚔️ Describes the struggle of reclaiming humanity and love against cultural pressures.

Timeline

  • 00:00:00 - 00:05:00

    The artist, known for upbeat and pleasant music, explores the differences between creating cheerful songs and more intense ones like 'Take Me to Church.' The discussion highlights the humor present even in somber tracks and reflects on how Irish culture finds a unique view in tragedies. The artist blends charming melodies with complex, dark themes, creating a unique impact on the musical scene.

  • 00:05:00 - 00:10:00

    'Take Me to Church' is examined as a love song metaphorically critiquing social norms and religious oppression. Rather than a direct attack on religious institutions, it addresses broader societal issues using religious imagery. The song questions societal condemnation of natural human experiences, offering a satirical take on being told to feel shame about inherent human desires. This potent message is ironically underscored by its widespread acclaim, often overlooking its critical tone.

  • 00:10:00 - 00:15:55

    The exploration of themes in 'Take Me to Church' continues, focusing on how its narrative intertwines with religious doctrine to reflect personal and societal conflicts. Illustrations from biblical passages are used to emphasize judgment and hypocrisy within religious communities. Jesus' teachings about love and grace serve as a counterpoint to the exclusion and condemnation faced by outgroups. The commentary concludes by stressing the importance of compassion over tradition in truly living out religious principles.

Mind Map

Video Q&A

  • What are some lighter songs by Hozier mentioned?

    "From Eden," "Someone New," and "Jackie and Wilson."

  • Why is "Take Me to Church" significant?

    It critiques society's views on LGBTQ issues using religious symbolism.

  • What musical elements define Hozier's style?

    Ominous vocals, soothing reverb, abstract guitar, and sharp piano passages.

  • How does Hozier view humor in his music?

    He infuses a dark sense of humor even in serious themes.

  • What cultural criticism is present in "Take Me to Church"?

    It addresses how oppressive cultural ideas can be pervasive, using their language for self-expression.

  • What does the phrase "Take Me to Church" symbolize in the song?

    It's an allegory for sex and love-making, challenging doctrines that shame natural human experiences.

  • What biblical story is referenced in the discussion?

    The story of Jesus and the adulterous woman where Jesus challenges those without sin to cast the first stone.

  • What is the main theme of the additional commentary on Hozier's work?

    The dichotomy between love and societal abuse, especially within religious contexts.

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Subtitles
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  • 00:00:04
    um to to an extent learning learning how
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    to produce and learning how to
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    articulate the sounds that I wanted to
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    through some of the happier songs
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    through some of the cheerier sounding
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    songs so songs like from Eden uh someone
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    new or jackm Wilson they I had a lot of
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    learning to do there because I I kind of
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    it's a very for me it's I don't know I
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    think it's a very different process with
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    with happy siging songs and one that I
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    didn't have a lot of experience with
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    would take me to church I just I who
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    would think that the person behind some
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    of the most gorgeously jolly and
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    pleasurable pop music of the last decade
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    would be so damn tired I mean H's music
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    is in every coffee shop we walk into
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    every high school girl falls in love
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    with him it's easy to see him and his
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    music is just another Starbucks drink
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    Taylor Swift yeah yeah no there is
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    there's some kind of f some fun stuff
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    obviously that doesn't not all of them
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    are as dark or or as heavy sub as heavy
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    dealing with the subject like to take me
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    to church say um and there's there's
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    humor in it too so there's kind of a I'd
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    have I'd have a pretty dark sense of
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    humor but there's there is humor to even
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    the the sadder stuff I think something
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    like in a week even so which is about
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    two people rotting in a field I think
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    there's a there's there's a certain kind
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    of humor I think that there's you know
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    what I mean Irish people are fantastic
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    at looking at tragic things in a
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    wonderful way and some sometimes there
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    some examples of that on the album I
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    hope yeah she's giggle at a funeral yeah
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    exactly yeah yeah let me get this out of
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    the way H's personality and presence in
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    his music is unlike anybody else his
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    ominous vocal licks the soothing Reverb
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    he throws over abstract electric guitar
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    strumming and the sharp edge to his
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    piano passages are all cornerstones of
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    his Charming yet dark style I really
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    wish this had more influence on the pop
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    scene maybe it doesn't because it's hard
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    to execute this cavernous sound not only
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    as well but as organically as hoser did
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    on his first album but if you'll take
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    just a second and look a little bit
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    deeper with me I think this project
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    reveals some of the most demonic
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    disturbing truths about human desire and
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    love and the thing about it is there's
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    nothing pretty about that relating to
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    someone who can't even relate to his own
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    song's light-hearted sounds is something
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    that no person should have to go through
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    but when we look at the true meta
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    narrative in your self-titled project
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    the man has been through it all and see
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    that's why abuse is so pervasive it
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    hides in the most ominous of places the
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    seductive beauty of infatuation the most
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    innocent manifestations of love and it
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    uses that desire for love to abuse us
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    and there are no two greater ways to
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    experience love than through romance and
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    church take me to church huge amount of
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    of references to religiosity I'd say in
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    take me to church I think I was using a
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    lot of that language as a way to use a
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    language against itself sometimes a
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    culture or an oppressive idea in culture
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    is so pervasive and is so widespread
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    that even li even expressing yourself
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    against it or liberating yourself
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    against that it's so ingrained in the
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    language and it's so engrained in the
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    culture that you are forced to use that
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    language to even express yourself
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    against it and so that was kind of the
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    idea with with that take me to church is
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    such a booming powerful sounding song
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    that the true artistic potency of its
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    writing became lost in its shadow as it
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    launched hoer to startom the song is
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    certainly a 2010's classic but the
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    bitter critique of society's reception
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    to the lgbtq upsurge is way too
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    overlooked hoer is instantly upfront
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    with his views and the subject matter he
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    would bring to the table on this album
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    and we don't know it yet but he's
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    flipping his own concept on its head
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    before we even know what it is yes he's
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    throwing the church under the bus here
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    but the song isn't inherently about
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    religious organizations they're just one
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    of the culprits in a broader phenomenon
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    the track addresses because it's very
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    poetic text um yeah I mean the song is
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    it's a love song I suppose so it's um
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    but I think it's it's it's about the
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    experience of loving someone and the
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    experience of of of you know yeah of
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    loving somebody and and looking at that
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    as a very as a very natural thing one of
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    the most natural things about The Human
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    Experience and one of the few wonderful
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    things you have to look forward to as a
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    person and um it it it so it's take me
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    to church as kind of um an allegory I
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    suppose for for you know for sex or love
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    making and it's also about those
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    organizations that would teach people to
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    be ashamed of those certain aspects of
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    themselves so um certain church doctrine
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    that might say discrimination based on
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    on gender or sexual orientation gender
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    inequality or the idea that you know
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    even just a child being born is
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    something that is sinful and needs to be
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    forgiven so and in in in those in that
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    regard I think it it undermines
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    fundamentally a very natural part of a
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    human experience and what it is to be a
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    human being and so it's kind of a
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    reflection on that and and I suppose in
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    a kind of a tongue-in-cheek way it's
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    kind of you know electing a new form of
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    something that you can is something
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    that's tangible and something that's
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    worth giving your life to which I think
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    the way he says take me to church is
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    kind of sarcastic you know like he's
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    using it as a joke or
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    [Music]
  • 00:05:51
    something verse one is an excellent
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    illustration of what it feels like to be
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    someone who has been rejected by a group
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    of people for something that is natural
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    to them one of my favorite lines goes
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    every Sunday is getting more bleak a
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    fresh poison each week which is an
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    illusion to how you go to church on
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    Sunday to hear teaching that should be
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    lifegiving and helpful but instead hoer
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    and his lover are cultivating an
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    increasingly morbid picture of their
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    lifestyle since the fresh poison he
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    refers to is that teaching describing a
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    new way that he's a heathen we'll say
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    it's an excellent illustration of where
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    the disconnect arises going to church is
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    nothing but life dealing for them
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    everything they're hearing doesn't
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    represent the love they came to receive
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    it's just being reinforced every single
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    weekend with condemnation but the
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    sickness he was born with is the only
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    true happiness that exists in his life
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    and so why why would we do anything
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    except run when the only thing that
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    awaits us from the institution is
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    [Music]
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    vilification that line is so interesting
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    to me I'll tell you my sins so you can
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    sharpen your knife I mean in churches we
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    believe that all have fallen short right
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    and the more we fall short the more it
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    reveals God's capacity for grace and
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    love so if we truly believe that someone
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    is screwing up in their life shouldn't
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    it make our knife doer shouldn't it just
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    make us more inclined to be welcoming
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    and loving and to wrap our arms around
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    them to show that our care for them is
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    greater than our preconceived notions
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    I suppose
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    not there's no greater insult in the
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    Bible than to be called religious and
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    that's still true
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    [Music]
  • 00:07:48
    [Music]
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    now Jesus went to the mountain of olives
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    and early in the morning he came to the
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    temple and all the people came to him
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    and he sat down and taught them the
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    scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a
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    woman taken part in adultery and when
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    they set her in the midst they said to
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    him Master this woman is taken in
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    adultery the very act Moses and the law
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    commanded us that such should be stoned
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    what do you say this they said tempting
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    him that they might have to accuse him
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    instead Jesus stooped down and with his
  • 00:08:22
    finger wrote on the ground as though he
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    didn't hear them when they continued
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    asking he lifted himself up and said to
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    them he who is without sin Let Him cast
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    the first stone and again he stooped
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    down and rode on the ground and when
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    they heard him being convicted by their
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    own conscience went out one by one
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    beginning at the eldest until the
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    youngest and Jesus was left alone the
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    woman standing in his midst when Jesus
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    lifted himself up and saw none but the
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    woman he said to her where are your
  • 00:08:52
    accusers she said no man Lord and Jesus
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    said to her I don't condemn you either
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    go and sin no no
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    more we tend to cast a lot of stones you
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    know I mean anything that's different
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    from us that makes us uncomfortable we
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    attack it and it's worth asking the
  • 00:09:13
    question of why our first instinct is to
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    destroy rather than
  • 00:09:19
    [Music]
  • 00:09:26
    understand so of course the only true
  • 00:09:29
    end to this tale is a severance of any
  • 00:09:32
    connection previously possible between
  • 00:09:34
    hoer and the institution these lines
  • 00:09:37
    that end the last verse are a primal
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    illustration of Breaking Free of
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    religious bonds and reclaiming your
  • 00:09:43
    Humanity hoer describes the people being
  • 00:09:45
    thrown out of the church as eating the
  • 00:09:46
    high horse of religion which is to say
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    that they conquer the people's judgment
  • 00:09:50
    and use the remains of their ideology to
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    nourish their new one destroying the
  • 00:09:55
    high horse would nourish so many it
  • 00:09:57
    would fix so many people's lives and yet
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    we're
  • 00:10:02
    scared at least I'm scared to challenge
  • 00:10:07
    such longstanding and well-established
  • 00:10:09
    perspectives I think that's why this
  • 00:10:11
    song sounds so Primal the language on it
  • 00:10:15
    worshiping like dogs illustrations of
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    starving outcasts sharpening a blade at
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    the altar while the outcast is on their
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    knees seeking
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    forgiveness just to destroy them with it
  • 00:10:26
    there's something demonic about
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    complacency but it's not grandiose only
  • 00:10:32
    a revolution can sound as dramatic as
  • 00:10:35
    [Music]
  • 00:10:37
    this when the ritual
  • 00:10:40
    begins there is
  • 00:10:43
    noet in the
  • 00:10:48
    s in the madness
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    and
  • 00:10:53
    [Music]
  • 00:10:55
    of only then I am human
  • 00:11:00
    [Music]
  • 00:11:04
    the bridge is so unclear it's so open
  • 00:11:07
    for interpretation that I can see
  • 00:11:09
    infinite practical scenes he's
  • 00:11:11
    describing but I think the
  • 00:11:12
    open-endedness was intentional to either
  • 00:11:15
    depict the outcast winning this eternal
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    battle or the complacent it all hinges
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    on what the ritual is referring to if
  • 00:11:22
    the ritual is the knife finally being
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    sharpened and destroying the born
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    sickness in him that's how he's cleansed
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    from their perspective cleansed by death
  • 00:11:33
    and destruction the sweet innocence of
  • 00:11:35
    his gentle sin was his undoing and the
  • 00:11:38
    sad Earthly scene is the destruction of
  • 00:11:40
    the outcasts will the complacent wipe
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    the blood off their knife and to them
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    it's the only way to make him clean or
  • 00:11:49
    in another reality the revolution does
  • 00:11:51
    take place there are no Masters now
  • 00:11:54
    because the outcasts have had enough
  • 00:11:57
    they've used their knife against the
  • 00:11:58
    complacent and stuck up for their
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    sickness once and for all they've
  • 00:12:02
    finally broken free of their bonds and
  • 00:12:04
    partaken in gentle sin so finally once
  • 00:12:08
    and for all they've reclaimed their
  • 00:12:10
    humanity and live freely I guess the
  • 00:12:13
    question is which one of those two took
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    place there's something else that Jesus
  • 00:12:21
    said something that if you're a
  • 00:12:23
    Christian like me I want you to hold on
  • 00:12:26
    to some Pharisees and teachers of the
  • 00:12:28
    religious La now arrived to see Jesus
  • 00:12:31
    they asked him why do your disciples
  • 00:12:34
    disobey the age-old tradition they
  • 00:12:36
    ignore our tradition of ceremonial
  • 00:12:38
    handwashing before they eat Jesus
  • 00:12:40
    replied and why do you by your
  • 00:12:43
    Traditions violate the direct
  • 00:12:44
    commandment of God God says honor your
  • 00:12:47
    father and mother and anyone who speaks
  • 00:12:49
    disrespectfully of their father and
  • 00:12:51
    mother must be put to death and yet you
  • 00:12:53
    say it's all right for people to say to
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    their parents sorry I can't help you I
  • 00:12:57
    vowed to give to God what I would have
  • 00:12:59
    given to you in this way you say they
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    don't need to honor their parents and so
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    you cancel the word of God for the sake
  • 00:13:05
    of your own tradition you Hypocrites
  • 00:13:08
    look if there's something that makes you
  • 00:13:10
    uncomfortable because you don't agree
  • 00:13:12
    with it or because you think it's wrong
  • 00:13:14
    it's not an excuse for condemnation I
  • 00:13:17
    think that Jesus would want us to
  • 00:13:19
    welcome these people who so many would
  • 00:13:21
    look at and treat as lesser than whether
  • 00:13:24
    that's a social class or sexual
  • 00:13:25
    orientation a lifestyle Choice whatever
  • 00:13:28
    your belief fun how the best way to live
  • 00:13:30
    your life is should never matter more
  • 00:13:32
    than loving
  • 00:13:34
    people and it's that
  • 00:13:36
    simple hey all I hope that you enjoyed
  • 00:13:38
    this video I just wanted to pop in and
  • 00:13:40
    say that this is just the first few
  • 00:13:42
    minutes of a very long commentary on the
  • 00:13:44
    entire album I've made a much longer
  • 00:13:46
    40-minute video that covers every song
  • 00:13:48
    and the concept of H your self-titled in
  • 00:13:51
    detail and I have to say I really liked
  • 00:13:53
    making this one I'm not sure when or if
  • 00:13:55
    I'll release it publicly but if you want
  • 00:13:57
    to get early access to the video and
  • 00:13:59
    hours of additional content I'd
  • 00:14:01
    encourage you to please go join my
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    patreon Linked In the description it's
  • 00:14:04
    the community that keeps my channel
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    alive so if you join you'll be
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    contributing to these Channel survival
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    and success I also make content based on
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    my patreon subscribers recommendations
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    so you'll be able to influence what I
  • 00:14:15
    make in the future with that said thank
  • 00:14:17
    you guys for doing that and here's the
  • 00:14:19
    intro to the rest of the
  • 00:14:21
    video so a lot of my regular viewers
  • 00:14:24
    know this but I'm a church kid I spent
  • 00:14:27
    my whole life being told that I'm called
  • 00:14:29
    to love live a life of self-sacrifice
  • 00:14:31
    that I could never possibly live up to
  • 00:14:34
    I've learned since I was a baby that I'm
  • 00:14:35
    to throw myself under the bus for the
  • 00:14:37
    sake of loving others and yet the church
  • 00:14:40
    is known as one of the most judgmental
  • 00:14:41
    groups of people in America if there's
  • 00:14:43
    one thing we learn from the Bible it's
  • 00:14:46
    that your beliefs don't matter your
  • 00:14:48
    political opinions are irrelevant our
  • 00:14:51
    only priority is making the person
  • 00:14:53
    across from us feel valued and wanted
  • 00:14:55
    and yet so Many religious people have
  • 00:14:57
    done everything in their power to make
  • 00:14:59
    lgbtq people unseen to make them feel
  • 00:15:02
    worthless to make them feel like they
  • 00:15:04
    shouldn't have rights it's horrible I'm
  • 00:15:07
    not taking a theological or political
  • 00:15:09
    stance when I say this believe me I just
  • 00:15:11
    care about sticking up for people who
  • 00:15:13
    feel
  • 00:15:14
    marginalized and I think that hoer does
  • 00:15:16
    too the ultimate irony of Take Me to
  • 00:15:19
    Church in context with the album is that
  • 00:15:21
    it describes what people usually refer
  • 00:15:22
    to as an abuse of love when it's just
  • 00:15:25
    natural for so many you want to see what
  • 00:15:28
    a real twisting of Love looks
  • 00:15:31
    like well have we got a show for
  • 00:15:36
    you my and boyf toying somewhere between
  • 00:15:42
    love and abuse hoer Wast no time
  • 00:15:46
    introducing us to the greater concept at
  • 00:15:48
    hand so I won't either the album is in
  • 00:15:51
    so many ways a project about dichotomy
Tags
  • Hozier
  • Take Me to Church
  • music analysis
  • LGBTQ
  • religion
  • culture
  • society
  • humor
  • humanity
  • oppression