Like yes he loves women, but he’s not the only one
BY KRYSTA MCKENZIE, IMAGE BY SEAN ROWE/FLICKR
I know… he’s a cis straight man but hear me out! At the moment in music, it’s quite common for women to sing about their lovers in a poetic way, but it is much more rare to hear a man sing about a woman in a way that expresses his unabashed devotion. And of the male singers that do it, Hozier’s lyricism aligns so strongly with how people in lesbian relationships describe their love for their partners. It’s love in all its extremities and intensities. In the group of musicians that sing about women as if they are gods… there are only sapphics and then Hozier. That’s probably why our community — especially lesbians — seem to be such a huge part of his fanbase. Now if you’re a sapphic that hasn’t listened to Hozier’s music yet, strap in, because I’m about to change your life. Here’s why lesbians love Hozier…
hozier is trending so here’s him with the lesbian flag !!! lesbian rights pic.twitter.com/0A3svmg1U9
— alex (@loventhunders) July 21, 2020
…His lyricism
I’m not sure how (some have mused that he’s possessed by a lesbian spirit), but Hozier has mastered the art of lesbian longing. He yearns at a level that many of us can only aspire to reach. Listen to these songs and you’ll see what I mean…
From Eden
Most lesbian lines: “Honey, you’re familiar like my mirror years ago / Idealism sits in prison, chivalry fell on its sword / Innocence died screaming, honey, ask me I should know / I slithered here from Eden just to sit outside your door”
Work Song
Most lesbian lines: “When my time comes around / Lay me gently in the cold dark earth / No grave can hold my body down / I’ll crawl home to her”
Sunlight
Most lesbian lines: “Each day you’d rise with me / Know that I would gladly be / The Icarus to your certainty / Oh my sunlight, sunlight, sunlight”
I could go on about the depths of his pining, but for your reading pleasure I’ll leave it at that.
…He’s a true romantic
Hozier really gets that love and romance is not just about the depths of what you would do or where you would go for you lover. It’s also very much about taking delight in the simple intimacies that you experience when you’re in a relationship. Take this song for example…
Like Real People Do
When he sings, “Honey just put your sweet lips on my lips, we could just kiss like real people do”, I think a lot about queer relationships. For LGBTQIA people, little things like kissing are not always so easy, and there’s something beautiful about voicing that most basic desire.
…He’s political
Now even with all the yearning and romance, it’s hard as a queer woman or non-binary person to be a fan of someone if we don’t know at least a little about their politics. Luckily for us, Hozier is extremely vocal about his politics in a way that is really exciting to hear in popular music. Of course, there’s Take Me To Church in which he sang about homophobia in relgion and depicted gay couples in his music video, but he’s political voice doesn’t stop there. Take a look at the lyrics for a couple of his most political songs…
Eat Your Young
Think about these lines: “Skinnin’ the children for a war drum / Puttin’ food on the table sellin’ bombs and guns / It’s quicker and easier to eat your young”
Foreigner’s God
Think about these lines: “Her eyes look sharp and steady / Into the empty parts of me / But still my heart is heavy / With the hate of some other man’s beliefs”
Be
Think about these lines: “When the man who gives the order is born next time ’round on the boat sent back / When the bodies starving at the border / Are on TV given people the sack / Love, when the sea rises to meet us / Oh, when there’s nothing left for you and I to do / Oh, when there is nobody upstairs to receive us / When I have no kind words left, love, for you”
In short, lesbians love Hozier because he just GETS us!
DIVA magazine celebrates 28 years in print in 2022. If you like what we do, then get behind LGBTQIA media and keep us going for another generation. Your support is invaluable.
