Take Me to Church Summary

Jacob Junell, Marcus Rivers, Donavon Ferrell

Professor Zaira M. Crisafulli

English 1301

04 October 2016

Have you ever been in a relationship that was so taboo or unusual, that most people, or even yourself, see it as frowned upon or reason to be cast out, due to its nature? If you answered yes to the question, don’t be ashamed, as this seems to actually be a common occurrence in today’s society. With all of today's talk and controversy on how society should behave or act, we believe we have stumbled on a man who wants to stand up for different views. Andrew Hozier’s “Take Me to Church”, depicts different mind sets a person may go through during a certain relationship.

Recent research shows that being in love produces a chemical known as dopamine. Romantic feelings in a person causes the release of dopamine, which simulates a feeling of euphoria. This chemical is known to cause addictions to substances such as drugs and alcohol. In this song, Hozier shows his love addiction to this woman by saying,” Let me give you my life”. Like with all addictions, the addict has no regard for their own life and commits themselves to their addiction.

Andrew Hozier was born and raised in Bray County, Wicklow, Ireland. The religion practiced in Ireland is primarily Roman Catholic. We believe this plays a small role throughout his song. Hozier has claimed that his song is not talking bad upon Roman Catholicism, but shows how and why others will judge him for the way he acts. “Take me to church” is a line that is used to describe a new way he worships. He wants people to know that sin does happen, however, because of his way of being raised, he knows it is wrong in the eyes of his church. The lines “I was born sick, but I love it / Command me to be well” were said to be inspired in Hozier by the poem “Chorus Sacerdotum”. Here, they show that he accepts he is a sinner, and wants to be clean, but sin is an addiction. “Command me to be well” is a small window to the inside showing the Roman Catholic religion, in which it is believed the priest will hear your sins and they will be absolved. Throughout history, religion has paved a road that most society believes we should follow.

The Marquis de Sade once stated, "Lust is to the other passions what the nervous fluid is to life; it supports them all, lends strength to them all ambition, cruelty, avarice, revenge, are all founded on lust." (Goodreads) We believe that Hozier had a very similar feeling during sections of the song. For instance, one line in the song says,” She’s the giggle at a funeral / She's everybody's disapproval.” This can be taken to mean that even if others have disagreed with their relationship and actions, he's still longing for the companionship. No matter what the cost may be, even if it's being shunned or cast out, the lust for that person is so blinding that he is willing to endure anything. The bedroom being his "church" also insinuates that sex is the main focal point. "Offer me that deathless death / Good God let me give you my life" is a reference to the French saying “le petite morte.” This saying means the little death, which in France is referred to as an orgasm. One will think of it as they will, but lust is an extremely strong force which drives most people to do anything for the object of their desire.