As It Was by Hozier Lyrics Meaning – Unveiling the Tapestry of Emotion in Song
Lyrics
Never I’d had life enough
My heart is screaming out
And in a few days I would be there, love
Whatever here that’s left of me is yours just as it was
Just as it was, baby
Before the otherness came
And I knew its name
The love, the dark, the light, the flame
The eyes at the heights of my baby
Let’s hope at the fight of my baby
The lights were as bright as my baby
But your love was unmoved
And tell me if somehow some of it remained
How long you would wait for me?
How long I’ve been away?
The shape that I’m in now is shaping the doorway
Make your good love known to me
Just tell me about your day
Just as it was, baby
Before the otherness came
And I knew its name
The drugs, the dark, the light, the shame
Eyes at the hights of my baby
And this hope at the fight of my baby
And the lights were as bright as my baby
But your love was unmoved
And the sights were as stark as my baby
And the cold was as sharp as my baby
And the nights were as dark as my baby
Half as beautiful too
In the world of evocative songwriting, Hozier stands as a beacon of depth and poetry. With ‘As It Was’, the musician weaves a complex tapestry of nostalgia and personal evolution, creating a musical piece that resonates with the emotional landscapes we traverse in the face of change.
The song captures a dichotomy of the past and present, a longing for the simplicity of a ‘before’ against the altered landscape of an ‘after.’ It’s an odyssey through the uncharted waters of the soul, brilliantly captured in the haunting melodies and vivid lyrics that are signature to Hozier’s artistry.
The Haunting Call of Memory: ‘As It Was’ at a Glance
The song begins with a place ‘muddy and foxgloved,’ an emblem of the untainted, wild, and the free. The imagery Hozier employs is not just a setting but also a character in its own right—earthy, raw, and teeming with life. Yet, this is also the backdrop for the narrator’s realization that despite the vibrancy around, something within, perhaps innocence or simplicity, has been lost.
Coupled with the calling of a heart that ‘screams out,’ we get our first taste of the visceral yearning that propels the song. These are not just lines but echoes of an internal struggle—between what was and what has become—an ode that tugs at the listener’s own reservoir of memories and lost times.
Navigating Change: The Otherness and its Name
The chorus rings out with the mantra ‘just as it was,’ evoking a time before ‘the otherness came.’ Hozier’s use of ‘otherness’ speaks to a foreign invader of the soul—a shift that separates the past happiness from the present. It’s as if the past were a photograph slowly fading into sepia, while the present is a canvas being painted with uncertain strokes.
In this lyrical introspection, knowing the name of this otherness is almost an act of control. Once named—be it love, drugs, shame, or dark—it becomes less of a spectral force and more of an entity that can be faced. This acknowledgment is both an admission of pain and a step toward understanding, if not resolution.
The Everlasting Glow of the ‘Bright as My Baby’
There’s poignant repetition to the mention of ‘my baby,’ where Hozier layers the song with contrasts. The baby’s eyes, the hope, the lights—all as ‘bright as my baby’—are juxtaposed with the lover’s unmoved emotions. It captures that sense of being in the presence of someone luminous yet untouched and untouchable.
This contrast underscores the disparity between feeling profoundly and the object of those feelings remaining dispassionate. Even as the world shines as brightly as the beloved, their love—or lack thereof—casts a longer, colder shadow over the narrator’s inner world.
The Hidden Heartbeat of ‘As It Was’
Within the depths of ‘As It Was,’ there lies more than just the visible scars of change; there is also an inquiry into the durability of love. Questions like ‘How long you would wait for me?’ and statements like ‘Whatever here that’s left of me is yours just as it was’ raise the curtain on the narrator’s vulnerability.
The song, thus, becomes a confession booth where love’s endurance is questioned, and one’s worth is measured against time and transformation. ‘The shape that I’m in now’ signifies not only physical but also emotional and spiritual contours that have been reshaped by life’s relentless passage.
Memorable Lines: The Lingering Echo of ‘Half as Beautiful Too’
‘And the nights were as dark as my baby, Half as beautiful too’—these lines boldly encapsulate the crux of ‘As It Was.’ The night, synonymous with darkness and often fear, is as forbidding as the love interest but still holds a tragic beauty. This is perhaps the most powerful punch—expressing that even in the sorrow of detachment, there is a painful acknowledgment of allure and charm.
These lyrics do not just serve as memorable hooks but as a poignant reminder of how deeply complex our entanglement with love and loss can be. In the end, the song leaves listeners with a melancholic acceptance of the heart’s journey through shadows to seek out the fading light of a cherished past.
