How much is Unreal Unearth inspired by Dante’s Inferno? — Album Analysis (Part 1)

Hozier released his debut single, Take Me To Church, on September 13th 2013. It goes without saying the impact the song had on the masses, with Hozier establishing the themes that would accompany his career: religion, activism and devotion. More than a decade later, we now have three albums, as well as several EP’s. His latest project Unreal Unearth is conceptualized around Dante’s Inferno, where Dante has to go through the nine circles of hell to get back to safety. The album was followed by two EP’s, Unheard and Unaired, which are part of the same universe. In this article, I will go through the connections between the novel and the project, as well as analyze the meaning of the lyricism. 

This is the first article in a three part analysis. 

Keep in mind this is solely my interpretation based on my knowledge of the album and book, as well as personal thoughts. 

Descent — The descent into Hell

Although not given much time in the book, Hozier dedicates two songs to the descent. They are De Selby (Part 1) and De Selby (Part 2). De Selby is a fictional character in Flann O’Brien’s The Third Policeman. As a philosopher and psychologist, De Selby was someone who analyzed the world around him. Hozier establishes the atmosphere of the album by naming this specific character, drawing similarities between them. 

And sit unseen

With only the inner upheld 

Your reflection can’t offer word

To the bliss of not knowing yourself 

With all mirroring gone from the world

The narrator is lost because of the loss — whether it’s the loss of self or the loss of another, they don’t know who they are anymore. Their reflection is gone as they lay in the dark, both physical and metaphorical darkness as a state of mind. 

At last 

When all of the world is asleep 

You take in the blackness of air

We tend to fall apart when we’re on our own, often at night when we’re left alone with the thoughts we try to avoid.

There is a bright light

But comes the night

Confused, together, transformed 

Art is change, it is a dark art

(Irish translation)

Hozier described this part in Irish as: “You arrive to me like nightfall. Although you’re a being of great lightness, I experience you like night time.” 

This part brings the meaning to a new level. While it could be about a person, one’s own self or someone else, the interpretation widens to faith and the questioning of the fabric of the universe. Essentially, Hozier wonders why this being would bestow such destruction upon him. In the beginning of Inferno, Dante is having a crisis. He finds himself facing a beast in the woods, where he is rescued by Virgil who promises to save him if only he’d stop lamenting. In order to do so, he decrees that Dante needs to go to hell to see true suffering. 

De Selby Part II shows the narrator, or Dante, accepting this compromise. He is utterly lost and is willing to try everything to get back to himself. 

The metaphor of the album is revealed here. Hozier is comparing going through the grief of a break up to going through the nine circles of hell in order to get back to your life. It is easy to lose sight of who you are when you’re in a relationship because of maybe focusing on them, or the image you want them to see of you. When they’re no longer there, it feels insurmountable. 

First Circle — Limbo 

The circle of Limbo concerns the people who were not baptized, so whose lives didn’t cross the threshold of resurrection in the Christian religion. First Time explores being in limbo after the relationship ended because the narrator considered their significant other their future, and now they will not take part in that sacrament (whether it’s connecting to marriage or birth therefore baptism). The first circle is where poets and well-meaning figures reside. It shows even if they knew God, if their faith in god wasn’t “true”, they’d still be stuck in limbo. 

And if the soul if that’s what you’d call it 

Uneasy ally of the body 

It felt nameless as a river undiscovered underground

Hozier writes with meaning, so it’s no wonder that the suffix “un-“  is often used in his lyrics and titles. It is the opposition of a word — going against the definition of the word’s nature. Here he talks about the loneliness of not being known, which will later return as a theme in Unknown / Nth. 

Some part of me must have died

The first time that you called me baby 

Some part of me came alive

The first time that you called me baby

There is this opposition that keeps coming back. The narrator is wilfully putting himself aside, surrendering himself to the promise of being known. 

These days I think I owe my life to flowers 

That were left here by my mother

Once again playing on the duality of life and death. Flowers are often left at someone’s grave in a sign of remembrance, but what brings in the double meaning is the use of the word “owe”. He owes his life to flowers because they remind him that he’s alive and part of a bigger ecosystem than the grief he has inside. The small details of life, such as flowers, remind him of what it is to be alive. That comes back to the reason for Dante’s trip to the underworld — he is there to be reminded that there is greater suffering and he is not dead yet. On the contrary, he can survive. 

This life lived mostly underground 

Unknowing either sight nor sound 

Til reaching up for sunlight

Just to be ripped out by the stem

Trusting the world to be kind to him when opening his life to being known, but instead he is betrayed and taken away from the ground that gave him his life. By the stem insinuates that the betrayal is beyond repair — he will not be growing again. 

To share the space with simple living things 

Infinitely suffering but fighting off 

Like all creation 

The absence of itself anyways 

We circle back to the premise of finding comfort in the smallest details. Every living thing fights to survive in the conditions they were given. Considering that common point is giving hope to him. In the context of Inferno, the creatures suffering are the souls in limbo, who will not find peace and have to come to terms with their circumstances. 

Hozier mentions the river Lethe, saying “the first time that you kissed me, I drank dry the river Lethe”. This river represents oblivion, however Dante gave the body of water a new meaning of earthly heaven. What I believe Hozier is saying is that he abandoned himself for the heaven that this person’s lips promised him.

Second Circle — Lust

In this one, love, or lust, was the inhabitants demise. There’s mention of Achilles, who got trapped by Paris and shot him because he wanted to marry Polyxena. Hozier tells the story of Francesca. Based on the character of Francesca da Rimini, who encounters Dante during his journey and tells him why she was doomed to spinning in an eternal hurricane with her lover. While she recounts how they fell in love, her lover stands there and cries. Hozier is giving a voice to this unheard character by writing the song from his perspective. 

If someone asked me at the end

I’d tell them put me back in it

If he was given the chance to undo his “mistake” of falling in love with someone he shouldn’t have, he would still choose the same outcome. 

If I could hold you for a minute

Darling, I’d go through it again 

The love he has for Francesca is beyond greatness, to the point where he’d rather go through eternal doom than never make their encounter. The first lyric is particularly powerful because it doesn’t mention love or lust, it only mentions a mere minute of holding his lover. He would give up everything just for that one moment. 

I would still be surprised if I could find you, darling 

In any life

Being resigned to spending eternity in an endless hurricane isn’t a punishment as long as he’s with her.

When the heart would cease

Ours never knew peace

The use of “ours” plays with the concept of metamorphosis, which is a recurrent theme in the album. They have one heart they share. If we go back to the previous tracks, we now understand why the narrator lost himself in the process. By becoming one with his lover, he couldn’t separate himself from who he was with her. 

Nevertheless, he admits peace is foreign to them. They didn’t have a peaceful existence, so why would he fear the chaos of the afterlife? 

Heaven is not fit 

To house a love like you and I 

Their love is greater than the conventional life most aspire to — but there is also a darkness that surrounds this love that would make it unfit for heaven. 

The journey continues with I, Carrion (Icarian), a direct follow to the events of Francesca. Where the narrator was stuck in the hurricane, here we follow the myth of Icarus who gives himself to the wind. Hozier explains that Icarus loves the person he’s with so greatly that he doesn’t notice he’s falling to his death. It is a tragedy of giving your life up for the love of another. 

Allow the ground to find its brutal way to me

The obvious reference is to Icarus falling from the sky to the ground, but there is the double meaning of allowing death to find him. 

All our weight is just a burden 

Offered to us by the world

Here, Hozier slips a slight hint of activism by saying our problems don’t come from within, but rather from the environment we’re in. If we didn’t have these world issues, we would be unburdened. The sentiment returns later on in Damage Gets Done. At the same time, he admits to the freedom of falling and feeling light for the first time, even if it brings him to the end. 

And though I burn

How could I fall?

When I am lifted by every word you say to me

Although the world is bringing him suffering, being in love is holding him up. His lover’s words are comforting and distract him from the reality of plunging to his death. In other words, ignorance is bliss. 

You have me floating like a feather on the sea

While you’re as heavy as the world

That you hold your hands beneath

His lover is carrying all of their problems on her. There might be issues between them that she is keeping hidden to allow him the state of lightness and bliss. She is supporting him at the same time without letting him see beneath the surface, where she’s holding the weight of the world. Here we have a reference to Atlas, who carries the world on his shoulders. At the same time, not being aware of what’s wrong is what could be causing their demise. 

But if we fall, I only pray

Don’t fall away from me

Returning to Francesca, the narrator would be fine with a less than desirable outcome if it meant being with her for eternity. If they were to end or go through trials, he would be able to withstand them as long as she’s by his side. Even if their relationship were to change, he still wants to have at least a part of her in his existence. 

The second circle is an interesting one, because although the people that are found here have committed the sin of lust, it is merely the consequence of love. But as Hozier sings in Francesca, it is a love that doesn’t respect the norms brought forth by religion, therefore it is categorized as sinful. 

Third Circle — Gluttony

This one is the most obvious with the first single of the album being Eat Your Young. Hozier revealed in an interview that he wrote the songs from the perspective of the capitalist war machine. The regime we live in would rather sacrifice young lives for money and profit, which earns them a place in hell. 

Pull up the ladder when the flood comes

In this circle, the punished go through a never-ending torrent of freezing hail and rain, as well as being eaten time and time again by Cerberus, the three-headed dog. This lyric references how the regime lets young people fend for themselves and essentially drown while the ones at the top of the ladder are safe and sound. It is interesting how he draws a comparison between what the damned did in their lifetime, which landed them with the revenge of the afterlife. 

Throw enough rope until the legs have swung

Seven new ways that you can eat your young 

The number seven is intriguing in this context because of all the lists of seven there are – including the seven capital sins, which often coincide with the nine circles of hell. However, Hozier clarified it was not an intentional number, he just thought “seven” sounded better. 

These two lines talk about how if you take enough from young people, you give them enough reasons to feel desperate and hopeless to the point where they turn towards suicide. 

Skinning the children for a war drum 

Putting food on the table selling bombs and guns

It’s quicker and easier to eat your young

Sending children off to war and marketing it as patriotism and heroism, instead of showcasing the horrors war brings – not only to the people directly involved, but to the physical and mental health of these young people who are barely starting their lives. Hozier often criticizes the state of the world in his music, activism being a primordial part of his artistry. 

It’s a kindness, highness,

Crumbs enough for everyone

Old and young are welcome to the meal

Referring to giving someone the bare minimum and telling them they should be grateful to even receive those crumbs of kindness. The war machine creates an environment where they can control the people from revolting against authority, and making sure the hostility is on their side. There is also a certain irony in the lyrics due to the invitation at the end. They are framing the killing of innocents as a necessary sacrifice in order to save the rest. 

We can celebrate 

The good that we’ve done

It all becomes about glory. The people in power pat themselves on the back for winning wars with disregard towards the lives lost. 

If there’s something still to take

There is ground to break

Whatever is still to come

The track fits perfectly within the sin of gluttony. They will not be satisfied once they have a taste of the glory. They will want more and more, putting aside the violent means to get there. 

Fourth Circle — Greed

When Dante and Virgil walk through this circle, they do not interact with anyone. The inhabitants are boiled in molten gold, to reflect their avarice while they were alive. On the album, Hozier reflects on our impact on the planet through Damage Gets Done. It is one of the happiest tracks on the album, mirroring the naivety of young people. Hozier asks the question, what is the limit between having fun and leaving damage behind?

Without shame, two outfits then to my name

Being lower class is often a source of shame for the people who are living in it, but Hozier counteracts by saying he felt shameless back then, rather than later on when he gains wealth. 

And we’d sleep on somebody’s floor

Wake up feeling like a millionaire

Having money leads to wanting more money. What is important are the memories they made, because the gold will lead them to their demise. 

We knew what our love was worth 

Now we’re always missing something

I miss when we did not need much 

Hozier brings to the table the fact that greed led them to their issues. Their love was worth gold, but now that money’s involved, it’s a subject of discussion that they might disagree on. With the line of “Now we’re always missing something”, he encapsulates the definition of greed – there will always be more to acquire.

You were steering my heart like a wheel in your hands

The narrator confesses that the other person had complete control over them and over the direction of the relationship. It is important to note that Hozier uses the past tense in this song, reflecting on a time that is long gone. 

I don’t know how the feeling ended but

I know being reckless and young

Is not how the damage gets done

All I needed was someone

When the whole wide world felt young

The chorus circles back to the themes of Eat Your Young and how capitalism and war profits off young people. The narrator says that he felt the most alive when he had nothing, because back then he had everything. He had the love without complications, the freedom to go anywhere, and the happiness that is lacking in the present tense. 

Fifth Circle — Wrath 

Who We Are is a complete turn from the previous light-hearted tone of Damage Gets Done. As previously mentioned, Hozier makes a point of using the past tense in Damage Gets Done to establish it as reminiscence of better times. Who We Are is rooted in the present, in the darkness that surrounds him. Belonging to the circle of Wrath, Who We Are explores the nature of anger and the consequences. 

You only feel it when it’s lost

Getting through still has its cost

He refers to the phenomenon of not being grateful for what you have until it’s out of your hands. This starting line sets the atmosphere for the rest of the lyrics.

Quietly, it slips through your fingers, love

Falling from you drop by drop 

Inferno’s fifth circle punishes the guilty by either drowning them in the River Styx, or making them fight each other on the swamp depending on whether they showed their anger or they kept it hidden. Virgil describes them as “souls over whom anger prevailed”. In Hozier’s lyrics, “quietly” insinuates the narrator doesn’t realize the other person is drifting away and he’s losing her. It is reminiscent of I, Carrion (Icarian) where one person bears all the weight in the relationship. The unexpressed anger and resentment of this person leads to the end of the relationship. Here begins the analogy of water, reflecting the River Styx of the fifth circle. The loss of the person didn’t happen all of sudden, although that is how he felt it. It was gradual, the result of a series of details instead of a specific event.  

What I had left here 

I just held it tight

So someone with your eyes

Might come in time

To hold me like water

Or Christ, hold me like a knife

Eyes are considered the mirror of the soul, so essentially he is saying he was waiting for a person with a similar soul to save him. Continuing the narration of the album, he admits to the parts of himself he lost. He wants this person to hold him, because by showing him love, she would keep him from falling apart. It is reflecting on a relationship that already ended, but one he can’t let go of. “To hold me like water / Or Christ, hold me like a knife” refer to the two types of people found in the fifth circle. Water is a necessity, but it also slips away through fingers if you’re not careful. The narrator wants the person to need him and see him as a necessity, but also be careful with him. On the opposite, holding him like a knife is solid, and has the implication of acting out of fear – fear of losing him. He wants his partner to feel what he has felt when losing her “out of the blue”. 

You and I burned out our steam

Chasing someone else’s dream

They got lost in the possibilities of a better future, and forgot the fundamentals of the relationship. “Steam” is evaporated water, a state that occurs after boiling for a long time, which is another metaphor for their relationship. They kept their anger hidden until they were nothing but a faint trace of what was.

We gave our time to something undefined 

This phantom life

Sharpens like an image

But it sharpens like a knife

Going back to the life they lived together becoming transparent, he now sees clear on how they got to the break of the relationship. When “it sharpens like a knife”, it’s the delayed hurt of the past passing by unnoticed, knowing they could’ve saved the common life they had. However, that is gone now because of who they are. He didn’t notice, she kept it to herself. They are both to blame for the way it ended. 

Quietly, it slips through your fingers, love

Falling from you drop by drop

Ending the song with the way it began, he knows it’s impossible to go back. The water, the essential means of survival, has slipped away from them. There is no hope left for rekindling.

In the continuing article, I will analyze the remaining circles through the second half of the album. In the meantime, keep your eyes peeled for next week’s articles!