Song in Focus : 'Cherry Wine' by Hozier

I'm concerned about not turning this blog into a musical journal but I think this is possibly the best I can do at the moment and playing the ukulele, or singing, or understanding and demystifying the basic tenets of how a song is constructed are some things that are making me feel better. 

I have already been asked once or twice if I've been going through something now that I'm not writing very regularly - an honest answer to that would be yes. And not just one thing, but many and as has always been the case, nothing apart from work is working. I've gotten myself into a crisis as bizarre as it could ever get and at the moment that seems undeniable and it's messing with almost everything I've got to do with in life. Period. What's worse still is probably the fact that no matter how close I get to writing an original piece of anything non-academic, or off structure, like a poem or poetic text or a song or something, I simply don't seem to be in the situation to put it together and I firmly believe an inherent part of me has been fundamentally damaged. 

I have been trying to author a political piece on the only political issue I've been writing on for a very long time now - the rise and development of the fascist regime in India, that also happens to be fundamentalist, racist, ultra-misogynist, casteist, far-right and brutally repressive. To add fuel to the fire, they are probably going to come into power again (name-one-fascist-regime-that-wasn't-elected-via-the-farce-of-representative-democracy-in-a-capitalist-context) and we're so doomed for the coming years. 


(Photograph Source: National Rock Review)


Coming back to the forte, I think Hozier does write very evidently political songs. Although he wouldn't admit it, 'Take Me To Church' is literally an anthem and very few people would have the guts to pen down something like that thriving in the global music industry. 'Cherry Wine', in that context, resembles 'Nina Cried Power' and is a beautiful, delightful culmination of tenderness and scars. I wouldn't say this is the best Hozier has written given that 'Shrike' or 'Take Me to Church' are breathtaking in terms of poetry. Although 'Cherry Wine' is good poetry, it does not send chills down your spine, but the videography might end up giving you goosebumps. 

Lyrics

Her eyes and words are so icy, ohh, but she burns
Like rum on a fire
Hot and fast and angry as she can be
I walk my days on a wire
It looks ugly
But it's clean
Oh mama, don't fuss over me

The way she tells me I'm hers and she's mine
Open hand or closed fist would be fine
The blood is rare and sweet as cherry wine

Calls of guilty thrown at me all while she stains
The sheets of some other
Thrown at me so powerfully, just like she throws
With the arm of her brother
But I want it
It's a crime
That she's not around most of the time

The way she shows me I'm hers and she's mine
Open hand or closed fist would be fine
The blood is rare and sweet as cherry wine

Her fight and fury is fiery, ohh, but she loves
Like sleep to the freezing
Sweet and right and merciful, I'm all, but washed
In the tide of her breathing

And it's worth it
It's divine
I have this some of the time
The way she shows me I'm hers and she's mine
Open hand or closed fist would be fine
The blood is rare and sweet as cherry wine

The lyrics are oriented towards the presence of a woman whereas the entire content of the video relates to domestic violence practised on a woman. Now, this is something truly brilliant and Saoirse Ronan is a wonderful artist herself. 

Hozier also has a very sweet, almost melting kind of quality to his voice which literally adds value to whatever he sings. His involvement with his songs are almost visible to the eye once you hear him. Also, it's good to listen to him without having to look at him because that's truly distracting. 😛

The instrumentals used are a bare minimum and the song is as tender, as feather light as a song could get in its artistic purview. However, the meaning imbibed to its body is a lot more visible once you watch the episode, so there is a parallelism created that
adds to the dynamism of the composition. The song is also more of soul music than R&B, but lovers of both genres as well as appreciators of Indie music would easily like it. It's a treat to the ears. 


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1 Comments

  1. Andrew John Hozier-Byrne or simply Hozier (born 17th March 1999) is a singer, songwriter as well musician by profession from Ireland.
    https://www.biographydiary.com/andrew-john-hozier-byrne/

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