There are some songs that have a serious message but an addictive beat that gets anyone who hears them jamming. One such song is “Take Me To Church” by the Irish musician Andrew Hozier-Byrne (he goes by just Hozier). Hozier released “Take Me To Church” as his debut single in 2013 as a free download. Yes, it was really free. He was a struggling musician at the time and was just happy to get his music out there. The
backstory of how “Take Me To Church” was written is fascinating.
When he was writing his first hit,
Hozier was still living in his parents’ home in Ireland, and he wrote and recorded the song in its entirety in their attic. He was actually recovering from a
painful breakup and wrote what was in his heart. Written as a mid-tempo soul song, the lyrics describe a romantic relationship using religious terminology. After it caught the attention of independent label Rubyworks, the producer overdubbed Hozier’s original demo with some live instruments, but only two musicians were featured on the track: Hozier himself and Fiachra Kinder, a drummer.
Source: YouTube
One of the things that drove people to the song was its unforgettable music video that was directed by Conal Thomason and Brendan Canty. The video followed two men who were in a relationship and the resulting
homophobic backlash. When it was released on YouTube in September 2013, it quickly went viral. That led to Hozier being signed with Island Records in the U.K. and Columbia Records in the U.S. In 2014, “Take Me To Church” reached the top of the charts in 12 countries and was aided along because of the platforms of Shazam and Spotify. In the U.S., the song spent 23 consecutive weeks at number one on the Hot Rock Songs chart and later crossed over to the Billboard Hot 100. On that chart, it peaked in the number two slot. “Take Me To Church” received a Grammy Award nomination and has been certified platinum five times.
Source: YouTube
In the video below, award-winning singer and songwriter Ed Sheeran does this epic song some beautiful justice.
