In an Instagram Q&A, Hozier explained the line “she looks like sleep to the freezing,”, stating that the idea is that if someone who is freezing falls asleep, it will likely kill them, but to them sleep looks very attractive because it is relief of their suffering. So, although she is dangerous and will likely be the end of him, he is not strong enough to overcome her temptation. that line is just so good.

"Like sleep to the freezing" You know it'll kill you, but it's comforting all the same

The saddest aspect of this song is that it's still, first and foremost, a love song.

Wow this song sounds so raw and sweet like honey, yet when you listen to the lyrics it's actually horrifying. The contrast hits you like a brick. Not sure how to feel about this. With that said this song is so beautiful, masterly crafted.

“Oh but she loves, like sleep to the freezing” is probably the most poetic statement I’ll ever know

In 2 of the verses its "The way she tells me" while the 3rd is "The way she shows me" Words turned into actions....

hozier is so underrated

he recorded this at 5 am on a rooftop of an abandoned building.

“Open hand or closed fist would be fine” Hit me really hard

“What do you love about music?” “It can tell us the saddest of tales and stories but it’ll still be so magical”

Oh my goodness 😭 You can hear how soft and silent he is when singing “his part” and how rough and aggressive the music/his voice gets when representing “her part” and it tears me apart

As a child of abuse, the first time I heard this I genuinely broke down. I didnt think I would be able to enjoy it, but after a while of listening to it I came to really realize how much this song makes me remember Im not alone, and its not as impossible as it seems to recover.

this song... sounds so happy and sweet but talks about accepted abuse. i didn't catch the meaning the first few times I listened to it, I was too immersed with the tone 💓💓💓

i dedicate this song to my best friend. his girlfriend is mentally and emotionally abusive and i hope to god he finds someone better. he deserves the world..

Was a child of abuse and this speaks straight to my heart.

I hope anyone finds the strength to leave an abusive person. It's not easy, I know. But it's not impossible

Why do so many of Hozier's songs put a huge lump in my throat and heart. They're so beautiful it hurts, yet I keep coming back for more 😢

the change between "the way she TELLS me im hers" to "the way she SHOWS me im hers" makes me think that he now associates her abusing hand as her way of saying she loves him

this song is like how people say “if there’s more hurt than happy, you should end it” but you want to do anything but that, because sometimes the bad lows are worth the really good highs, even if it doesn’t work out in the end

Does anyone know anymore folk like songs that are this soft and gentle? I just love how quite and sweet they are

I love how raw this song is His voice gives me the chills

dude i've only heard like 2 of hozier's songs and... sounds like he's had a rough life? if he's writing from experience, that is. the songs i've heard have both had depressing lyrics :/

I don’t think people realize that hozier recorded this at 5am on the top of an abandoned hotel that’s why you can hear the birds and he did it all by himself

This song makes me cry because it’s talking about such a destructive thing but he somehow finds a way to change that into such a slow and calming song it’s.... it’s just beautiful and makes me cry every time i listen to the song and makes my younger memory’s flow back.🥺☺️😌

My first time ever hearing this song was a few weeks ago. I was sitting in my room listening to pandora and this came in. Not even halfway through the song I broke down in tears. I was taken back to my childhood when my father would abuse me and my brother behind our mothers back. He told me that if I were to ever say anything then he'd kill my little brother. He would openly abuse our mother in front of us and would abuse drugs and alcohol. He would even drug my mom so she couldn't get out of the bed. He would then rape her. She worked night shift so she was usually asleep or at work. I hid this from my mother and everyone for 9 years. This was until one day I couldn't handle it anymore and was thinking about finally committing suicide. My little brother who is only a year and a half younger than me walked in asking if I'd hang out with him. And I did. Later that night when my mom was about to leave for work I told her that I needed to talk to her. We stood in the yard in the headlights as I pulled my turtleneck off and showed her my bruises. I slowly told her everything that was going on over the course of a few weeks. Finally on my 11th birthday she made him leave and filed for divorce. Me being kindhearted and wanting to believe there was still good in him I gave him one more chance. He continued to be verbally and mentally abusive towards me and my brother for a little over a year. I called it quits and stopped talking to him. My little brother still wanted his dad in his life so we didn't stop him. My brothers 12th birthday he promised to come get my brother for his birthday and hang out with him. After several hours of my little brother waiting he never showed. I called him and went off. I told him if he ever tried to contact me or my brother again I would call the law and file for harrassment and I would get a restraining order against him. I'm about to be 19 and I havent heard from him since I was 14.

this is such a great representation of abusive/ toxic relationship. Stay loving this song 💕

gives me chills every time was once in a relationship like this you never forget it this song brings it all back it follows you like a ghost

It's such a beautiful and mesmerizing song, just as I'm sure it can be absolutely mesmerising to have the person you love be this way to you. Because when you love them you're vulnerable, you want to trust them with your heart your body and your mind. It really shows how sometimes, somehow, despite what they do to you, you can still trust them again, you can continue to trust them over and over again, to the point where you've been convinced that in some way, the abuse is affection. These abusers are terrifying, but sometimes you're so illusioned that they're beautiful to you, mesmerizing even. At least that's the message I got from the song; to say the speaker is illusioned, and so Hozier as the singer wants us not only to see what the speaker doesn't, but also see why they don't. I really appreciate the little things like how he goes up on, "she tells me I'm Hers," and then goes down faintly, softly and still affectionately, but with a subconscious disbelief that, "and she is mine." Honestly this song is gorgeous, and heartbreaking.

this song doesn't seem masochistic at all. more like a serious case of stolkholm syndrom. *edit: i don't mean to say like literal stockholm syndrome as in his lover is a kidnapper, but the feelings associated with stockholm syndrome, yk the whole staying w someone who has wronged you yet for some reason seeing what they've done as affection and staying regardless. i hope this was just a song and nothing else. otherwise, it's really sad he went through this.

This is my favorite song😍❤The lyrics are so beautiful yet they tell of an abusive/toxic relationship so it merges together to form a song that is hauntingly beautiful, some might say.

wow..I’m definitely gonna have a crisis now. knew better than to listen to Hozier at midnight.

Hearing this song makes me think of the times my mom could get very abusive while having one of her frequent bouts of depression. My father could be abusive as well, but he was more of the absent kind. They have both mellowed and sweetened over the years, so we do not speak more of those times. It's like it never happened. Anyway, thanks so much Hozier 💜

I was in plenty of abusive relationships my worst one was this year he would always tell me what to do and always threaten to hit me and always made me do things I hate like not talk to my sister or always told me to not wear that or even worse told me to take my clothes off.....😔😔 but I'm stronger now...I have a fiance who loves me and cares for me and protects me through thick and thin he always has my back and I always have his we may fight sometimes but I love him very very much he is so so so amazing

This is the most beautiful song ive ever heard. "Her fight and fury is fiery oh but she loves like sleep to the freezing" it's the absolute best written lyric I've ever heard.

I mostly feel that this song belongs to the early spring, when there's still snow, but it's almost gone, and you realise that the outside nature finally have a smell again. The smell of the earth. But hey, guess what. I just discovered that it was also really nice to FEEL it with in a coldd day of mid winter. But today, it's a shinny day. The sun is rising and reflect on the snow like a thousand sun in you eyes so your keep them close, or barely open and you feel his hotness keeping you so so warm for a split second and you enjoy it all, you take everything you can and even if you are at your lowest, for a second, you feel all the better in the world. You feel overwhelmed but a cloud take's your sun away and the cold grisp you even harder and the melancholy return.

the lyrics depict a woman beating her boyfriend/husband while the music video depicts a man beating her husband/boyfriend. so all in all Hoizer is a beast, he talks about things in music that people like to sweep under the rug.

Much like Poe's work: sonically wonder and beautiful. Lyrically, macabre and brutal. Great!

I always thought it said "I'm tired of her breathing" instead of "in the tide of her breathing"

died when he sang staining the sheets of some other

I came here to cry but I have been soothed in a sad way

"while she stains the sheet of other" another very beautiful line with deep meaning.

Hozier hits me right where it hurts and I love it so much because it makes me feel alive and brings out all my repressed emotions and in the end I feel better.🕊

“and it’s worth it, it’s divine, i have it some of the time.” :((

Girl at a school talent show played this tonight and I just knew I had to come find it. Happy coincidence about a sad song. Funny how life does that eh?

i love how these heartbreaking lyrics are weaved into a beautiful melody.

this song is so painful to hear, but it’s so comforting, because it feels like you aren’t alone in whatever situation you relate this song to

this song feels like your heart is flying

i love how this song is masked as a love song but looking deeper you realize how abusive the relationship is. it really reflects how relationships can seem perfect on the outside but have dark secrets

This song prepared me for the breakup I didn't know was coming. The lyrics put a lot into perspective. Music really is a wonder.

I know its probably not about this but it really helps me with my recovery from anorexia and bulimia, thankypu and for anyone else who suffers with these stay safe and please try to get help. I know its hard now but it will be worth it 😘❤️ stay strong.

the juxtaposition of the melody vs the meaning... wow. this is art.

This is the most beautiful portrayal of an abusive relationship I've ever heard.

perfect for one sided angst love story between bitter enemies, like one lets the other do whatever they want cuz they love them to much to stop them from doing anything, but its not given back, its just purely one sided,

Wow...this song is so sad, and powerful. Hozier is a poet. I'm blown away by every song.

So many emotions in one song, love it!

" she loves like sleep to the freezing" I know what it is to love an abusive person and good god, its exactly like that

and here I thought this was a love song 😳😶

I seriously believe this song helps me to calm down when I'm feeling anxious or overwhelmed

I kind of get it now The song is sweet, a love song But the lyrics are the painful truth His emotion and love vs reality

Anyone notice that this song is in another key? Look at any other version and you'll see what I'm talking about

Hozier is amazing jfc 💞

his songs hit me in the heart. and his voice gives me goosebumps. obsessed with every. single. song.

Thanks u guys for telling the meaning of beautiful line "like to sleep to freezing" it has really deep meaning.

He's quite the poet, most of us have been in this kind of relationship at one time or another, liked this very much, gonna check him out

I know that no one will ever see this comment but who ever may see this,I just wanted to tell you something Go to a mirror,look into it. Do you see that? 👀 That is a beautiful,and strong person that is worth every star in the sky,and every leaf on every tree. That is someone that deserves the world and so much more. That person is you,ofcourse. Now give yourself a hug. It's ok to cry. Its ok to hurt. Who ever hurt you,they never deserved you. Whoever made you cry was never worth your time. When they did what they did to you they lost an amazing,kind and loving person. You DO matter. Don't settle for someone that causes you such pain,don't settle for someone that tells you lies like "you are worthless" or runs around with someone else. You are better then that. You are better than them. Let them go, believe me I know it is easier said then done,and it's gonna hurt,but eventually you will feel so happy that you did that. Just remember that you are so loved,and people do care.💕💕 Stay strong,you will get through this nOw StArT lOvInG yOuRsElF bEcAuSe YoU aRe PrEtTy fUcKiNg AwEsOmE!! Me >(/･ω･(-ω-)< You

I never knew such a song could be this pretty

hozier is the shakespeare of the music industry

i used to listen to this song carelessly, not a thought in the world as to what the lyrics meant. i’ve just recently made it out of a disgustingly abusive relationship, and only now have i come to understand the real meaning of this song. this is my first time in awhile listening to it, granted, but the way i used to so ignorantly listen to this song hits me hard now, like i’ve been ignoring his (Hozier’s) abuse, as well as my own at the time. i’m so glad i’ve opened my eyes.

This is the very first song to give me chills in a LONG time. Very serious chills

I know this song is about an abusive relationship, but I've always related to it because of my eating disorder. I know it's unhealthy and bad and it makes me upset, but yet when I feel like I'm losing control I always go back to it because it gives me that sense of control and being clean even though it's ugly.

I’ve loved this song for years now and never really listened to it I assumed it was a love song it’s so poetic and gentle and I never listened to the lyrics. But now I have I feel like I understand the song so much more

I love how you can hear the birds in the background it's so raw I love it

I'm also obsessed with this song and I partially relate to it, but to everyone that does experience this... I hope you become safe one day.

I love this song♡

This is the song you listen to when you sit outside your porch on a dark night.

This is a masterpiece.

I listened to this song throughout my teen years and I always thought that it'd be foolish to abuse the man you love. But it happens to everyone. Even movie stars.

Anyone else feel like Hozier doesn't sound like himself here?

I somehow feel like this song is about my relationship with my mom

Because of how this sounds I always assumed this was a sweet love song, this is my first time actually reading the lyrics and oh boy...

!!! Love all Hozier's music

so I just started listening to hozier and LOVE the sound of this song. do any other specific songs have the same sound/vibe as this one? thanks :)

Lyrical finesse like this is so rare in modern music

I listened to this song years ago, learned the lyrics so I can sing it and I used to sing it a lot and only till today, after reading the comments, I see the deeper meaning in this song. Damn ),:

His love songs feel like hymns made to worship his lovers with his entire being holy h e l l this is breathtaking

My relationship of 6 years ended. At first I was sad and really missed him, but now I'm able to see how cold and cruel he was. He never hit me, but he would definitely yell, put me down, and blame me for his problems and for him being unhappy. The convincing yourself it's worth it and focusing on the good parts is so relatable. I always told myself I could never be in a relationship that I wasn't 100% happy in, I now see that I was miserable.

A song about abuse has no right being so poetic and beautiful :(

This song pains me in ways words cannot describe.

My daughter introduced me to this beautiful song I cried I felt the pain. I been in both situations. My daughter had no idea why I cried.

The same kids I went to hs with who bitched about going over reading comprehension and "why are the curtains blue" have death eater tattoos and played this at their weddings 😭

...the person who hurt me was the one who showed me this song Makes you think...

2020 is a nightmare 💘

All songs have a story behind the lyrics the story in this song is what makes it a great song I’ve been listening to it every day , lovely and peaceful composition I enjoy the cord progression its light on the mind and ears to listen too but heavy on the heart and soul but that’s just me the story of it hit me like a bus quiet relatable in some ways

god this song is so devastating, because it sounds so soft and sweet and romantic until you really stop and hear the words he's saying, and how fucked up they are.

I get scared listening to this because I know that I am just lonely and desperate enough that if I was to land in an abusive relationship, I wouldn’t have the strength to walk away from it. If they showed me something that even looks from a distance like affection, I would latch on and not let go even if I knew deep down what it really was.

Damn..i love this song..!!!

so rare and sweet like cherry wine

i know this is about an abusive relationship between like, two romantic partners but i cant help thinking of my mom when i hear this :/

Perfect timing 🍒♥️

i always hit hard with hozier because of the lyrics like "open hand or closed fist would be fine" because honestly i relate