A Breakdown Of “Unknown/Nth” By Hozier

Andrew Hozier-Byrne is an Irish singer-songwriter who became most well known for his single “Take Me To Church (2014)”. Since then, he has gained numerous followers and has released three studio albums, eight EPs, and 23 singles at the time of writing. The Irishman is currently touring for his 2023 album release, Unreal Unearth, which is a concept album reflecting on Dante’s Inferno and the well known concept of the nine circles of hell. In the album, the sixteen tracks wind the listener deeper into the circles of hell and out. 

Hozier has had the assistance of several other songwriters in this album, including Alex Ryan and Craig Balmoris. However, there are two tracks that have only Hozier as the writer, and these are the songs “Butchered Tongue” and “Unknown/Nth”. It is in these two songs that Hozier’s true writing style and quality is shown, unadulterated. “Unknown”, also known as “Nth”, is the second to last track on the album. The circle of hell that is said to be the closest to Satan is that of the betrayers, or people who are treacherous. As heard in the song, the theme is that of feeling betrayed, yet it is not the betrayal of another, but the betrayer of one’s own self. 

Verse one begins with the lyrics “You know the distance never made a difference to me/I swam a lake of fire,/I'd have walked across the floor of any sea”. To the speaker who is given center stage, it becomes immediately apparent that physical distance means nothing to mental feeling. This can also be a nod to mental distance, as in this song, we get the picture of two people, with one person who is more in love than the other. This is comparable to the universal instance of being in love with someone who only sees you as a friend, or worse, someone who isn’t aware that you even exist. The verse continues with “Ignored the vastness between all that can be seen/And all that we believe”. Knowing that someone is on the same planet that one is on can be enough hope for that person to keep loving the other, unconditionally and unchangingly, even though one can’t see them face to face. The verse closes, “So I thought you were like an angel to me”. This is the first mention and comparison to this love interest being an ethereal being, a beauty beyond description or comparison except to something that is so beyond the scope of understanding that it can only be placed near a perfect being.

Moving on to the second verse, we get more metaphors, a common theme in the writings of Hozier. “Funny how true colours shine in darkness and in secrecy” is saying that the true intentions and aspects of a person tend to shine brightest when the light of day or the looks of others aren’t on them. Humans act most themselves when they know they are alone, being a theme of the song. For our speaker “If there were scarlet flags, they washed out in the mind of mе”. Scarlet being a shade of red, this line is easily explained. Red flags weren't even on this person’s mind, and why would they be? Their love is an angel, they’re perfect, they would never be anything else. The love interest is all our speaker can think of now as seen in the lines “Where a blindin' light shone on you еvery night/And either side of my sleep/Where you were held frozen like an angel to me”. This marks the second mention of an “angel”. Here also is the mention of a blinding light, similar to paintings of saints and angels, where rays of light shine over them. The line “either side of my sleep” is meant as the states of being asleep and awake. In both of these states, our speaker alludes to seeing the love interest as an angel, both literally in dreams and metaphorically in real life with their mannerisms.

When the chorus begins, there are simple harmonizations that repeat (sha-la-la). They are reminiscent of angelic choirs harmonizing, and though our speaker sings along, they almost don't think twice about it. “It ain't the being alone (Sha-la-la)'' It isn't the fact that the speaker is alone. “It ain't the empty home, baby (Sha-la-la)” Nor is it the fact that there’s a home where the speaker resides that’s empty when they return from their day. “You know I'm good on my own (Sha-la-la)” The speaker is okay being on their own. “Sha-la-la, baby, you know, it's more the being unknown”. What hurts the speaker is the fact that the speaker’s love and emotion and admiration for their love interest is not realized. This is the idea that they are perfectly fine being alone, but what kills them is knowing that they are unknown in the eyes of the person they hold in such high esteem. However, instead of wallowing in self pity, the speaker brushes this off with the generalized “So much of the livin', love, is the being unknown”. Meaning that much of life is being unknown, such as being a number in a computer or a dot in the system.

The tables are suddenly turned in verse three with the opening line “You called me "angel" for the first time, my heart leapt from me”. Angel, the title reserved for their perfect person, is suddenly used on the speaker. The love interest obviously doesn’t know its meaning, but nonetheless, our speaker’s heart leaves them, and the speaker gives it away that they love their muse, finally voicing their love. Instead of a beneficial outcome, however, the lines following, “You smile now, / I can see its pieces still stuck in your teeth” are a nod to the phrase “eating one’s heart”, that means the love was unrequited and the person who gave that love willingly watched their heart merely get chewed up. In “Unknown”, now that time has passed, the love interest didn’t see the giving of the speaker’s heart as a gift, and our speaker sees that it was just another compliment or kind word to be smiled at, a gift that was unknowingly shredded, chewed up, and spit out. The worst part is the next few lines. “And what's left of it, I listen to it tick/Every tedious beat/Going unknown as any angel to me”. From the lips of their lover, our speaker can still hear the love they gave them beating, even if that love means nothing to anyone else’s ears. The heart itself is still in love, and though it’s been hurt in the past, it will always beat for the person it was given so wholeheartedly to, though our speaker feels they have moved on.  These beats will forever sound, and now angels (the fourth mention of the pet name) don’t even compare to this love. 

The bridge is the most jaw dropping part of this ballad. As it begins, an angelic choir breaks out behind the speaker’s voice, and they continue as though these angels are nothing to him, for their angel stands before them. In a heart wrenching voice, the speaker begs the lover to understand the reaches of their adoration with the lines “Do you know I could break beneath the weight/Of the goodness, love, I still carry for you?/That I'd walk so far just to take/The injury of finally knowin' you?”. The love is unknown, and the speaker, in a moment of clarity, even desperation, asks openly if their love interest even comprehends how they feel. The distance metaphor is used again, and this time, the speaker, realizing that their love is unknown, draws back the expressions they use for their love interest to maybe understand just how much they are adored and treasured.

The chorus repeats, but there is now an addition, or more an admission in the line “And there are some people, love, who are better unknown”, that there are people, namely the speaker themselves, who should have kept their love unknown now that they have overshared, and as the last reach and echo of our speaker’s lament fades, a drumbeat slowly throbs, simulating a heart beating on. 

This isn’t a ramble about my love of the song. I love it, of course, but this is more a breakdown of my own experience with love. My confession placed outside of myself. Three words. Three words and the song could end. How hard is it to say “I love you”? It isn’t a statement, is it? It’s a confession. It’s not just a confession to the second party, but also to the person saying the words. There is so much behind those words. There are so many ways to say that you love someone. You can promise to be there for them, to get there to save them, and even to stay away from them. Because there are some people, love, who are better unknown.

Bibliography

Brizzi, Gaëtan, et al. Dantes Inferno. Splitter, 2023.

“Hozier – Unknown / Nth.” Genius, genius.com/Hozier-unknown-nth-lyrics. Accessed 1 Feb. 2024.

Hozier-Byrne, Andrew. “Unreal Unearth the New Album out Now.” Hozier, 18 Aug. 2023,    hozier.com/.