#abstract “psychopomp”

[fawnforevergone]

Quick List of References to Dante's Inferno in "Unreal Unearth" (Part Two)

HELLO !!! there is now an updated list since we have now heard the old album so please go check that out instead: [ the ultimate "unreal unearth" reference list" ]

[ PART ONE ]

I'm back!! A bit later than intended but here are the rest of the references we currently know :]

THIS WAS WRITTEN BEFORE THE ALBUM RELEASE !!!! please take it with a pinch of salt.

"ALL THINGS END" This song, similarly to "Eat Your Young", doesn't have many specific references, but, as Hozier himself has said, the song is about the sixth circle of Inferno, 'Heresy'. The act of Heresy is the act of holding a belief contradictory to (especially Christian) religion, and this idea is very prevalent throughout the song. "Just knowing that everything will end should not change our plans when we begin again." 'Ending' is used in two ways throughout the song. One: A breakup. Two: Death. The latter is important for Heresy, where Hozier clearly defies the idea that death will be the end for him. 'Beginning again' is often a term used to relate to the afterlife, and, here, Hozier shows himself going against God's plan to give him a restart, saying that he won't allow death and finality to dictate how he lives his life. No specific references to Inferno, but Dante was a religious man, and that theme especially sticks out in this song.

"TO SOMEONE FROM A WARM CLIMATE (UISCEFHUARITHE)" Now, this placement of this song confuses me heavily, I'll be honest. The word "Uiscefhuarithe" is an Irish word meaning "water cooled", which wouldn't align with where we are in Inferno. We are either in circle six or seven, so 'Heresy' or 'Violence', both of which deal with the idea of heat, fire, or boiling sands/rivers. Since the song is name "To Someone...", I believe the song could be written towards the idea of someone in this circle of Hell, rather than Hozier, or whoever he is writing as, residing there themselves. No references with the lyrics we have so far, but the 'warm climate' is interesting for where we are at this point in Hell.

"BUTCHERED TONGUE" So, at this point, I'm highly unsure of where we are in terms of circles, but I'm trying my best. This song will either be 'Violence' or 'Fraud', yet, as far as I can tell, and please correct me if you spot something I don't, I don't see any specific references to anything in particularly. "And ears were chopped from young men, if the pitch cap didn't kill them. They are buried without scalp in the shattered bedrock of our home." However, this lyric does seem to display unjust and violent imagery, so perhaps the song is leaning towards Hozier's distaste of those deserving of the punishment that the circle of 'Violence' holds.

"ANYTHING BUT" Now, I believe we are at 'Fraud', the eighth circle. The issue with these last three circles, especially the eighth, is that they are split into subcategories, 'Fraud' of which has ten. However, the first few circles of 'Fraud' contain people such as panderers, seducers, and flatterers, and the song appears to be very flattering. "I'd lower the world in a flood, or, better yet, I'd cause a drought. If I was a riptide, I wouldn't take you out." This song could be in a similar context to most of the album where Hozier admits to the sin, yet argues against the idea of the sin being a bad thing when it's not practiced in extremity. For example, the 'Lust' in 'Francesca' is portrayed as harmless yet consuming love. Aspects of 'Eat Your Young' convey hunger, 'Gluttony', in a, again, harmless lustful way and then contrasts it with a political hunger. 'Anything But' seems to fall into that category of turning a sin into a love song, as Hozier often does.

"ABSTRACT (PSYCHOPOMP)" I'm going to make a leap and say that this song could possibly not be about a circle at all, but, instead, the transition from one circle to the next. A 'Psychopomp' is a chauffeur of death, someone like the Grim Reaper or, as aforementioned, Charon, who plays a heavy role in the story of Inferno, and, obviously, Virgil, the second main character of Inferno. "The poor thing in the road, its eye still glistening. The cold wet of your nose, the earth from a distance: See how it shines, see how it shines." The lyrics seem to reflect on the idea of something dead, yet also still recognising the beauty in its now-faded life. Since the album seems to be a metaphor for one or more relationships, and the song after this is 'Unknown/Nth', I'm going to make the assumption that this song is Hozier reflecting on the goodness of a previous relationship from the persona of a Psychopomp, delivering this love from life to death. Inferno is about the idea of death, and Dante spends most of his journey being lead, delivered, and guided through sin by various people, but particularly Virgil, who, after the final circle, he parts with.

"UNKNOWN/NTH" This song is stacked with references to the Nth and final circle of Inferno, 'Treachery'. "I'd have walked across the floor of any sea, ignored the vastness between all that can be seen and all that we believe." 'Treachery' is a frozen over lake, where winds grow stronger the closer you grow towards the middle. It's a vast, frozen expanse and, although not a sea floor, crossing the lake of 'Treachery' evokes a similar image in my mind to what Hozier is saying. "Where you were held frozen like an angel to me." There are many 'angel' lines but, with the mention of 'frozen' and the ice of 'Treachery', I'll pick this one. The reason why the winds grow stronger in 'Treachery' the closer you get to the centre is because, stuck in the middle, too big to escape, is Lucifer, the fallen angel. The winds are caused by the violent movement of his wings as he tries to move, only trapping himself further. "You called me angel for the first time, my heart leapt from me. You smile, now, I can see its pieces still stuck in your teeth. And, what's left of it, I listen to it tick, every tedious beat, going unknown as any angel to me." The imagery of Hozier having his heart stuck in someone's teeth is a metaphor to the fact that, when Dante and Virgil arrive at the sight of Lucifer, they see that he is chewing on Judas, another betrayer of God/Jesus. "Going unknown as any angel to me" is gorgeous. Hozier realises, as God did with Lucifer, that the one he loves is no angel, but a traitor. 'Treachery' is a betrayal of trust, and the song clearly references neglect or mistreatment of Hozier's love and trust, and the metaphor of God and Lucifer is a beautiful way to put that. "That I'd walk so far just to take the injury of finally knowing you?" The walk through Hell is a long and tiresome journey, to which Hozier references here. He relates his experience of this relationship to the walk through Inferno, arriving at 'Treachery' and feeling like, despite the outcome not being a positive one, he finally knows his lover in their painful entirety.

"FIRST LIGHT" Though we have no lyrics, I have a theory... as always, but, at the end of this day, this title means SO much being the closing track. At the end of Inferno, Dante and Virgil leave Lucifer stuck, and make their way out of Hell through the same tunnel that Lucifer's body left behind after he was thrown through the earth, down to Hell. They emerge on the other side of the earth and Dante says they can "see, once more, the stars", ending on a cadence of hope, similar to a 'first light'. I mention in part one of this post the utter darkness of Inferno that Hozier references in the earlier songs on this album, and this title seems like a perfect conclusion to emerging from Inferno, and recovering from the damage he suffered throughout his journey.

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OKAY !!!! If I missed anything, let me know, I'm so excited to know what everyone else thinks of the album, and WE ARE GETTING DE SELBY PART TWO IN LIKE FOUR DAYS ?!?!?!?!?! SOOOO

I'm thinking of doing a long winded break down for each song on the album, and previous albums too, so perhaps I will share more of my theories later since, surprisingly, some of you are actually interested in listening to me word vomit over a text post. ANYWAYS!!! I hope this was helpful to some people or at least interesting :] I had fun writing it, so <3

[allbornscreaming]

See how it shines +

[darkmacademia]

'abstract (psychopomp)' by hozier but you've pulled over on a highway while a thunderstorm is about to roll over and you're watching the cars rush past, remembering what it means to be alive

[scatterghosts]

Flashes of a Feeling by Holly Warburton // Abstract (Psychopomp) by Hozier

[its-bloody-and-raw]

Hozier lyrics no one really speaks about but they should…

Abstract (Psychopomp) Edition

[firefliesandfuckery]

bitches hear “the memory hurts but does me no harm” and go apeshit

[somequicknewmusic]

What you're given, what you live in / Darling, it finds a way to live in you.

[littlespoonevan]

when hozier said "do you think i'd give up? that this might've shook the love from me" and "if someone asked me at the end i'd tell the put me back in it" and "heaven is not fit to house a love like you and i" and "so someone with your eyes might come and hold me like water or christ, hold me like a knife" and "the memory hurts but does me no harm, your hand in my pocket to keep us both warm" and "i will not be great but i'm grateful to get through, the feeling came late, i'm still glad i met you" and "i remember the view, streetlights in the dark blue, the moment i knew i'd no choice but to love you" and "if there was anyone to ever get through this life with their heart still intact, they didn't do it right" and "i don't need to know where we begin and end, i'd still know you, not being shown you, i only need the workin' of my hands" and-

[smallpapers]

i will not be great

but i’m grateful to get through

the feeling came late

i’m still glad i met you

[fawnforevergone]

"I remember the view, streetlights in the dark blue, the moment I knew I'd no choice but to love you."

[kaye-kaye-kaye]

OK, who are the absolute fuck was going to tell me that abstract (psychopomp) was actually inspired by Andrew Hozier as a child seeing an animal, that’d been hit in the road and then watching a stranger stopping and getting out of a car and holding it in the persons lap as the animal died and comforted it in its last moment, who the fuck is going to tell me that!!! Jesus Christ I’m crying I’m losing my goddamn mind

[anxious-scrambles]

Are you able to listen to Hozier sing about roadkill without having a nervous breakdown or are you normal?

[thisphantomlife]

I remember the view, streetlights in the dark blue, the moment I knew I’d no choice but to love you

📸 Keira Lindgren

[apexdreadwolf]

I swear this man gets more prettier every freaking day!! Like holy heck!

[evankinard]

I'm still glad I met you

[cryingoversatosugu]

Abstract (psychopomp) by Hozier // Jujutsu kaisen chapter 90

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