Hozier - Eat Your Young (Official Video) 

I love how they depicted that the war 'ate' his hand and how his anger at her 'ate' her emotions and how they 'ate' the child by forcing him to be something else. Hozier has such a nuanced way of depicting a vicious cycle that society forces us into.

lesbians gather, the father is feeding us

wow. the husband leaving for war, the mother turning to stone, the anger that grew in the child from being guided away from true interests and towards traditional masculinity. showing him in a worker uniform before he was gone. the tantalizing glimpse of something red in that little fridge which sent the children scattering away from the puppet show. nice job, everyone involved!

Quick analysis because I love Hozier's art and this vidoe is just great. About the performance, it starts from the guy and the girl meeting and falling in love. they then proceed to unveil each other's wardrobe. or 'costumes.' focus on how they themselves don't choose the costumes, its the other, this can refer to the expectations we put on the other person regarding their mesculinity/femininity. the way this is choreographed and runs smooth can show that we most often let others, even if it may be our partner define or limit our masculinity/femininity, like it is expected of them. Hozier's costumes get him into the role of the someone who is more hands-on with their work. like a typical male they are also only work attires (enforcing man as main breadwinner of the family) while for the lady she's wearing what may be a nurse uniform or a chef or just in a dress (role of a housewife) which shows her role as the nurturing female. Hozier, dressed as a solider goes off to war, again something which may be expected of him. The couple part and the woman is starts to beautify herself by painting herself as aphrodite. (the statue in front of her). this is enforcing traditional masculine/feminine roles on them again and again. Hozier comes back with an arm missing and when his lover greets him his reaction is not the most welcoming. This could be the aftermath of the war. this could be just his envy that while she was at home he had to go out and he gave a part of himself too. (point is, he's not happy) Venus de Milo (the statue on the table) doesn't have arms, the woman looks at her and then she's seen removing her arms too (not sure how THIS worked. did she cut them?) it could metaphorically show her attempts and efforts to become a 'perfect' female. or just one who was the most beautiful. This could also show (and this is only my interpretation) her response to her husband losing his arm. to maybe sympathise with him. to swooping down to meet him (can this reflect on her trying not to hurt the male ego? i dont know.) But she does meet him, it's shown in the performance that the kids are watching when her arms goes to touch his. hozier then, will embrace his lover and show affection (interesting tangent on how he won't show affection when she was in a better 'place' than him and now that she isn't and now that she has embodied aphrodite fully (i.e. reached peaks of femininity idk?) he's then comfortable to show love. cue: child, who is revealed by the woman. and when hozier the father) goes to meet him the exchange is not the most warm. The father only shakes the little boy's hand and almost is looking down at him. this is not the interaction between a boy and his father. the father is wholly treating it as meeting another man. an adult. and when toys are revealed to the boy and he goes for the doll before anything else the father gets mad. he snatches it and throw it away. he's teaching his son how to be a 'man' (cue: toxic masculinity) the boy grows violent and starts smashing all the toys (because he wasn't allowed to express himself fully) while the mother does nothing until grabbing the boy's arm and putting the cloth over it. same arm his father also lost. this could show how both the parents are enforcing these roles and expectations on the boy while he's really too young to understand or retaliate. (the lyrics, seven new ways that you can eat your young, fits so well because this sis showing how youth gets destroyed. how trampling on their individual egos and personas while trying to make this cliche traditional story for yourself and imposing it on other only will eat away at your young.) the father unveils the costumes of the young boy then. which are all similar to the ones hozier was wearing at the start. the boy has been molded into this shape created by his parents and the society. thank you for coming to my tedtalk.

It always amazes me how Hozier's songs become even more alive and real through their music videos. When I think a song can't get any better, a music video comes out for it and proves me wrong. Truly powerful. I love it.

Love it when Hozier is Mad and Political, gotta be one of my favourite Hozier's

I love that even when the curtain falls, the child is not included in the final bows, as if his destruction, or consumption as the title/fridge/hook suggests, is a real-life consequence of the play. Incredible work as always 🤍 I can’t wait to see what else Hozier has in store for us.

I... words escape me. He has raised the bar so high for himself after this. I feel I'll need to watch this about 8 more times to peel all the layers. It's so beautiful. It's so good. I'm so happy he wasn't afraid of doing something different. This is why he keeps me hooked (no pun intended).

I feel like I haven't even begun to understand it, but I love the way the kids and adults have such different reactions when they're pretty much watching different versions of the same show. I think I'll just keep watching it. Edit: Monsieur Dorgat has a great analysis in the replies

As a songwriter and poet myself, I find it hard to express my emotions as clearly and creatively as this beautiful man. His work really highlights parts of the human experience I think we all at some point or another experience and it not only exceeds my expectations, but raises them to a level I feel no other artist has ever reached. Bravo.

I often find myself wondering how this man could ever come close to the bar that he’s set for himself and yet he somehow continues to raise it every single time he releases Absolute work of art

The fact that he chose Ivanna as a co-star for this M/V makes it so much more meaningful and important to me as a ukrainian fan. Hozier is just so considerate and always pays attention to the details. True artist 👏

The message behind it, I’m amazed. This is absolutely Hozier-like, just wow.

wow... a cinematic masterpiece which needs multiple watches to unpack all the levels of meanings. the woman turning herself into sculpture to resemble an injured husband is such an accurate depiction of what survival syndrome feels like. love from Ukraine ❤ (and Ivanna Sakhno, a Ukrainian actress, is incredible here) UPD: love how at the beginning when the couple picks their costumes they start with the wardrobe of the opposite gender, and later their son goes for a doll first when he gets to pick up toys... as if deep down the parents would like to break the traditional roles imposed by society, but it's so deep already that they subconsciously accommodate to them, and then force the boy to accommodate

Lyrics. I'm starving, darling Let me put my lips to something Let me wrap my teeth around the world Start carving, darling I wanna smell the dinner cooking I wanna feel the edges start to burn Honey, I wanna race you to the table If you hesitate, the getting is gone I won't lie, if there's something to be gained There's money to be made, whatever's still to come Get some Pull up the ladder when the flood comes Throw enough rope until the legs have swung Seven new ways that you can eat your young Come and get some Skinning the children for a war drum Putting food on the table selling bombs and guns It's quicker and easier to eat your young You can't buy this fineness Let me see the heat get to it Let me watch the dressing start to peel It's a kindness, Highness Crumbs enough for everyone Old and young are welcome to the meal Honey, I'm making sure the table's made We can celebrate the good that we've done I won't lie, if there's something still to take There is ground to break, whatever's still to come Get some Pull up the ladder when the flood comes Throw enough rope until the legs have swung Seven new ways that you can eat your young Come and get some Skinning the children for a war drum Putting food on the table selling bombs and guns It's quicker and easier to eat your young.

I swear this man is the most Pisces person I’ve ever seen.

I find the themes of this song to be so interesting, especially in how it’s also reflected in its reception as it was released. The song talks about exploitation of one generation by another “skinning children for a war drum, putting food on the table selling bombs and guns.” While at the same times makes it sound so alluring, and the song was released in a way to emulate that theme. Hozier release the opening line and made it sound like some sexy, sultry song of desire, only to have the true message of the song sink in after everyone was lured into the sensuality of it. As for me personally, when I heard the teased release of the opening lyrics, I did pick up on the sexuality tone of the verse, but felt there was more to it. Since hearing the full song now I understand what I heard. It is has the sexuality of a pack of lions circling a trapped gazelle. It is about the sexuality of predation.

Oh my god I cannot wait to spend the next ten years of my life unpacking this video until one night at three am where I finally understand everything and the secrets of the universe will be revealed to me

now this is a PRODUCTION 🎥

I'm losing it at the little kiss he did at 2:07, its adorable

I think the song is about how toxic parents destroy [eat] your childhood [young] and leave their toxic tendencies with you as child and you grow up with those tendencies as a part of yourself

This was a work of art. Criticisms of hypermasculinity, war, feminine anger and validation, heteronormativity, ans childhood resistance or succumbing to the past. The community approval vs the kids understanding from so young that its Bad. Its so beautiful.

I love the fishhook at the end of the video. It shows that when the children finally get up to go watch the play on the other side of the room, they are not being tricked into it, but rather, they voluntarily are seeing the play that displays bloodshed and suffering, just like how if a fish were to bite onto a fishhook without a worm, the fish wouldn't be being tricked into latching onto a hook where it will inevitably die, it chose to go that path. I feel like this is all a symbol for the fact that war is so glorified throughout childhood, that the cycle is going to happen and happen. We are shown pieces of war and pain in ways that seem appealing to us as children, just so we see war in a good light and further continue the cycle.

Gorgeous on every level. It might be a weird compliment but a) I really appreciate how Hozier chooses such interesting video concepts AND appears in them himself, and b) he’s clearly gotten more comfortable with filmed appearances and choreography! What do I call that, parasocial pride?

Hozier isn't a musician he is a artist It not just a show it's a experience 😌

Wow. They pair up and give each other their wardrobe/roles, and the man loses his arm to war, the woman loses both of hers to an ideal of beauty which she worships in her grief and loneliness, and when they return to each other both are changed, traumatized and numb to love. The hands that disappear appear in the children's puppet show; it's all they see. When the woman reveals their child the man shakes the boy's hand like he's a stranger, because he is, and when that child reaches for the doll, the man (maybe remembering how his wife used to be and in a pang of grief?) rips it from the child's hands, and the child in turn begins to act out his anger and destroy everything else he was given. In the end when the adults make the child disappear with an ominous meat hook revealed at the end, the audience of adults, numb like they are, see nothing wrong nor the implications and clap dryly while the woman and man take their bows, clearly without feeling. Meanwhile in the children's puppet show (where disappeared things go, remember) the boy's hand appears and opens a vault, and whatever's inside scares all the children so much they run away in fear - the exact opposite response to the parallel adult audience. There's so much here but it definitely resonates for me for familial reasons relating to WWII & the intergenerational trauma that was passed down.

Just my quick interpretation~ It starts off with 2 actors falling in love, or at least “choosing each other”, since we are expected to find partners come a certain age. Next they are both given a set of costumes to choose from, only a handful of choices for each one both confined to the typical gender stereotypes. Only traditional “women’s jobs” for her and “men’s jobs” for him. Then just as quickly as they met, they are separated by war. At this moment, the show for the children is still not starting. The scene then cuts to the woman sitting in front of the vanity. Just like the man who was subjected to war, she too is subjected to the pressures of society. This is conveyed by the statue of Venus de Milo in front of her, an ageless representation of the ideal feminine beauty. She conforms and starts painting herself just like the statue. The man comes back from war with an arm missing, he loses a part of himself by conforming to everything that was expected of him. So does the woman in trying to become more like the statue. At one point, the man also recoils at the woman being worried for him, personally I feel like this also pertains how men are frowned upon when they show any kind of emotion. He only ever responds to her when the she fully depicts the statue… with both arms missing, inexpressive , not a single word from her mouth, in short…an object only to be looked at. In a way, that is also what he expects from her. They are both scarred and broken at this point and it’s obvious that the relationship is built on them just going through the motions of society’s set standards. It is only when the man and woman loses their arms that the show for the children starts. IT IS THEIR ARMS RUNNING THE SHOW, those already broken and traumatized parts of them that they lost by going along with what is expected of them, the casualties. At the start, the woman’s arm tries to reach for the man again but he still recoils, further confirming the lack of actual genuine love and communication in the relationship. And what is the children’s puppet show about? The exact opposite of what happened in the other play with the actors. The puppets meet, fall in love, they don’t get separated, they don’t even lose parts. They’re even jumping/ dancing around with firecrackers, as if saying “we are happy and you can be like this too if you do the same” even though it’s quite the opposite. Meanwhile, in the show with the actors, they have a kid already. The man simply shaking the child’s arms upon meeting him already shows his lack of emotions and how he expects his kid to be the same. He shows him the toys and gets mad when his son chooses a “girl’s toy”. The child starts breaking the other “boy’s toys” they left for him so his mother reprimands him by covering his arms. And so the cycle starts again, he starts losing parts of himself, just like how his parents did before him. The child’s hand now show’s up in the puppet play but what does it do? Does it pretend to be happy like his parents? No. He tears off the puppet dad’s military costume and reveals the butcher costume underneath. The man who has been cutting everyone to pieces and “eating his young” by subjecting him through the same cycle trauma instead of stopping it. The puppets fight, probably revealing the actual unhappy relationship of the couple. As for the meaning of the ending, it’s a long shot but here’s what I think. For me the covering of the child with the black fabric (the same fabric that they used to cover their arms) and then disappearing completely only to be replaced with a meat hook signifies a “finished product”, another child “properly raised” in this wretched system, and the crowd of adults applaud at this. Meanwhile, the puppet show ends with the child’s hand opening a bloody fridge. Maybe signifying and showing the ugly truth of it all, that he is nothing but a butchered product. For once someone decides not to sugarcoat it and acknowledges how destructive it really is. The children run from this, maybe after seeing the truth for what it is they are scared it could happen to them too? Either way, this MV honestly gives me hope for the future. That someday somehow the following generations will end the vicious cycle. Thank u Hozier for the wonderful MV!

The "deeper meaning" is not coming to me lol but I like it, picasso

I'm so grateful to be living at a time where I can see and listen to masterpieces such as this

Hozier never fails to make incredible art with his videos. I love the juxtaposed macabre here - the music itself and the puppet show against the lyrics and content. The innocence boy dressed the same as his wounded father. Really emphasizes how much evil is done up pretty in the world.

it took me a while to see the parallel between this and "a modest proposal". between this and "swan upon leda", he's really leaning into irish literature and I'm loving it.

thank you for the new fanfic titles king

I like this , I also like the song that’s called “Dupe - Folin Kot” 🔥🔥

Omg Shin Hati in music industry

"Eat Your Young" by Hozier is a song that lays bare the greed and destruction of those in power. The lyrics are a commentary on the brutality of a world where people are consumed by the desire to achieve wealth and power at any cost, even if it means destroying the future. The song's opening verse paints a picture of a world where people are hungry for success and will stop at nothing to achieve it. The lyrics suggest that these people are willing to "wrap [their] teeth around the world" in order to carve out a piece for themselves. The pre-chorus continues this theme, with the singer racing to the table to claim his share before it's all gone. The chorus takes the message in a more grotesque direction, highlighting the ways in which those in power "eat their young". This can be interpreted as the wealthy and powerful exploiting and consuming the younger generations for their own gain. The chorus suggests that those in power will go to great lengths to maintain their position, even if it means "skinning the children for a war drum" or "putting food on the table selling bombs and guns." Overall, "Eat Your Young" is a powerful and thought-provoking song that calls out the systemic corruption and greed that exists in society. It's a commentary on the ways in which the rich and powerful consume the resources of the world at the expense of future generations, while leaving those who are left behind to fight over the scraps.

Don't know what any of this means but I like your way with words and imagery Magic man

i'm so happy to see a ukrainian actress here!!! thank you so much for this song and this video, i'm literally obsessed

FATHER IS FATHERING 🔥

some details i love about this video: 1:29 the fact that shes about to become a statue, but then she sees he's back from the war and runs to him, only to find he's not the same man anymore. 2:32 the fact that the mother introduces the kid to the father and him just giving him a "manly" handshake, without any affection thanks to toxic masculinity is amazing how this music video convey so much with the tiniest details

This music especially now is so important. We couldn't be more grateful. ❤

The song and video both are so perfect with their story telling. This is truly what arts ought to be

I'm convinced Hozier is an angel that just decided to live amongst us peasant humans.

Beautiful and haunting expresions of how our inner loving childlike selves are eaten away by trauma and revisited upon our own expectations and treatment of the next generation as we feed their future life to the holes in our own souls as the world watches. Brilliant modern twisted Johnathan Swift-like take on the post-modern predicament. Bravo, maestro.

i LOVE how arthouse and abstract this is. it fits so well, it reflects the tone of the song perfectly

The meaning: From very young we are fed stereotypes, we base our existence on stereotypes, we abide by them. Stereotypes eat our young for the benefit of those who design them.

Hozier really is like no other. The emotion and feelings given through something as simple as sound is just incredible

Crazy how this man makes the most danceable, most slappy beat, and it's all about how mankind is cruelly and selfishly feeding off the futures of their own offspring

IT'S SHIN, IM LOSING MY MIND

okay but why did the boy picking up the doll to play with then the father throwing it angrily made me tear up :')

to me, it feels like parents ruining their children's lives with what they want rather than what the children want. thus, "eat our young". I go through it personally. anyone else who has been through it or is experiencing it, you'll get what you want and what you deserve, which is only the best. hold on, stay strong. i love you.

I left my comment here so if anyone after week's , days or years Likes it so I get the reminder of this legendary song❤️

I think the moment he comes back from the war, he is not in a position to handle "active" behaviour. He desires a Pygmalion, an Aphorite without arms. Probably caused by PTSD. She does not even blink when he kisses her, does not move by herself(he turns her around) and she is aware of this "mutilation of movement" Mother also teaches the kid to supress his urges/identity/activity. Eat your young, war destroys the young and the lover. All of the missing parts go to the kids' theatre. The theatre is applauded by adults, appreciated whilst kiddos are afraid of witnessing the end, the inside of locker, the growth and the world after maturation. The video as a whole is not reflective of the song, but a rather a corresponding interperetation within the song. A truly unique approach- despite being so common in life.

"You can't buy this fineness"😭❤️

I had a lesson centering around that video, discussing the symbolism, the meaning etc... The 7th graders were hooked. When I translated the lyrics to their language they were even more shocked. Great song and video to convey the message of how society molds you to be something you're not, hopefully us discussing it in class will be a slight obstacle from them getting "eaten" by the system.

So early. Watched it, enjoyed it, don’t fully understand it. Hozier is such a phenomenal artist.

this has got to be one of the most unhinged videos i’ve ever watched and I LOVE IT😩❤️❤️

Men, destroyed by hard labor and war. Raving husks with broken bodies and broken minds. Women, disfigured by social pressures and expectations...and traumatized men. Beautiful like marble statues, and just as cold. Children, forced into that cycle. Denied their true desires and fed into the grinding gears of capitalist industry and the military industrial complex. Made to repeat the mistakes we all know we're making but can't refuse to participate in. I long for the day that every heart may be truly free. When capitalism dies. When the gluttonous few are relieved of their alluring gold.

It's always a game and a show they say, always just a toy taken away. Mothers and wives finding solace in stone, unrecognizable, and a son you come home too, whom you must now decide will either follow your steps to the grave, or watch his family do it right before his eyes. All the children react so outwardly unabashed, while every adult is kept in chairs by social convention and whats expected. Coming home to find the sorrows may differ internally, but your actions will only ever affect more than you can perceive regardless of intent, and turmoil. What a wonderful cinematic piece

Leave it to Andrew to always speak his truth so poetically 🖤

So dark, yet so captivating. Immensely beautiful video. Great acting from both Hozier and Ivanna!

🥺 I need to go lie out in a field for a while and think about how the need to work has consumed my youth.

Shin Hati 🧡🧎‍♀️

ok so since i've watched this about 40 times now, here's my analysis (kinda long): it starts out with two audiences facing different directions: the old and the young. the older people are watching a play-like stage with a man and a woman, and the children have a miniature hand-puppet sort of thing (starts out empty). The man and the woman fall in love, and they then choose each other's costumes--representing who they want each other to be. the man goes off screen (to war, as he is a soldier) while the woman paints her face grey (representing stone, as she is losing her emotions). This happens right as the chorus hits, symbolizing the loss of themselves and how they "ate" away at each other. The man comes back on screen with a limp and a missing arm. This is when the first hand appears on the children's screen, and flexes as if it's experiencing being a hand again for the first time. The man and woman run to each other but he refuses her touch, possibly leading to her sense of guilt and putting on the black sleeves (more or herself "eaten" away). As she puts on the sleeves, the second hand appears on the children's screen. These hands are the man and woman's. The woman then refuses the man's love, as she is now stone. Then a backdrop appears on the children's screen and a hand starts to make funny pictures. This is the woman's lost sense of fun and emotions. Everything that is on the children's screen is a part from the adult's play that was eaten away. Adults notice only what is missing of each other, but the children are enjoying making believe that everything is right again and they are playing pretend with what was lost. The woman then reveals a child. The hands on the children's screen then turn into puppets of the man and women (who are whole) in a loving relationship, as this is now one more thing that they have lost. The man gives the child choices of toys to choose from, and the child chooses a doll--big mistake. This violates the norms and goes against what the man wants and he rejects the child. The child now puts on a black sleeve and a part of him is "eaten" away. This is when another hand appears on the children's screen, allowing the child to play with the dolls he wanted to. (very aggressively, i might say, due to anger in denying himself) The man then gives the child the same costumes as in the beginning before settling on a miner--a more stereotypical boy's role. because of this, the boy is now gone completely, eaten away by the man and woman. the backdrop falls leaving only the man, the woman, and a hook. they bow and are applauded because "it's so hard parenting and you did such a good job" ...even though the child is eaten away. The dolls are fallen and a hand reaches to open a cooler. there is only a glimpse of red --i'm assuming the child is showing what's left of himself -- and the children run away. In the end, all that's left is the hook. The parents and the child do not matter anymore, only the traditions of "eating your young". tl;dr: man and woman eat each other. child is unhappy, lost things are shown to the children. generational trauma and "eating your young" means taking away who they really are in favor of tradition and stereotypical values.

The curtain falling, all of it performative. their life, their criticism. the bloody hook is unchanged, unrattled. blood is still being spilt. In the comfort of the audience that consumes the criticism of the system we feel better about ourselves as nothing changes. Our activism being as performative as the entire play. The children run for their lives as the adults take a bow seven new ways to eat your young: 0. have their identity be defined by their partner 0:43 1. war 0:52 2. unrealistic body standards 1:14 3. surviving the war. ptsd 1:33 4. generational trauma 2:19 5. being cold to your children 2:33 6. teach suppressing rather than self-expression 2:49 + 3:01 7. force your children into the same system that destroyed you 3:22 result: lose your child 3:25

موسيقى هوزير وكلماته تأخذك الى عالم آخر… عالمٍ مختلف عن عالمنا هذا لكن عندما نراه نجد بأنفسنا المقدرة والشجاعة لمواجهة عالمنا الحالي ورؤية عيوبه بوضوح تام

The hook. It dripped. I swear it dripped.

0:41 I like this part and how they both reveal the ‘roles’ for eachother (through their clothing)- kind of re-enforcing each others roles in society because they both know how they “should be”

this man is art himself,and a mastermind. the lyrical genius

Since it came out, I've been listening to it EVERY DAY. What have you done to me, I have studying to do and a thesis to write! :D

Gonna take a stab at an interpretation. So Hozier has already stated that Eat Your Young is about an unreliable narrator (similar to Talk, which is also big on the Ancient Greek imagery). The title itself reminds me of Kronos devouring his children. Back to the video. We have a young audience watching the puppetry, and an adult audience watching the two 'actors'. The actors walk in circles - like it's part of a routine or cycle - before more curtains open, revealing another layer. Even before the introduction of iconic costumes, the male actor is performing a typical action of masculinity and gentleman like behaviour by giving the female actor a bunch of flowers. The costumes then further emphasise the hegemonic gender binary, though there is something distinctly ominous about the blood on both in costume two - possibly suggesting the danger and violence that can come from the constraints of 'acting' binary gender. The lasting costume of the bridal figure of the woman (with all its connotations of purity and chastity) and the uniformed man clearly evokes wartime imagery, and could therefore imply the need to preform gender to protect: society, relationships, morals. The adult audience is apathetic despite their emotional seperation of the couple. The focus shifts to he woman, alone, looking at a magazine. She then seems to instead favour the figure of the Venus de Milo, depicting Aphrodite. As the Goddess of Love, Aphrodite is quite a typical feminine figure, a perfect woman. As a trigger of the Trojan War, Aphrodite represents the dangers of vanity and a need for male validation. Though her association with war challenges typical depictions of femininity. Similarly, the women seems to take the first step in rejecting modern femininity. When they reunite, they have both been changed by their experiences and expectations. The man is more focused on his loss to realise what the woman has suffered due to societal pressures. He himself is unable to express his emotions due to similar constraints. She then covers - loses - her arms, furthering her isolation and her self mutilation into Aphrodite. Later in the video, the man seems to be confused with the change, now that he isn't blinded by his need to fit the typical masculine archetype of stoicism. We return to the children and the puppet show, possibly suggesting how the media we consume can socialise us into certain societal roles. The puppetry evokes the imagery of Punch and Judy, a violent and gender traditional puppet show, the children find it funny, normalising and teaching gender roles. The roles are somewhat subverted when it appears the female puppet stabs the male puppet (foreshadowed by the human actor's bloody dress near the start). Meanwhile the male actor is disappointed when the young boy chooses the white doll toy (signifying purity, femininity, the opposite of hegemonic masculinity). Learning from this, the boy throws toys, playing into the masculine ideology. The video ends with the removal of the curtains and background. As the actors, after the performance, they are associated with the colour white, the idea of reality and fantasy. There is a possibility for them to be something other than what is expected of them. This is again ominously overshadowed by the meat hook, looming over their heads, like the Sword of Damocles. In their position of power as parental figures, they are faced with perilous options: conform to society and deny oneself, or reject society and be outcast. It also made me think that they, as performers, are hung out to dry before the audience. There is a cut to the puppet performance, the children and what looks like a mini fridge. As the disembodied hand opens the fridge, the children run away. This could be symbolic of the faceless order of society, a vast system that is controlled by many unidentifiable sources. What is revealed inside the fridge is up to interpretation. The meat from the hook - those hung out to dry after rejecting societal norms perhaps, but some type of reality that seems unfavourable to the children. Which makes sense as there is an understanding that gender is something that is learned. Tldr: societal pressures and constraints relating to gender are bad!! Life is a power struggle, rejecting societal norms can be scary but evoke change. Also Andrew, if you're reading this, see you in July 🥳

The depiction of societal roles being nothing more than a performance - a wife losing her identity and becoming a sculpture after marriage, a beautiful figurehead without soul or depth, and the same happening to their child once society's expectations for his gender/role come into play... wow. It hit me about midway and I was stunned watching the rest.

holy shit the entire video was such a visceral experience. i need a book to be written on this

I love reading all the interpretations here. I totally agree with the analysis that this is describing how we change ourselves to fit society, to support society (in the case of the war) and do whatever we can to fit what we think our partner needs (her turning herself into venus). And then there's the child, getting the toy snatched away. But just after that, instead of playing, he's smashing. I think it's important to keep in mind that 'eat your young' is a reference to "A Modest Proposal" by Jonathan Swift in the midst of the Irish Famine. He wrote that perhaps the poor Irish folk should just sell their children to be eaten if they don't want to be poor. It's very much a mimicry of the times now, when we give up everything we love and work towards only to ruin what we've made. The man goes to war, loses an arm, all for his country, for his family (presumably) only to then send his own child into violence trying to make him fit that mold too, the mold the man didn't fit in before and doesn't now. I can also see the man kissing the woman when she is fully venus as a sort of... placation I guess? Like, her seeing his coldness to her when he came back from war was read by her as 'he no longer loves me/finds me attractive: i must change more' when it could have simply been that he has been hurt and traumatized. And then he sees the way she's changed, looks worried even, and reaches out to comfort her, but now she can't return it. There's a complete loss of communication between everyone, just assuming and guessing and hoping. Hozier never fails to make me think through his songs, but then his videos get me going even deeper.

"I'm a performer, got myself cornered, put on my armor, just like my mother and father, multiple versions of the same person, all of them hurting, don't think the performance is working"

......why is the fish hook at the end so chilling for no reason

What a beautiful punch in the gut! Hozier is so good at delighting ears and opening eyes at the same time.

I'm officially obsessed with this song! 💖

I will eat the young! Thanks Hozier, my irish fav

I didn’t think it was possible for Hozier to outdo himself, and yet he does every single time with every release. Well done everyone involved!!

Seeing Ivanna Sakhno in Ahsoka got me whooping with surprise.

Love the hands symbology. In my opinion represents their sense of self and happiness. He lost his for chasing a traditionally stereotypical male duty (fighting for his country/family/etc...) she hide it voluntarily in an attempt to embody the feminine ideal. And following those paths drove them away from eachother. And at the end, those same ideas made their son unhappy, and he ends up resenting them, destroying them and following the same path his father took before him.

The more you watch the better it gets. He delivered.

Oh so the children symbolize innocence and old or adults signify maturity, and there's so much more. This was pretty creative

Saturn : *And I took that personally*

I left my comment over here so that if someone likes it after week, month or year I will get reminder of this masterpiece ❤️

okay okay even though i am an art criticism major, i need help decoding the music video. any theories?? i personally think that it represents society at large, how different roles are imposed on us (butcher, army man, something pretty to be looked at if you're a female- a statue), but they are an act, a play to lure us into and become controlled kettle, something to be devoured. through family, rules are imposed, the "girlie" toy is not suitable. different methods are used for kids and adults, but all portray a similar luring message .(though not sure what the kid's hand symbolizes in the puppet show, maybe that children can reveal the truth and overcome this categorization) just a first impression, absolutely adore the song❤❤❤❤

Its interesting how the childrens play begins after the man and the woman lost their hands. They get to know each other in the play and decide to make the children happy by creating a show that is fun. Hence in that children's play the puppet of the soldier and his woman both have all their limbs intact. Until their show was jeopardized by the hand of their child (their child from the adult's play). That vault in the end that was opened by the child's hand had blood inside (at the bottom). I think it portrays how the lives that has been passed down to the children by their former generation is smeared in blood and hate. That is what scares them and makes them run away.

It's true. .. The masterpiece of a mastermind ❤ I know!!! He's probably an alien!! 😮

Ok, but, the man bringing back trauma, which the woman shadows, and then passes to the child is the best metaphor for generational trauma I have ever seen!

So, I'm doing my analysis here, if you want to add something you are more than welcome! (Also, I add that I took inspiration from some comment I read). p.s I know that the video have more explanation and symbolism (and I love Hozier for that). (I mispelled a few words, sorry for that) TW: self harm, mental health disorders, s. abuse 0:00-0:33 And the beginning, we see the kids and the adults, enjoying a show, but they don't see each other (representing the two sides from the story). The story tells us about a man and a woman, that walk in a mechanical way (even if they are human), looking like puppets, their meeting (that is casual) and a love that is born really quickly (almost too quickly). 0:34-0:39 They embrace and possibly get married (we see a courtship, in a stereotypical way, she kisses the man and he gives her a flower). This is the part seen by the adults, as the kids see nothing, as they are not born yet when their parents meet and fell in love. 0:41-0:52 they live together, and the closeted wardrobe represent their expectation from one another (i also thought that they may be trans, in the closet, and looking in their partner the suppressed part of themselves, but it doesn't seem the case). They embrace their roles (we see the woman always well dressed, and the man doing stereotypical rough work). 0:53-1:08 The husband has to leave for war (I think world war II), and the camera focuses on the faces of the adult people, mostly elder persons, as many of them experienced some kind of war (or their parents did. I think also that the parent's generation is the same as the elder people's one). 1:09-1:25 While her husband is away, the woman starts to experience dissociative disorders due to unrealistic expectations of her body (if I'm not wrong the stereotypes from the female body started in that period, but I'm not totally sure) and she begins to turn on stone (in a metaphorical way) ((also, we can also see a trans representation here, but maybe I'm overthinking it, idk). The woman is looking at magazines (modern idealization of the female body) and at the Milo's Venere a old representation of the female, implying that this is a curse passed down from history (the idea that men have to fight a war is a historical curse too). 1:26-1:50 The husband returns to war, and we finally see that the kids theatre has its first character; the hand of the father, representing that the kids see what their parents lack and the burden of their unresolved past (The kids see the father hand moving with rage, later on). The parents can't love themselves anymore, the man is struggling and can't see the pain in the wife's life (also, i studied something similar related from WWI, where man struggled a lot with their mental health. It's a interesting topic, if you search for it, there are a lot of information, at the time, I focused mostly on shell shock). 1:51-1:58 The mother starts to lack of self love and her hand joins the husband's one (it could be a hint to self harm (?)). Also we can see that the woman's hand is looking for the man's one, implying different way to react to trauma (depression and rage). Also the woman now is almos identical to the statue, at shot 2:10, they have the same pose and phisionomy (look at the arms). 1:59-2:21The husband seeks intimacy from the wife, but she's a stone and has no emotion (so, it is no consensual intimacy, represent from the rabbit, because they are known for their reproductivity, but can also imply a rabbit hole, and the stork). 2:22-2:35 From that abuse, a child is born; he comes from the void of their parents, and not their love (the camera now shows the younger part of the adult people, because it is the same generation). Now that the parents are shown to be not capable of taking care of the child, and repressing him, both of the parent's puppet are in the kid's theatre, showing that now their whole persons affects the kids. 2:36-3:03 The parents treat the kid as a little adult (see the handshake), and they repress him and his inclinations, fulfilling him with hate and rage, as he is taught so. We can also see that the father is triggered by the doll, because he can't accept his feminine side. The kids see the parents as histerycal and not human, but moving in a puppet like movement. Also, we can see that the marionettes are shown with their "weaknesses", the mom with a mirror, the dad with a flame (the unresolved trauma fom the war). 3:04-3:24 Now the kid is passed with the trauma, his hands and arms are covered and he joins the kid's theater, explaining that he is passed this generational trauma. He hates his parents, but can't help to become a mini version of his dad (in a stereotypical way). 3:25-3:32 The kid is now also in the void, and he is swallowed by both of his parents (also his beginning and end are caracterized by a void). The adult audience look at the play in a catatonic way, because they understand the pain. 3:33-3:49 the adult audience starts to clap, because they see themselves represented (maybe it is also a glorification of the pain that they felt, as they can't fully process and heal). At the same time it could be that they can't understand what is happening at all. Also we note that the kid doesn't receive a clap, because he is not there anymore. At the same time, clapping and showing approval of the play may imply that they carry on the trauma that they are passed. 3:50-to the end we see that the kid's hand is in still in the teathre (his parents are probably dead, all is left is his pain and wounded self, he is not a integrated person anymore, but carries the generational trauma within himself). He tries to pass this to the children, but they can escape before it happens again, breaking once and for all this curse. In my theory, the puppet master is the kid, now grown up, that is trying to process the pain, and to pass it, but the children are smart enough to run away before it happens again (learning from history). I have no idea what the hook could be about, if you have any idea feel free to add. (i know that are details that I did not cover, but I think this comment is long enough ahah, thank you if you read this). Also, I wanted to tell to everybody who is trying to break this generational curse that you can do it, I believe in you! Also, thank you Hozier for this magnifical song, and the lightness with whom you talk about this important themes, always modern. You have my respect, I send you a lot of love from Italy.

I can never get enough of this man's music.

Absolutely ingenious! I figured something new out every watch. When the couple's boy puts his hand onto the puppet show for the next generation, he exposes his parents violent reality behind the happy facade.

Genius. I will be showing this to my Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies students. Social construction of gender, systems of oppression…powerful.

He took the words straight from my mouth- IM STARVIN 😛

I haven't seen anyone else say this (tho they may v well have), but I love the theatrical elements in this. It reflects the performative nature of gender and gender roles

Beautiful actress!!!!!!!!!👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

I really appreciate that this music video portrays generational trauma.

I've been obsessively replaying this song ever since it came out. This video made me tear up. I can't really describe it or give an in-depth analysis but there was so much emotion, beauty, and storytelling in this. Love this so much!

Hozier giving us music before the sun turns into Red Giant.

tore my heart from my chest and ate it