There’s actually an interview where he talks about being a boy in ye olde Ireland and the first time he heard a fox mating sound (which sounds like a woman/child screaming) he was so scared he dropped his flashlight (thus the empty hands line) and ran into the woods to help whoever was screaming-only to find two foxes going at it...
He's lucky. In the American South we have black panthers. They sound like a woman screaming. If you're in the woods at night and hear it, run, run and don't look back.
I adore her. She sings like an Angel. That would be a match made in heaven. I also think he would sound wonderful with the haunting Tori Amos. She is a legend.
Me too. Foxes are my favorite animal. And they always have been. I'm obsessed with them. This song makes me so uneasy and I always believe it has to do with the injured fox and how clear the imagery is
@@kitkass1848 Well, I always comfort myself with this thought: The guy didn't get a chance to kill the fox and then he ran away and distracted the beast. So the fox had time to run and hide. And since foxes are so resilient, there's a good chance he survived 🌼🦊
After listening to the song I thought about Leshy, a forest guardian from the Slavic folklore. This was a pretty scary looking creature, with an animal skull for head and tree-like body. He was not dangerous himself, until someone did harm to his forest. I pictured the protagonist meeting Leshy in the woods and getting scared of him, while the guardian was trying to lead the person away from suicide
Good comparison, but in actual mythology Leshy don't always have skull head, if he does. To be honest, there there a great variety of its description, he can change his look, turn to tree, animal, human, etc
Theory time: The creature and the protagonist are one and the same, they're fleeing not from a corporeal threat but rather a manifestation of ones guilt and regret for taking a life.
New theory: he went into the woods to take his own life. Now in the process of this his past lover comes to him, telling him about what he can have still. After not accepting this, his lover's spirit becomes aggressive and chases him out of dangerous wood that has claimed the lives of many.
@@maddymcdonald4293 Alternate theory: He went into the woods to take his own life after his lover died and upon fearing for his life no longer wants to die but live the life his lover couldn't. How many years I'll bear=the years she could've lived, I found something in the woods somewhere=his new will to live.
Alternate theory: he goes to take his own life the screams were memories of his lover's death the fox was a representation of his soul and how hurt he was but the feelings and reasons for not killing himself came and he found new hope and left.
I always think the groove being so heavy on the third and first beats in this song reminds me of a heartbeat... really gives the song a primal, desperate feel, adrenaline mixed with fear kind of thing...
that must be it! as I listen to this song, I have this unsettling feeling, I don't know what it is. I love it but it makes me scared. too many emotions at once
Everyone is writing about the lyrics and the meaning of the song, which is awesome but let's just take a moment to appreciate the guitars. So haunting, powerful and beautiful.
I can't remember if it was confirmed or not but I remember reading that the song is inspired by Inferno from Dante's Divine Comedy, specifically one of the circles Dante has to traverse with Vigil - Woods of suicide where men who died by their own hand were chased endlessly by hound-like creatures in a dark forest. While Dante himself wasn't chased the song references the 'dearest love' that Dante was chasing, and also the line 'I turned and ran to save a life I didn't have' implies the man is already dead, and has been wandering the woods for 'many years'.
the suicides ARE the trees in that forest, that is their punishment for taking their own life. the ones being chased around by hounds among them in the same circle of Hell are a different sort of damned, those who squandered their wealth. also, Dante is not dead in the Comedy and is not chasing Beatrice (his love), he's traversing the realms of the afterlife while still living, as an allegory for spiritual purification after finding himself lost in life. He's going to meet her at the end of Purgatory and she'll be his guide throughout Paradise, but she was already there waiting for him, as she's the one who made his journey possible by interceding for him with God. source: my name is Beatrice. I know this stuff. :D
I lost my Dad 2 years ago. He was beat to death at his Pizza place. Lost my son's Dad to suicide in August. Lost. I lost my home to a fire. No insurance. I understand Dante's inferno. I'm living it. Screaming to be released from THIS hell. But I have my son I'm terrified to not help him become a Man
Two days after my husband died I walked into a tea shop and this haunting song was playing. It was no coincidence. The sadness and pain in the music was exactly what I was feeling. When I looked up the lyrics I could so relate to parts of it.
Everyone: The beast.. is an embodiment of his fear and guilt... he craves his lover to the point where he wants to die to join her.... Hozier himself: hehe foxes do the do do
"A person lives three lives. The first ends with the loss of naivete, the second with the loss of innocence, and the third with the loss of life itself." #DarkNetflix
My interpretation of this song seems kinda generic but it's all i can say without getting too deep. Hozier tells a story about a man who has fell into an extremely deep depression and he finally decides to kill himself to end his misery. As he heads to the woods with a rope/or a gun, he hears a cry from the inside that he mistakes for a woman's voice. In a hurry to help, he drops the rope/weapon. When he finds the source of the scream he finds it to only be a severely injured fox, a huge wound on it's legs. He wonders what could've caused this kind of damage. He decides to put it out of its misery with a stone, but that's when he notices that he's not alone and he feels a pair of eerie eyes watching him. It reveals itself to be a beast (which I can only assume to be the threat of death) and it begins to chase him. He runs from it. As he's running, he wonders why he's trying to escape death when he craved it so badly. Looking back at the beast behind him, he completely abandons all suicidal thoughts and he escapes the woods. Having that traumatic experience, he realizes how much he wants to live and how he must figure out continue on or the beast will find him again. Thanks, I know it seems straight to the point and obvious but I don't really wanna go into it too much 😂😂
pєαchєsαndpєppєrs yes I had the same interpretation except for a few details. The guy lost the love of his life, and couldn’t bear to live without them, so he went to the woods to kill himself. I think from the first lyrics, it sounds as if he DID try to kill himself with some sort of poison or pills - something that caused a high fever and sweating. But it didn’t work and he woke up in the middle of the night and heard the scream. What you said followed. But yeah, I think he wanted to die because he lost his love. But his survival instincts and discovery of what lay in the woods made him change his mind. He says, “There as I flew Forgot all prayers of joining you. I clutched my life And wished it kept. My dearest love I'm not done yet”
Can I add that the last line of him apologizing to his dearest love that he found something in the woods somewhere can be interpreted as him finding the will to go on.
*LYRICS* My head was warm My skin was soaked. I called your name 'til the fever broke When I awoke The moon still hung The night so black that the darkness hums I raised myself My legs were weak I prayed my mind be good to me An awful noise Filled the air I heard a scream in the woods somewhere A woman's voice I quickly ran Into the trees with empty hand’s A fox it was He shook afraid I spoke no words, no sound he made His bone exposed His hind was lame I raised a stone to end his pain What caused the wound how large the teeth I saw new eyes were watching me The creature lunged I turned and ran To save a life I didn't have Deer in the chase There as I flew Forgot all prayers of joining you I clutched my life And wished it kept My dearest love I'm not done yet How many years I know I'll bear I found something in the woods somewhere
Just did the Borderlands 2 reference to Dark Souls. You have to run across a lake of acid to a little tiny island. You see a warrior sitting on the rock, staring at a fire with other essence's popping in and out of existence around it.
Ok I know people hate when others write this, but Dark season 3 brought me here. This is one of the most beautiful and haunting songs I've ever heard I cant stop listening to it. I also reccomend the netflix series Dark its final season was just released today it's an awesome show.
I feel like the person feels guilty over the death of someone they loved. They could have done something but they were too scared too. After that, they fell into a dark place but a near brush with death reminded them how much they wanted to live. The thing they found in the woods was their will to live again.
I like this interpretation. The person in the song killed someone and is going to bury them in the woods but whilst they’re digging some kind of ethereal beast is stalking them.
Could be one of the ireland fairies the woman in green luring men into the woods so they can take their lives. Tale goes that each one can rise up once a full moon each year and they feast on blood, they use their songs the way a siren would and sometimes woman are took to create new ones.
This transports me to the night I lost my baby. I asked to die when I knew he wouldn't make it. They gave me morphine and it stopped his heart. I woke up drenched in fever sweat to the sound of a baby crying that night and saw pure blackness in the corner. And I believe it was death. He was there because I asked to die. He was standing next to the window I had considered jumping out of. the fox was my son. And I found death. And I will carry that for the rest or my life. This song, especially the chorus gives me chills. Even if it's based on foxes screwing. Art, once created, takes on something bigger than you that you can't control. And that's why it means so much.
@@elko9871 thank you. I'm doing a lot better. It does get better. But it will always be a part of me. Grief is just love with no place to go. This song, and singing Hozier helped me heal. Amazing artist.
@@athenabattaglia9255 Your healing words have the power to heal others along the way. Thanks for this: Grief is just love with no place to go. I needed that.
@@athenabattaglia9255 damn, my ma went through something similar. My brother died 17 years ago after being born just 2 days prior and she was so miserable that she wrote in her diary how she wanted to kill herself. It wasn't surprising, but still sucked reading that. She's doing well better thankfully, but always remember that there is always someone else going through a path identical to yours
Okay everyone has theories. Mine is that the creature is suicide. The narrator lost someone, and in his despair he seeks to end his life. So many stories of people out there that attempt suicide, off a bridge or whatever else, but in that brief moment before death, they completely regret it and cling desperately to life. A lot of these people find God in the line between life and death. Maybe that’s what out in the woods.
@@stinkingyeti well its not all depressing because by the end of the song he finds the will to carry on and live hence the line "My dearest love I'm not done yet." So kinda bittersweet and a little inspiring even though its dark at first.
Investigating the lyrics from a conservation perspective, and go: The wounded fox made no noise, therefore we can say with confidence that the fox did not omit the sound he heard that lured him to the woods. Therefore, the attacking creature would have been responsible for the sound. The sound was “a woman’s voice”. What animal is known to make a terrifying noise that is often mistaken for a woman in distress? Mountain Lion. To back this theory, consider what happens when he finds the fox. Nothing at first. He was alone with the fox until “new eyes” were watching him. Mountain Lions are ambush predators. Known for stalking and watching. The likely story: Mountain Lion attacks fox. Human runs into the woods. The ML heard the approaching human and hides in a tree or brush. Human shows up, ML watches and waits. Mountain lion lunges, which is how they attack. This song likely had a different meaning or origin, but going strictly by lyrics this is the most *logical* evaluation.
Yeah, but also, it could have been a forest cryptid. Also, Mountain lions rarely attack humans. If it wanted to get the human off it's prey it would have made noise to scare the human away, not lunging directly at it. Mountain lions are a bit more skittish and fearful than that.
Fever = Shock Scream = Old Memories Woods = Depression Fox = Misery Monster = Death Thank you for coming to my extremely brief TEDTalk about how it could be interpreted. Personally I like the Dante, fantasy, Dark Souls, and werewolf ideas, too :P (my hands are immobile theyre so cold rn, or i would type more, lol. ow.)
This man beautifully talks about loneliness, our demons and our struggle to save others and ourselves. How this becomes a reality check when we finally realises the fact that this is only an egotistical illusion that we can save anyone or that we are NOT alone. We are alone even when we are together because of what we are, mere evolved animals. At best glorified predatory mammals. After this realization he talks about how painful of a reality it is and how those attempts create perpetual bleeding scars. Then after he grieves himself he realises that the only salvation is to be good to himself and to be happy for at least trying to help but now without the selfishness...While he is still mourning the horrors that take place. The causes he can not see, only theorize. The effects that he clearly can hopelessly witness... He is a true poet, take me to church also is written by him he reminds me of Paolo Nutini's Iron sky The depth of poetry I mean. The music of course helps the words to be etched on and into the mind...
I love the feeling of dread this song brings with it along with unease and fear it's an unimaginably scary situation to be in and the music tells it well
The way I interpret this song is kinda personal. I see the woods as a representative of life, easy to get turned around. The animals represent people that have partaked in a relationship. The wounded Fox is an ex of a boy/girl who had left him/her broken and defeated. The deer is the hope for the onlooker, bringing him/her further into the woods to find the beast (he/she). The beast itself is the boy/girl traveling life hurting other people. Once the onlooker had interacted with the beast and seen what it as he/she ran. Something I should've done.
This reminds me kind of the actor who played Jar Jar Binks. He did this interview where he talked about how the overwhelming hate he got over the role, a role he thought he did well on and was told by the crew that he did great but was hated so vehemently by fans, that he almost jumped off a bridge. However, while he was standing there a gust of wind nearly knocked him down but he caught himself at the last moment. Then he realized that if he wanted to die so badly, he wouldnt have caught himself and then he got off the bridge. That's what the song is about right? A man who lost someone and wanted to die, to put himself out of his misery like he was going to do to the fox, but realized while fleeing a terrible creature that his fear of death meant he still wanted to live.
A girl cursed to become a werewolf. "I called your name till the fever broke" - old legend states if you say a werewolf's name they return to human form. The process of becoming a werewolf is extremely painful, thus the scream he heard. "A women's voice, I quickly ran" He hears her screaming his name, and he goes to help her. She injures a fox, and that's who he finds, but the werewolf does not recognize her love in this form. "How large the teeth?" He runs. He knows the secret she hid. "New eyes were watching me" He recognizes that this creature is not his love. That she is gone in this form. "Forgot all prayers of joining you" He had known she was suffering, and had followed her before to help. He now realizes why he shouldnt have come. "My dearest love, I'm not done yet" He knows shes needs him. But hes not done trying to help her.
I was reading a particularly sad chapter in a fanfiction that pulled on too many heartstrings, and now the song, no matter how haunting, just makes me feel so heavy and sad as it reminds me of the two characters breaking up and suffering apart from each other because of frigging miscommunication 😭
Found this song when I got home from work. On the drive home I let go finally I took the bag cut it open poured it out on the ground stomped it out and began the process of saving my life a life I never had. A life I had been running from as long as I can remember. I let go and took control of me finally. This all happened yesterday. And already I feel free. I hope everyone that comes here finds what they are looking for. I found me finally and i didn't even know I was looking for me. Good luck travellers ❤
Everyone can feel this song differently... To me it feels so much as a second Chance, glancing death and holding to life, and feeling the courage to say that even in the darkest nights " I'm not done yet", i love how it sends alot of contradicting feelings....making me feel that I'm my first and last supporter, i should forgive my mistakes, i should do more mistakes, i feel empty, i feel alive, i feel terrorized, but I'll choose this no matter what. "My dearest love, I'm not done yet"
I bought this album on a whim, having only heard a couple songs. I decided to listen to it going to bed, and this one came on when I was half asleep and totally creeped me out. I couldn’t sleep for like two hours afterwards. I love it though.
One of my closest friends walked home from school and saw a half dead dove. It was torn and ripped apart for most of the lower part of its body but the head was still twitching and the eyes moving, supposedly in the agony of a shattered body. This creature was in pain. So he lifted a in comparision to the remainders of the dove body big stone from the ground nearby and let it fall down on it to end its pain. Really felt him singing about doing the same to this fox. It sure had an impact
I don't have any theories, but listening to this song makes me want to run in a cold forest Nothing poetic here, I often run around forests on cold days and I have a playlist for songs like this You guys have any songs for me to add to it? Tnks
i’ve got quite a few :0 Meet Me In The Woods - Lord Huron Milk - The 1975 Thus Always to Tyrants - The Oh Hellos I’ll Believe in Anything - Wolf Parade Whisper - Dear Hunter
BROOO THANKS TO BILL I THINK I FIGURED OUT “IN THE WOODS SOMEWHERE”! _If you’ve never heard this song do not read this form your own opinion first THEN consider others. You don’t need to have a “theory” for this song either if you just enjoy its vibe. (This is also just life advice too you’re welcome.)_ The fever, fox, beast, and chase are a metaphor for someone dying, the main character watching this happen, going through the five stages of grief, and how he fights off depression. (This could also be seen as him hearing the scream, it reminding him of his lost love, him projecting that pain onto this fox, and him still running from the metaphorical beast of depression after confronting through the fox.) The main character (who we’ll say is Hozier just cause it’s easiest) lost a loved one. If we assume he goes through a normal progression of DABDA(Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, and Acceptance), he describes Denial, Anger, and Bargaining in the beginning with the fever/sickness. -“my head was warm” Anger -“I called your name til the fever broke” bargaining/general grief, his life now being centric around this person that’s no longer there -“When I awoke...a night so black that the darkness hummed.” Coming out of the first three stages and entering the “night” of depression -“I raised myself, my legs were weak. I prayed my mind be good to me.” Knowing he’s not doing well but keeping on living though he feels weak/no purpose. After entering depression, he begins to think more and more about how it happens, and here the metaphor “fox” begins to take shape. -“an awful noise filled the air. I heard a scream...” seeing and hearing someone’s agony but feeling disconnected from it, almost guilty that you can’t help, but it still hurts you. -“I heard a scream in the woods somewhere.” The cause of the “scream”, it’s owner, and meaning veiled by the forest. -“A woman’s voice...with empty hands.” Repetition of his helpless feeling but want to help. -“a fox it was, he shook afraid. I spoke no words, no sound he made.” Seeing this person afraid of their own death, both not wanting to discuss it because of their fears. -“his bone exposed, his hind was lame.” Description of the details of the persons suffering that plague him. -“I raised a stone, to end his pain.” Thinking that he almost wished he could have taken the persons life to “end their pain” and show them both mercy. (He never said if he actually did it though) -“What caused the wound? How large the teeth? I saw new eyes were watching me.” Seeing this person going through DABDA before passing, and knowing he would go through it himself. -“The creature lunged. I turned and ran to save a life I didn’t have.” The “beast” of depression comes for him, threatening his life. He makes the decision in that moment that even though he was about to fall off the edge (“...a life I didn’t have.”), that he valued his life and wanted to keep going. *The lyrical crux of this song is also the story telling/metaphor crux, as he decides to keeping living in this verse.* -“Deer in the chase...Forgot all prayers of joining you.” He’s actively running from depression (“deer” could also be interpreted as plural, meaning the family of the deceased person or just other people that he’s seeing/seen go through this or even mimicking his lovers “run” from their death/fear/DABDA), and has stopped wishing he could “join” this person in the after life. -“I clutched my life, and wished it kept. My dearest love, I’m not done yet.” He’s learned the value of his life, wants to keep it, and addresses his love, but now his life is about him instead of mourning them. This could also be interpreted as “I’m going to keep on living for the person who passed/they’d want me to be happy.” -“how many years I know I’ll bear.” ‘Even though it may suck to keep living, and I don’t know how long, I’ll bear it and keep going.’ -“I found something in the woods somewhere.” Roll credits. A different and resolved version of the statement that sent him into action, this line ends the song and thus the story. The “something” he found was a will to keep on going, even though he doesn’t really process it that way yet, and if he does, doesn’t want to say it because he’s still hurting in other ways(reaching Acceptance in DABDA doesn’t mean that you stop hurting, you’ve just accepted what had happened and have moved on from it, though many still feel a great deal of emotional pain around it, but the main source of hurt is gone). *The reason he says “in the woods somewhere”: when we all heard it, we initially went “oooo mysterious!” Exactly. He doesn’t specify which wood, nor where in the woods. Just that he found something there. The point being that it doesn’t matter where one finds solace after experiencing grief, but it will be found.* Lastly: the sound of the song (besides being _superb_) has a constant 1 2, 1 2, 1 2, *1 2 3* all the way through. This is reminiscent of a heart beat, the only thing driving Hozier through this depression. Followed by the hard hitting *1 2 3*, which is jarring and powerful, just like the threat of the beast following him, looming over his should, exactly like depression. They only get a few heartbeats before it’s there, pressing down on them again. (Sorry I have to or this is incomplete) This has been my TEd Talk.
Sure, it may have no special meaning, but that doesn't mean it can't or shouldn't be thought-provoking. Meaning for most artistic work exists in the mind of the observer.
It's a combination of a lot of things I think. He tweeted about a dream that inspired this song, definitely had a story about a screaming fox in the woods, and may have taken some inspiration from dante's inferno. Regardless it's a beautiful piece that may finding different meanings to different people 💕
i heard this song for the first time when my grandmother died. We were connected so strongly to each other even if i'm adopted. We were born on the same month and same day! This song is so memorable to me, but in a good way. It helped me a lot! Thank you! And thanks to Hozier too!
I imagine the guy losing his lover in a tragedy (by the hands of a monster or bandit perhaps). That the sorrow overwhelms him, especially at night when our thoughts become deeper and clearer. I imagine that the nights always felt incredibly long (the moon still hung) and when he awoke sweating and calling her name, it's coz he gets night terrors as a form of PTSD. When he heard the scream in the woods, he heard a women's voice when it was really a fox's cry. Sometimes with PTSD, people think of things when they see or hear certain sounds. Knights used to hear battle and fighting when pots knocked and made a noise, from their PTSD. He heard the scream and heard his lover scream when she was tragically taken. So he runs to help her. He suffers from PTSD. I also see him wanting to die and not carry on due to his sorrows (my prayers of joining you) but when the creature in the woods tries to kill him, he realises that he isn't ready to die. He doesn't want to, so he runs and realizes how close to death he actually was, the thing he's been longing for, yet realising how that is far from the path he wants to follow when it was actually staring him in the face, so he finds a new redemption where he decides that he will not kill himself or long for it anymore, because he's not done yet. He's going to be strong and carry on for her. I found something in the woods somewhere. I find that part to not only be the creature, but also his new found redemption. As for killing the fox, I just find that he killed it out of a merciful act because it was just the right thing to do, but I also like to imagine him wanting to find out more about this thing in the woods. It's more of a scene and story I imagine in my head, rather than the metaphorical meanings personally. I love how this song is open to whatever you make it
