Hozier - Would That I (Audio) 

He’s comparing his old love to trees and his new love to fire. She consumes his old loves by burning them away while he stand by to watch.

Hozier could sing my chemistry assignment and it would sound divine.

In Indian folklore there was a singer called "Tansen", who could sing "malahar" so well that he'd summon rain storms and fires by his voice... now I know what those rain storms and fires were in the hearts of the listeners ... Hozier has the same effect.

This song reminds me of those moments where you’re alone. Not necessary sad or happy, but just existing in the world and contemplating life.

“I fell in love with the fire long ago” feels like a little nod to arsonist’s lullaby

damn he sings like the sun warming your skin outside, he sings like the smell of smoke and the rain, he sings like the currents and the fires and the wind blowing from up north. He sings like the smile of a lover first thing in the morning, like the bitter taste of coffee you love so much. He sings like the embrace of your mother when you come home. damn

this feels like he’s an immortal fallen in love with the same soul in every life, and with each life they share together it only gets deeper.

me when i move to the highlands with my future wife & we have a big cottage with lavender in the garden & lots of books crammed everywhere & a hearth that's always crackling & lots of friends who pour into our house in the evenings & willow trees nearby the creek & things are lovely and beautiful

We will never deserve this beautiful Irish Forest Jesus

This is the kinda song you listen to when you're a long drive and you're looking longingly out the window .

this song makes me think of two forbidden 18th century lovers who escape their oppressive seaside kingdom to travel the world by boat

It's just been a few minutes since this album was uploaded and it's so sweet to see the same people commenting on all the songs like we're all so excited together

[Verse 1] True that I saw her hair like the branch of a tree A willow dancing on air before covering me Under cotton and calicoes Over canopy dappled long ago True that love in withdrawal was the weepin' of me That the sound of the saw must be known by the tree Must be felled for to fight the cold Fretted fire but that was long ago [Chorus] It's not tonight (Oh, oh) Where I'm set alight (Oh, oh) And I blink in sight (Oh, oh) Of your blinding light (Oh, oh) Oh, it's not tonight (Oh, oh) Where you hold me tight (Oh, oh) And the fire bright (Oh, oh) Oh, let it blaze alright (Oh, oh) Oh, but you're good to me, oh, you're good to me (Oh, oh) Oh, but that you're good to me, baby (Oh, oh) [Verse 2] With the roar of the fire, my heart rose to its feet Like the ashes of ash, I saw rise in the heat Settled soft and as pure as snow I fell in love with the fire long ago With each love I cut loose, I was never the same Watching still-living roots be consumed by the flame I was fixed on your hand of gold Layin' waste to my lovin' long ago [Chorus] But that's not tonight (Oh, oh) Where I'm set alight (Oh, oh) And I blink in sight (Oh, oh) Of your blinding light (Oh, oh) And it's not tonight (Oh, oh) Where you hold me tight (Oh, oh) And the fire bright (Oh, oh) Oh, let it blaze alright, honey (Oh, oh) Oh, but you're good to me, oh, you're good to me (Oh, oh) Oh, but you're good to me, baby (Oh, oh) [Verse 3] So in awe, there I stood as you licked off the grain Though I've handled the wood, I still worship the flame As long as amber of ember glows All the "would" that I'd loved is long ago [Chorus] And it's not tonight (Oh, oh) Where I'm set alight (Oh, oh) And I blink in sight (Oh, oh) Of your blinding light (Oh, oh) Oh, it's not tonight (Oh, oh) Where you hold me tight (Oh, oh) And the fire bright (Oh, oh) Oh, let it blaze alright (Oh, oh) Oh, you're good to me, oh, you're good to me (Oh, oh) Oh, but you're good to me (Oh, oh) Oh, oh, you're good to me, you're good to me (Oh, oh) Oh, but you're good to me, baby (Oh, oh)

I'm gonna go pick berries from the wild for my wife waiting back at home near the river

I like all these poetic comments and I’m just over here like “song very gud”

Not to be melodramatic but the way he says “honey” at 2:57 has ruined me for all other men

My 'Critical Thinking' professor in SFU told all of us on zoom to listen to this song. Ima rate him a 5/5 in ratemyprof for this only

I hope to love someone with as much passion that exists in every single Hozier song. That's the dream right there.

No, Hozier, you're good to us

for some reasons this song became my favorite once i listened. don’t get me wrong i love every song, but this one is so gentle and sweet to me yet a bit fierce. it makes me feel like i’m living in a cottage with the person i love and picking strawberries with her, a simple life where all that matters is being happy and holding each other. thank you hozier for always giving 10/10 music i love and appreciate you a lot

That chorus hit me like a truck.

I love how everyone gets the same "picking fruit for our loves in a forest" vibe from this song

I may sound corny as hell but this song makes me think of going barefoot on a neverending golden field with wide beautiful maple trees dotted around me in a beautiful orange/pink sky at sunset. And by every second the song goes I take one step at a time in the field and let my imagination flow through my mind! I literally owe Hozier my existence.

Ugh this man sets goals literally no one can achieve.

Please excuse me while I go run through the woods and find my true fae self

this is THE official breakdown song. nothing hits like that chorus. NOTHING

I want to attend at least one of his concerts in my life time because any musician who can make meetups feel like I've entered church is worth seeing

To a girl I fell in love with and went after for 8 years and still we became good friends, this song is for you.

**through tears** this is a really good song **sniff**

this song is so cottagecore wlw, i ony listen to this song when i'm alone, imagining myself in a cottage in the middle of the woods with my girlfriend.

No one: Not a single soul: Hozier: bUt tHAtS nOT tOniGht!!!!!!

Our lord and savior has returned, sisters and brothers. Let's rejoy.

Listen to this song is like being gently consumed by the fire and you are at ease because that's what you wanted the whole time.

Jesus Christ, this may be one of the most beautiful songs I've ever heard

This song makes me cry. Not out of sadness, nor really happiness, but more so the pure, blissful beauty of it

“Not all men” ur right, Hozier sings the word honey or baby and it slays me sweetly in a lovesick trance. I’m Gay.

This is one of the only songs that makes me feel butterflies in my stomach

This song is my absolute favorite off the album. This song just embodies forgetting about what other’s perceptions and just loving someone and being so in love with being loved. I just want to dance to this song while someone calls me their honey :’)

Oh what a fresh sweet refreshing soun..WAIT WHAT HOLY SHIT THAT ESCALAT...awww sweetness agai...OH MAN WAIT. Alright. I need to sit down. Someone tell me to breathe.

I constantly thank god for this beautiful Irish man

my favourite from the album, no question. i love every song but this one just makes me want to dance like crazy and scream the words as loud as i can. every time he says "youre good to me" i can hardly breathe or move any muscle in my body because this song just takes over. just magical, magical, magical.

The chorus is so unexpected I love it😭😭😭

Hozier, Ben Howard, Gregory Alan Isakov…just on a completely other level of music and lyrics. Makes you miss shit you never had but know that you want. It’s poetry and beauty and kindness and sadness all at the same time.

The way this plays with my soul 💥💕❤️‍🔥

personally, i think this is one of the. most. beautiful songs on this album, or in history. it's literally POETRY. every time i give it a listen, it feels like so much more than just that. i consider it a gift. no song gets my emotions more than this song, and it's always refreshing to hear it.

His lyrics always has a way of seeping through my skin and bones. It's always emotionally blissful to be able to experience music like how he makes it

See, I see it differently: I think he's comparing the types of people he loved to elements. Good women were the wood, where the fire women were a bit more toxic but passionate and kept him alive. It feels like he's processing why he has the need to love the fire, he's trying to be with the wood which is more inviting and less damaging....but unfortunately he Workships the fire: "with the road of the fire my heart rose to its feet" and he "settled soft and as pure as snow" ready to be melted by the fire. My god, the artistry that this guys has!

''I would have gone with you to the end, into the very fires of Mordor''

I am the Receiver. Hozier is The Giver. I’m receiving the memory of swimming through crystal clear oceans and tasting rainfall and standing under waterfalls and picking wildflowers and making bouquets and twirling around in the wilderness laughing at life (in a stoic way). You know?

If you told me that this was Jesus, I would believe it.

This fills me with sunshine and melancholy. Thank you for creating so many masterpieces.

True that I saw her hair like the branch of a tree Willow dancing on air before covering me Under cotton and calicoes Over canopy dead but long ago True that love in withdrawal was the weeping of me That the sound of the saw must be known by the tree Must be felt 'fore the fire get cold Befriended fire but that was long ago But that's not tonight (Oooh, oooh) I'm set alight (Oooh, oooh) My blinking sun (Oooh, oooh) Your blinding light (Oooh) Oh but that's not tonight (Oooh, oooh) Will you hold me tight? (Oooh, oooh) Light that fire bright (Oooh, oooh) Oh, let it blaze all night (Oooh) Oh, but you're good to me Oh, you're good to me Oh, but you're good to me, baby With the war of the fire my heart moves to its feet Like the ashes of ash I saw eyes in the heat Feel it soft and as pure as snow I fell in love with the fire long ago With each love I could lose I was never the same Watching still living roots be consumed by the flame I was fixed on your hand of gold Lay in waste of my loving long ago But that's not tonight (Oooh, oooh) Well I'm set alight (Oooh, oooh) My blinking soul (Oooh, oooh) Your blinding light (Oooh) Oh that's not tonight (Oooh, oooh) Will you hold me tight? (Oooh, oooh) Let that fire burn (Oooh, oooh) Oh, let it blaze all night honey (Oooh) Oh, but you're good to me Oh, you're good to me Oh, but you're good to me, baby So in awe there I stood as you licked off the grain Though I've handled the wood, I still worship the flame Long as amber of ember glows All the wood that I'd loved this long ago But that's not tonight (Oooh, oooh) I'm set alight (Oooh, oooh) My blinking soul (Oooh, oooh) Your blinding light (Oooh) Oh that's not tonight (Oooh, oooh) Will you hold me tight? (Oooh, oooh) Let that fire burn (Oooh, oooh) Oh, let it blaze all night (Oooh) Oh, but you're good to me Oh, you're good to me Oh, but you're good to Oh, you're good to me You're good to me Oh, you're good to me, baby

Absolutely sobbing, and I have to leave for work in 10 minutes, oh dear

The song “Be” and “Would that I” both have the words “ be good to me”. This person better be good! Hozier deserves goodness!! 😇😇

Your voice in the chorus is stunning. I mean, your voice is always stunning, but in those moments it is particularly so. Very stretched, raw, visceral, reaching out so deep. God, thanks for allowing us to listen to this.

Bro hozier is literally like the jesus of music

Jesus came back but he decided to bless us with music instead of salvation.

he's so good with poetic singing. he's analogy of things is so ancient and magical, it touches everyone's old soul.

That chorus THAT FUCKING CHORUS.

You sound like my dreams, I'll always recognize you.

when he said “AND ITS NOT TONIGHT” all my teeth fell out and i don’t know how to reverse it

I love how in some songs comments are just so positive

Come to think of it, his songs really sound like forests and faes and magical wood creature music lol

I love this, its like Shrike part II

I don't have all the words for all the things this makes me feel, but everything about it is magical

Im a maladaptive daydreamer and this song just makes me feel so free 😁😁😁

Hail to the melody ye citizens of Hozier Capital, for this, is the sound that breathes life into the soul of your lungs.

"love in withdrawal was the weeping of me, but the sound of the saw is know by the tree" a beautiful was to say that hurt and pain is on it way and to live despite it

10/10 Best singer songwriter of the century

I heard this song after a while and I was like why does this song remind me of something sweet? And it turns out, it was just last summer, sitting under the big trees in my front yard in the morning and listening to this for days straight. What a song man

okay time to skip across the forest in a satin dress with my army of angelic woodland creatures with flowers in my hair

The only God who answers prayers. Thank you Hozier!!!

Thank you soo much for your music.

This is one of the most beautiful songs I’ve ever heard. Music is why I live

I saw Hozier in Vienna, Austria about ten days ago and it was magical.

This song literally brings tears of joy to me. Not big tears, but just the well up that makes you thankful for the beauty we get to experience in this world every day. Simply stunning.

Its 2023 and yesterday I wrote my journal listening to this song. It was exhilarating. For every like to this comment I'll listen to this song again.

'Though I've handled the wood, I still worship the flame' is such a lovely lyric. It could be a myriad of different things, but I like to think it means that although someone had destroyed what you once had and left it to the dust, you still love them. It was a beautiful thing you had, and even though they burned it, you still worship their flames.

Is this the best song ever ?? 💁🏻❤️🤞🫶🏽

Good god, this guy is talented. I never heard of him until Almost Sweet Music came on my radio a few weeks ago but his music is insanely good. There are so many layers to each song; the passion is unreal.

No but Oh to be LOVED BY SOMEONE LIKE THIS

WOULD THAT I BY HOZIER!!!!!!!! !! !!! HOZIER SUPREMACY !!!

If comfort was a song

This song makes me think of a wholesome group of people around a bonfire and then they run around a field while the sun is setting. No ones on their phone and everyone is just living in the moment

This has to be my favorite song on the album, the perfect mix of sweet and heartfelt yet fiery and strong in the chorus... I love it so much I can’t even explain

God listening to Hozier is an Experience his music is so Intricate, his vocals are so powerful but haunting and his lyrics are poetry I can’t get enough ❤️

I love this song. it sounds like a pagan song; a man who fell in love with a girl born of the fire and a girl born of the earth. It's absolutely magical, utterly entrancing

"The world is not your books or maps it's out there'' -JRR Tolkien

True that I saw her hair like the branch of a tree Willow dancing on air before covering me Under the garden [?] Over [?] long ago True that love in withdrawal was the weeping of me That the sound of the saw must be known by the tree Must be felt 'fore the fight [?] [?] but that was long ago And not tonight I'm set alight [?] Your blinding light Oh yes not tonight Will you hold me tight? Let that fire burn Oh, let it blaze all night Oh, hope you're good to me Hope you're good to me Hope you're good to me baby With the war of the fight my heart goes to its feet Like the ashes of ash I saw eyes meet Felt in love with the fire long ago

I'm a black woman, in love with this here man. Waiting for him to return to take me to Ireland or wherever so we can lay in a meadow, plays iny afro, a play with his curls.

I am moving to live by an uprooted tree now. It is calling to me.

This makes me wanna go skipping in the woods somewhere. 😉😍

Hozier has the best most poetic lyrics of anyone I've heard in the last decade.

Hozier could recite the digits of pi yet make it seem like such a divine song, absolutely ineffable even!

Oh to write poetry and song like this.

How did I miss this??? Sweet Jesus bringing me home

I love this man

Hozier if u see this which u won’t but I have one of the worst cases of tourettes and I can’t touch anything without breaking it or failing any simple task. I no joke fail 98% of anything I do during the day. I can’t live with being unable to do anything AT ALL. I’ve signed up for the final exit network and am so scared to do it. I’m actually terrified. I don’t want to do it but every day, all day Is a struggle. I have non stop Tics that are totally debilitating. I can’t even make my own food without burning myself or fling ingredients everywhere. Then having to clean it up and repeat. My point is I listen to your music everyday and it help sooth me and make me feel better. Your song are so interested to my ears and it just makes me feel so good. Your voice is so deep and euphoric I’m so happy that you are making such beautiful music. Thank you Hozier for helping me through the hardest times!

Early summer evening, summer is coming to an end. Montage of all the different places this group of friends went: sat in a camper at the beach, running through the woods, looking longingly round a beautiful gothic city in the evening time and finally sitting under a tree and reading together.

I think this is my fave! Could still change. Actually likely to change depending on mood and circumstance like the debut album. But oh this is sublime, The verses so sweetly sung like courtship and the chorus so passionately felt like the consummation yes!