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“First Time,” written by Jeff “Gitty” Gitelman, Alex Ryan & Hozier, is a song released on the 18th of August, 2023. It is the third song from Hozier’s 2023 album, Unreal Unearth. The meaning of “First Time” lyrics by Hozier is finding oneself via introspection of the power of love, pain, & growth for the first time. This song touches on rediscovering our own identity and pursuing emotional growth amidst personal losses. The singer sings about how we mirror the complexities around us like a baby mirrors the world around us.
You can listen to Hozier’s “First Time” below.
Hozier, First Time: the Lyrics & Their Meaning
The first verse of “First Time” lyrics by Hozier talks about the discomfort he experienced during the initial days of a romantic relationship. It was unexpected for him to hear his name in her mouth. This made him uncomfortable and he distanced himself from her emotionally as he expresses his feelings as ‘an awful sound’, “My name would always hit my ears as such an awful sound”. Hozier felt this way because this was uncharted territory for him. He had not experienced anything like it before and this unfamiliarity made him uncomfortable. “Undiscovered underground” means she helped him discover a part of him that was previously unknown to him.
In the Pre-Chorus and Chorus, Hozier talks about how the feeling of love transformed his soul. He describes his first kiss with his partner as nourishing as if he is drinking from “River Lithe”. For the singer, it almost feels like he has discovered a new music that he vibes with. It is too soothing for his taste and he loves it. In the chorus, he explains how he felt when she called him her “Baby” and he says some adult emotions have died after this. He feels like a newborn child again. In the second Pre-Chorus, he talks about feeling unalive “Sensing only now it’s dyin’ // Drying out, then drowning blindly” because of his newfound love. Just as flowers change and grow by the season and by the year, he feels he is transforming as well but not in the way he wants to grow.
The second verse of “First Time” lyrics by Hozier talks about his newfound love by using flowers as his metaphors. He feels indebted to the flowers left by his mother as he sings “These days I think I owe my life to flowers // To flowers that were left here by my mother”. Also, “Ain’t that like them, giftin’ life to you again ” means the flowers change by the season and grow by the year. It’s like a new life for the flowers. He connects this with his personal highs, lows, happy days, and sad days. Then, Hozier talks about “reaching up for sunlight” which reflects the yearning for a brighter existence as the flowers, only to be “ripped out by the stem.”
Then, in the Bridge of the song, Hozier repeats “Come here // Ooh-la-la, ooh-la-la // Whatever keeps you around, it keeps you around”. He is willing to do anything to keep his partner around him as he feels alive around her. The third verse of the song gives closure to the emotional turmoil he was previously experiencing. With the newfound love, Hozier feels relieved of pain and acknowledges this is the last time he has to reflect on his past. However, he is aware that this feeling could end anytime as he sings “Are there limits to any emptiness? // When was the last time // Come here to me, when was the last time?”
What Are the Lyrics of “First Time” by Hozier?
These are the lyrics of Hozier’s “First Time” via Genius:
First Time Lyrics
[Verse 1]
Remember once I told you about
How before I heard it from your mouth
My name would always hit my ears as such an awful sound
And the soul, if that’s what you’d call it
Uneasy ally of the body, it felt nameless as a river
Undiscovered underground[Pre-Chorus]
And the first time that you kissed me
I drank dry the River Lithe
The Liffey would have been softer on my stomach all the same
But you spoke some quick new music
That went so far to soothe this soul
As it was and ever shall be, unearth without a name[Chorus]
Some part of me must have died
The first time that you called me, “Baby”
And some part of me came alive
The first time that you called me, “Baby”[Verse 2]
These days I think I owe my life to flowers
To flowers that were left here by my mother
Ain’t that like them, giftin’ life to you again
This life lived mostly underground
Unknowin’ either sight nor sound
‘Til reachin’ up for sunlight just to be ripped out by the stem[Pre-Chorus]
Sensing only now it’s dyin’
Drying out, then drowning blindly
Bloomin’ forth its every colour
In the moments it has left
To share the space with simple living things
Infinitely suffering, but fighting off like all creation
The absence of itself, anyway[Chorus]
Some part of me must have died
Each time that you called me, “Baby”
But some part of me stayed alive
Each time that you called, each time that you called[Bridge]
Come here
Ooh-la-la, ooh-la-la
Whatever keeps you around, it keeps you around
Ooh-la-la, come here, ooh-la-la
Whatever keeps you around, it keeps you around[Verse 3]
The last time it was heard out loud
The perfect genius of our hands and mouths were shocked
To resignation as the arguing declined
When I was young I used to guess
Are there limits to any emptiness?
When was the last time
Come here to me, when was the last time?[Chorus]
Hozier’s “First Time” Lyrics
Some part of me must have died
The final time that you called me, “Baby”
But some part of me came alive
The final you called me, “Baby”
Comment on the meaning behind the song “First Time” lyrics by Hozier below or on the Twitter handle “@laviasco”. We have also analyzed “De Selby (Part 2)” and “Francesca” by Hozier.
