Andrew John Hozier-Byrne is an emerging Irish musician who has taken the industry by storm. From Take Me to Church to Too Sweet, he has captured audiences of every age group and musical taste. The secret to his addictive music lies in one thing: meaning. Hozier’s music sets him apart among an array of artists, as it discusses topics that are both complex and controversial in nature. From sexual orientation to domestic abuse and feminism, love, religion, and much more, his music has got it covered.
Hozier’s Storytelling
One such example of his strong poetic language is “From Eden”. This song retells the story of Adam and Eve’s expulsion from Heaven with a new perspective. A perspective that is hidden beneath his poetic excellence and strong metaphors. This is a story as old as time, all the same. Eve saw Satan; Satan seduced her, and she, in turn, along with Adam, ate from the forbidden tree. But our monotonous story fails to answer one question. Why did Satan choose Eve? Why not Adam? This song gives a deeper perspective to that question.
Satan and Eve: A Playful Temptation
Babe
There’s something tragic about you
Something so magic about you
Don’t you agree?
The song starts off with Satan talking to Eve in a mocking tone by calling her “babe”. Telling her that there is a tragedy awaiting her. A tragedy that will revolve around her. His tone carries a hint of playfulness too.
There’s something lonesome about you
Something so wholesome about you
Get closer to me.
He goes on to say that she seems quite lonely in this lovely garden. Maybe her husband has been neglecting her? Why doesn’t she try talking to him (Satan)? Maybe they’ll make a great pair, all while standing outside the gates of Eden. This is shown in a vague picture painted through lyrics.
No tired sighs, no rolling eyes, no irony.
Eve, knowing that Satan has never been the bearer of good news and carries devious issues, chooses to ignore him. To this, he playfully talks to her from the other side of the gate.
No ‘who cares’, no vacant stares, no time for me.
Eve doesn’t respond to his calls or his playful demeanour, ignoring him completely. He complains as if he’s a lover for whom Eve has got no time.
Hozier paints this picture very beautifully, with Satan standing outside urging Eve cheekily to talk to him and form a bond. When we hear the story, Eve is painted as a sinner who transgressed under the spell of Satan. One may think it was Eve who must’ve initiated the conversation or played along. But Hozier takes us to the other side of the picture, where Satan is the one trying tirelessly to talk to Eve in the first place.
Downfall starts
Babe
There’s something wretched about this
Something so precious about this
Where to begin?
In the other scene, Satan is not in his usual form but as a serpent sneaking his way into Eden. There, he encounters Eve, again maintaining the same playful, almost flirty tone with her by calling her the endearment “babe” again. And the disaster that awaits Adam and Eve is being indicated. He asks himself sarcastically, Where should he begin? All while knowing how twisted and evil his actions are. However, once a sinner, always a sinner; that’s his mentality. These lyrics also point out subtly that while this may be a nefarious act, there is something so holy and precious in all of this.
Babe
There’s something broken about this
But I might be hoping about this
Oh, what a sin.
Here, Satan talks to Eve, but his tone from playfulness has gone to an almost mysterious one. What are his plans now? These lyrics also indicate that Eve has fallen victim to his charms. The lyric: “But I might be hoping about this. Oh, what a sin” is talking about the sin Eve has committed. The sin of falling for the charms of someone other than her husband, Adam. Still, as a serpent, he continues to talk to her. The sin of urging Adam to take a bite of the forbidden fruit.
One question arises here: why is he constantly trying to talk to Eve? In Satan’s eyes, Adam was a criminal, as he was human. Shouldn’t Eve be the same? Why is he playfully talking to her? Hozier goes on to explain this exact thought.
Obsession or Manipulation?
Honey, you’re familiar, like my mirror years ago.
Satan talks to Eve and calls her ‘his mirror’. This might point towards the fact that he is familiar with humans, but she is the one who makes him see his true face. In her, he sees himself. He admires Eve in an obsessive way, but why?
At this point in the song, Satan, disguised as a serpent, has managed to talk Eve into getting Adam to eat from the tree. He doesn’t want Adam there in Eden; Satan doesn’t care that Eve resides there or not. He doesn’t want Adam in Heaven; that is his final verdict. And all the puzzle pieces are now falling in place. Look at the following lyrics:
To the strand, a picnic plan for you and me
A rope in hand for your other man to hang from a tree.
He talks lovingly to Eve as if she’s a childhood sweetheart that they’re going to have a picnic. “A rope in hand for your other man.” These lyrics clear the confusion caused earlier by tireless attempts of Satan trying to talk to Eve. He thinks Adam doesn’t deserve her; he’s the other man in the story. And now, in vengeance, he wants him to eat from the tree and transgress; a metaphor masking this is “to hang from a tree”.
Fall of Man
Idealism sits in prison; chivalry fell on its sword.
God’s ideal creature, “Adam”, has finally committed the sin. He has eaten from the tree, as his chivalry and love for Eve made him eat the forbidden fruit. Satan talks to everyone present there in a victorious tone—that this is what the ideal looks like. A weak creature that fell victim to his other half.
The story would’ve ended here, but it doesn’t, as Adam didn’t eat the fruit alone. Eve joined in too, and they were both expelled from Eden.
From Eden to Earth
Innocence died screaming, honey; ask me; I should know.
Satan thinks that Adam was a criminal but Eve was innocent in all of this. This is shown from his as-a-matter-of-fact tone. She never even wanted to interact with him. When Eve too is expelled from Heaven, she blames herself for the sin. But Satan truly knows he’s the one to be blamed.
As they are thrown on the Earth, Eve thinks she’s alone and this is the end. Her past won’t follow her here, but little does she know.
I slithered here from Eden just to sit outside your door.
Satan never really stopped chasing her.
This song beautifully captures the essence of the story from the side of Satan and his obsession and attachment with Eve. According to Hozier, he was in love with Eve. The attempt to get Adam to take a bite of the fruit was so that Adam would no longer come between him and Eve. From Eden is not just a story; it’s a new perspective on the fall of man, filled with obsession, admiration and hatred. In this story, Adam and Eve are not just sinners; they are painted as humans. Satan is not a villain—rather, an admirer of Eve, seeing her as his reflection after exile. And even when they fell on Earth, Satan never followed them here because of Adam. He simply followed Eve; wherever she went, he was there already. This story is a beautifully haunting picture that our pasts never die—they simply follow us.