‘That You Are’ by Hozier & Bedouine - Lyrics & Meaning

Arriving as part of Hozier's three-song Unaired EP in August, ‘That You Are’ marks the first collaboration between the Irish singer-songwriter and Syrian-American artist, Bedouine.

The ambient, atmospheric offering finds the duo assuming the role of two lovers, as Hozier and Beduoine trade evocative verses underlining how devoted they feel to one another. ‘That You Are’ joins ‘Nobody's Soldier’ and ‘July’ on Unaired, with this duet being the only track that Hozier didn't tease ahead of the project's release.

Compared to the drama and fire of ‘Nobody's Soldier’, ‘That You Are’ carries an overwhelmingly serene, peaceful tone, with Hozier and Bedouine's ethereal vocals floating across the spacey instrumental. This airy, delicate vibe mirrors the tranquility of the narrative, with the two artists expressing the euphoria they feel when they're together. The sinuous, almost chant-like delivery throughout the verses conjures up the call-to-prayer that they reference throughout ‘That You Are’.

“It's the sound of it that brings me there

This city locked into the song of prayer

That finds no melody

Every moment of the working day

The twitching muscles in each step I take

The prayer is all of me”

Hozier likens the love he feels for his partner to being a spiritual, otherworldly experience, calling to him as he reluctantly goes about his working day. All he can think about is returning to his lover's arms, with Hozier contrasting this jubilantly musical feeling with the comparatively cold, soulless city that lacks any kind of melody.

“That I'd be

Anywhere that you are, that you are

That I'd be

Anywhere that you are, that you are”

They repeatedly underline to one another that they want to be “anywhere that you are”, with Hozier and Bedouine even implying that they exist only for the purpose of being in love.

The line “That you are, that I'd be” could be rephrased as “It is because you are, that I am”, with the spiritual aspect of this touching on how they worship one another.

“Maybe I have yet to venture out

See the places that I hear about

Planes and trains and cars

Carve their lines into a curve like blades

All I get to are mistakes half-made

Leave the door ajar”

Perhaps unexpectedly, Bedouine's verse is pervaded by a notably less romantic mood than Hozier's. She seemingly hints that she yearns to see more of the world, before portraying the mechanics of the city as being harsh and imposing, cutting into the natural world “like blades”. Bedouine asks her lover to “leave the door ajar”, which appears to imply that she wants to keep the option of leaving open.

This could suggest ‘That You Are’ was intended to be in the ‘limbo’ circle of hell in Dante's Inferno, with each song from his Unreal Unearth album sessions crafted for a particular realm. Ahead of dropping Unaired, Hozier shared, “These were a collection of songs that nearly made it to the album under the circles of gluttony, limbo, violence and the outward ‘ascent’, but couldn’t for various reasons”.

Taking to his socials in the lead-up to the release of ‘That You Are’ and his Unaired project as a whole, Hozier explained, “It's been an incredible feeling to see how much support the Unheard EP has received from you all, especially songs like ‘Too Sweet’. The reaction to that song has come as a complete surprise. These were a collection of songs that nearly made it to the album under the circles of gluttony, limbo, violence and the outward ‘ascent’, but couldn’t for various reasons”.

He expanded, “I’m so glad I still got the chance to share them with you, it really does mean the world that you're enjoying these songs so much. Thank you as always. So much love”.

“One, two, three

-

It's the sound of it that brings me there

This city locked into the song of prayer

That finds no melody

Every moment of the working day

The twitching muscles in each step I take

The prayer is all of me

-

That I'd be

Anywhere that you are, that you are

That I'd be

Anywhere that you are, that you are

-

Maybe I have yet to venture out

See the places that I hear about

Planes and trains and cars

Carve their lines into a curve like blades

All I get to are mistakes half-made

Leave the door ajar

-

But I'd be

Anywhere that you are, that you are

That I'd be

Anywhere that you are, you are

-

But prayer

Is all of me, all of me

The prayer

Is all of me, all of me

-

That I'd be

Anywhere that you are, that you are

That I'd be

Anywhere that you are, that you are”

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