# @hozierupdates on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/C60r4J3M_bA
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/33251987-hozierupdates-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/9efcd2c972.jpg
- **Posted:** 2024-05-11T09:30:00.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** Hozier Updates (@hozierupdates) — https://gondola.cc/hozierupdates

## Caption

EMPIRE NOW

💡Let’s talk about it!

“Sun coming up on a dream come ‘round, one hundred years from the Empire Now”

From the 18th to the 20th centuries, Britain was referred to as “the empire on which the sun never sets” to signify its vastness. Controlling an estimated 25% of the earth landmass, there was always daylight in one of its territories.
If sun is coming up, it had to set, therefore, the Empire has fallen. This song talks about Ireland’s Revolution.

The world witnessed the Irish Easter Rebellion of 1916, which culminated in the establishment of an independent Irish state on December 6, 1921. 100 years later this song was being written.

Back in 1918, the modernist novel ‘Ulysses’ by Irish writer James Joyce was also being written. Joyce encodes the horror of revolution and the grand potential of the revolutionary movement. I believe this could also be a source of inspiration since Joyce is one of Hozier’s favorite writers.

In the chorus we have a bit of a ‘Wasteland, Baby!’ Hozier, where you have this ‘nightmarish scenario’ as he describes it, but he’s not loosing hope on a possible bright future and he’s ready to fight for it. 

The song continues with “Martyrs of our revolution, their spinning caused the earth to shake.

As a reaction to the Easter Rising, hundreds were taken as prisoners. Eventually, 16 of the Rising’s leaders were executed between May 3-12, 1916. The nature of the executions, and subsequent political developments, ultimately contributed to an increase in popular support for Irish independence. 

This could lead us into the next lines “The problem brought its own solution, they power now the world we’ve made”. 

If you say that a dead person would turn in their grave, you mean that they would be very upset about something. He also explained that they were spinning so fast, it caused the movement of earth. Eventually they’re used as a source of power and this is a scientific fact, biofuel can be made from dead humans! 

Of course, this is just my take on the song based on his comments. If you like this kind of content lemme know which song should I dissect next 🕵🏻‍♀️

Thank you for reading 🖤

#hozier #unheard #empirenow #irish

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## Tags

hozier, unheard, irish, empirenow

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