“Magnificent”: Hozier names his favourite lyric of all time
Picking out your favourite lyric of all time is a daunting task. From Paul McCartney to Joni Mitchell, there are countless songwriters who have proven themselves to be just as talented with a pen as they are with a guitar, turning tales and truths about the world into hit songs. But for Irish-born folk star Hozier, it’s Leonard Cohen who comes out on top when it comes to lyricism.
The Canadian singer is undoubtedly one of the most masterful lyricists of all time, a talent that seems to stem from the career he honed before he delved into music. In the years before he released his debut record, the aptly titled Songs of Leonard Cohen, the future folk artist spent his days penning poetry, a vocation that would prepare him for life as a lyricist.
Cohen’s penchant for dense imagery and emotional unravelments spilt into his work as a songwriter, resulting in some exceptional works of lyricism. “I’m standing on a ledge, and your fine spider web is fastening my ankle to a stone,” he declares in ‘So Long, Marianne’. “Well, never mind, we are ugly, but we have the music,” he shrugs in ‘Chelsea Hotel #2’.
To find an illustration of his skill with a pen and a piece of paper, you need only hit shuffle on his discography. But for Hozier, Cohen’s greatest writing comes from ‘Anthem’, a string-led, subdued track from his 1992 record, The Future. The song tackles humanity’s tendency to repeat itself and longs for us to find the “crack” through which the light gets in.
It is this metaphor that Hozier found himself particularly enamoured with. During a conversation with Shortlist, he picked out the lines, “Ring the bells that still can ring, forget your perfect offering, there is a crack, a crack in everything, that’s how the light gets in,” as his favourite lyrics of all time, describing it as “magnificent”.
“Lyrically,” Hozier concluded, “it’s one of his most wonderful songs.” The lines selected by Hozier certainly back up this statement. Initially, his suggestion that there is a “crack in everything” seems dismal, suggesting that everything is a little bit broken. But Cohen quickly flips that image on its head, turning the crack into something positive.
“That’s how the light gets in,” he adds. Rather than dwelling on the inevitable cracks that form in everything we touch — from relationships to ourselves — Cohen sees this as an opportunity. Brokenness allows the light to pass through something, offering a way out of pain. Between Cohen’s deep vocal delivery and the soaring strings that surround them, his carefully considered words are afforded all of the gravitas they require.
This lyric shows off Cohen’s poetic prowess, each line and image flowing into the next perfectly, but it also illustrates his capability to tackle huge themes in his lyrics. His songwriting isn’t just empty poetry. It’s poetry with purpose. Every word is considered for its poetic and thematic weight.
Though picking your favourite lyric of all time can be a daunting task, Hozier seems to have nailed it. The lyrics to ‘Anthem’ mark the height of what songwriting can be — beautiful, ambiguous and impactful all at the same time. They cement Cohen as one of the greatest lyricists of all time, sitting amidst an entire catalogue of magnificent wonderings about the world.
