When one decides to go to a concert where their favorite artist is coming to their hometown, you can expect how life-changing that concert will be. This is especially true when it is the passionate and profound artist Hozier serenading your eardrums. There is nothing quite like a man who puts his entire soul into everything he writes. But even more so, you can feel every single word that Hozier sings. It grazes the mind in such a way that it goes beyond song lyrics and becomes poetry.
I was so jealous of my friends in high school because they had all had the blessing of seeing him live in 2024. I was extremely bothered by this fact because I thought I would never get the chance to see him again. Little did I know that on July 13th, 2025, I would be able to attend the experience of a life-time that was only a mile away from my house. I fought for those tickets when they came out in April, and of which were all gone within the first 10 minutes. I ended up snagging some thanks to the wonderful creation of re-selling, and all I had to do then was wait.
The waiting was in fact worth it. I got to stand in the pit with my best friends and watch – in my opinion – the best concert of my life. What added to this moment however was when he got to one particular song that also happens to be my favorite Hozier song of all time. This was the stunning lyrical masterpiece Francesca, and its story is even more tragically beautiful than the song derived from it.
Hozier’s concept for his album Unreal Unearth came from the poem Inferno by Dante Alighieri. Inferno is the Italian word for Hell, which perfectly captures the central theme of the poem. Dante was so troubled by his own sins that he wrote a story of his journey through Hell. In the poem, Dante himself is guided by the ancient Roman poet Virgil through the nine circles of hell. Since this poem was written in the 1600s, the idea of sin was considered repulsive, and anyone who committed one would be doomed to eternal suffering.
In the poem, there are three major sins that divide into different subparts based on how wicked the sin is. These three sins are Incontinence, Violence/Bestiality, and Fraud/Malice. The sin Incontinence is the first one that Dante is introduced to, and it is divided into these levels: lust, gluttony, hoarding, and wrath. Lust is the second circle of Hell, and within its structure are souls who are thrown back and forth by the winds of a violent storm. To Dante, this represents the power of lust to blow without care of its damage. As Dante passes through this storm, he meets a woman named Francesca da Rimini.
Francesca explains her story that she was married to a man – Giovanni Malatesta – for political purposes. However, she fell in love with his younger brother Paolo Malatesta and the two committed adultery. Giovanni found this out when he heard Paolo reading Francesca a love poem, and he violently stabbed both of them to death. In the poem, Francesca explains to Dante: “We are one in Hell, as we were above. Love led us to one death”. They both had died in each other’s arms, representing the deep connection they both created together.
To Hozier, the idea of sin being this heinous crime is severely outdated. Every human being has committed a sin in their time on Earth. Thus, one should not be shamed for this, especially when two individuals were so in love with each other like Paolo and Francesca. While their love affair was a lustful sin, Hozier defines their story as one that is human and natural. His song Francesca paints the couple to be this unstoppable force of all-consuming love. Rather than seeing them as being tortured by this grueling storm, he sings: “My life was a storm since I was born, how could I fear any hurricane?”. This line suggests that it could be from Francesca’s point-of-view. She explains to Dante that she would embrace this punishment thoroughly because nothing could be worse than being in a forced marriage. Especially when she had someone she loved so ardently that she would do anything to keep him in her life.
This devoted love is further conveyed with the line “If someone asked me at the end, I’d tell them ‘Put me back in it.’ And I would do it again”. Francesca notes in her conversation with Dante that she would put herself through this torture again and again just to be in the presence of Paolo. Even if someone were to ask if their affair was worth it, she would always say yes because the pain is worth every second they get to spend with each other. The lyric, “I would still be surprised I could find you darlin’, in any life” further emphasizes that their love remains unchanged even in the deepest and darkest place imaginable.
At the very end, his vocals overlap each other in this kind of mix of voices that could represent the lustful souls intersecting each other in the storm. The last two lines blend with one another, stating, “I would not change it each time. Heaven is not fit to house a love like you and I.” The greatest way to end this song is to explain that even though they have sinned, Francesca and Paolo’s love blossomed into something so powerful that even a place of paradise could not contain it.
Knowing about the meaning of the song ahead of time made watching it in concert so much more impactful. The way Hozier sings is with such intention that with every word he truly means what he is saying. I will admit that after every song, especially Francesca, I sobbed like a baby. However, I think that exact reaction is why Hozier is such an exceptional artist. He can make people feel something through every line of his songs, which is not only special but very hard to do.
If I had the chance, I’d 100% say put me back in that hot and sweaty pit where I stood and ascended from Hozier’s angelic vocals.