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  4. First Light
First Light by Hozier

TRACK

Hozier

First Light

Release date: 17th August 2023

From Unreal Unearth
Track 16
4:52
Alternative FolkMusicSinger/Songwriter
Spotify Apple Music More on Hozier

About This Track

'First Light' closes 'Unreal Unearth' as a moment of arrival. The track conjures the feeling of being cleansed by sunlight, built around the repeated refrain that life begins anew with this illumination. Hozier's larger-than-life vocals sit atop production that balances soothing blues guitar with choral accompaniment, creating something immersive and cathartic. The song moves from the intimate detail of waking, eyes opening, breath soft and easy, to an overwhelming sense of transformation, the sky set to burst with gold and rust. What makes the track work is its restraint alongside its grandeur. Simple riffs ring clear whilst Hozier's voice takes centre stage, and the production never overwhelms the emotional core: the idea that encountering another person, or simply witnessing light after darkness, can remake you entirely. A Dork four-star record, the album finds him at his most indulgent, and this closing hymn crystallises that warmth and richness into something genuinely affecting.

"First Light" is a track by Hozier, from the album Unreal Unearth, released 17th August 2023. The track is 4:52 long. It's filed under Alternative Folk. Full lyrics are available below. Dork has published 8 articles about Hozier.

About the Artist

Hozier

Hozier

Lyrics

First Light

One bright morning changes all things
Soft and easy as your breathing
You wake
Your eyes open at first a thousand miles away
But turning shoot a silver bullet point-blank range
And I can scarce believe what I'm believing in
Could this be how every day begins?
The sky set to burst
The gold and the rust
The colour erupts
You filling my cup
The sun coming up
Like I lived my whole life
Before the first light
Like I lived my whole life
Before the first light
One bright morning goes so easy
Darkness always
Finds you either way
It creeps into the corners as the moment fades
A voice your body jumps to calling out your name
But after this I'm never gonna be the same
And I am never going back again
The sky set to burst
The gold and the rust
The colour erupts
You filling my cup
The sun coming up
Like I lived my whole life
Before the first light
Like I lived my whole life
Before the first light
Like I lived my whole life
Before the first light
Like I lived my whole life
Before the first light
Like I lived my whole life
Before the first light

Lyrics provided by LRCLIB

View full lyrics page →

Track details

From Unreal Unearth

4:522023
Listen
Album
Unreal Unearth
Unreal Unearth
Hozier
18th August 2023
Track number
16
Release year
2023
  1. 1De Selby (Part 1)
    3:40
  2. 2De Selby (Part 2)
    3:48
  3. 3First Time
    3:53
  4. 4Francesca
    4:30

More from Hozier

Albums & EPs

Unreal Unearth: Unending
Unreal Unearth: Unending
2024
Unreal Unearth: Unaired
Unreal Unearth: Unaired
2024
Unheard - EP
Unheard - EP
2024
Francesca
Francesca
2023
God of War Ragnarök (Original Soundtrack)
God of War Ragnarök (Original Soundtrack)
2022
Wasteland, Baby! (Special Edition)
Wasteland, Baby! (Special Edition)
2019

Explore

More tracks by Hozier

  1. Abstract (Psychopomp)Unreal Unearth: Unending
    4:04
  2. Alright
  3. Angel Of Small Death & Codine Scene (Live at 3Arena, Dublin, 2019)
  4. Anything ButUnreal Unearth: Unending
    3:45
  5. Discreet
  6. First LightUnreal Unearth: Unending
    4:52
  7. Hymn To VirgilUnreal Unearth: Unending
    3:23
  8. Jackie And Wilson (Live at 3Arena, Dublin, 2019)
  9. JulyUnreal Unearth: Unending
    3:34
  10. Love Supreme

Showing 10 of 20

If you like Hozier

Noah Kahan

Noah Kahan

Florence + the Machine

Florence + the Machine

Gigi Perez

Gigi Perez

The Lumineers

The Lumineers

The Crane Wives

The Crane Wives

Gregory Alan Isakov

Gregory Alan Isakov

  • 5I, Carrion (Icarian)
    3:17
  • 6Eat Your Young
    4:04
  • 7Damage Gets Done (feat. Brandi Carlile)
    4:29
  • 8Who We Are
    4:06
  • 9Son of Nyx
    3:19
  • 10All Things End
    3:37
  • 11To Someone From A Warm Climate (Uiscefhuaraithe)
    4:01
  • 12Butchered Tongue
    2:30
  • 13Anything But
    3:45
  • 14Abstract (Psychopomp)
    4:04
  • 15Unknown / Nth
    4:40
  • 16First Light
    4:52
  • —To Someone From a Warm Climate (Uiscefhuarithe)

    • Credits

    Production & Engineering

    Writer
    Bēkon, Chakra (Producer), Craig Balmoris, Hozier, Peter Gonzales, Sergiu Gherman, Stuart Johnson, Tyler Reese
    Producer
    Bēkon, Chakra (Producer), Craig Balmoris, Hozier, Pete G, Sergiu Gherman, Tyler Reese
    Bass
    Chakra (Producer)
    Drums
    Peter Gonzales, Stuart Johnson
    Additional Vocals
    Bēkon
    Assistant Mixing Engineer
    Kieran Beardmore, Liam O’Dowd, Matt Wolach
    Assistant Recording Engineer
    Logan Taylor
    Drum Programmer
    Craig Balmoris, Tyler Reese
    Mastering Engineer
    Greg Calbi, Steve Fallone
    Mixing Engineer
    Mark “Spike” Stent
    Piano
    Bēkon
    Recording Engineer
    Viktor Szabó
    Sampler
    Tyler Reese
    Strings
    Bēkon
    Synthesizer
    Bēkon
    Vocal Engineer
    Chakra (Producer), Sean Cook
    READ MORE ABOUT HOZIERREAD MORE ABOUT HOZIERREAD MORE ABOUT HOZIERREAD MORE ABOUT HOZIER
    READ MORE ABOUT HOZIERREAD MORE ABOUT HOZIERREAD MORE ABOUT HOZIERREAD MORE ABOUT HOZIER
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