“It’s not just about coming into the light; it’s about realizing that the light can be just as deceiving as the dark.”
Welcome back to another Five Minute Friday. Anyone else listen to the new Hozier dropped today? If you haven’t given it a listen yet, imagine the quintessential sound from the musician of late: a fusion of soul, jazz, and love ballad all wrapped into one catchy track to stick in your craw. Beautiful like all the rest, with a dreamy lilt. But there’s one of the three singles dropped that stands out as fascinating: "July" and its subtle nod to Childish Gambino’s iconic "Redbone” would be it.
At first glance, the two songs might seem worlds apart — different genres, different vibes — but when you listen closely, you’ll hear that they share a musical lineage. Hozier borrows a melodic quote from "Redbone," weaving it into his own tapestry of sound. “Redbone” uses a synth, Hozier uses a piano. Where "Redbone" mixes retro-funk with modern soul, warning us about the dangers of letting our guard down, "July" takes us on a journey out of the darkness of winter into the deceptive light of summer.
Gambino’s "Redbone" famously warns, "Stay woke," speaking to the need to keep your eyes open in a world where daylight might expose you to harm. It’s a song about vigilance in love and life, about recognizing that not everything — or everyone — is as it seems. Hozier’s "July" feels like a spiritual successor to that message, like the subject or narrator of “Redbone” has grown up a little and realized that it’s not enough to simply keep your eyes open. It’s not just about coming into the light; it’s about realizing that the light can be just as deceiving as the dark. The lyrics speak of someone who builds "temples of stone and sound" to a god that’s long gone, suggesting that the narrator — and perhaps the listener — might be placing their trust in illusions. (The theme of the preceding song, pop-rock title, “Nobody’s Soldier”, is the choiceless reality of those stuck in the capitalist trenches. It would be no great leap to draw the thread across “July” as well.)
“Everything we call real is made of things that cannot be regarded as real.”
– Niels Bohr
In both songs, there’s this tension between reality and perception. In "Redbone," the danger is in the daylight, in thinking you’re safe when you’re not. In "July," the danger lies in the comfort of the light, in the trust we place in others who might be deceiving themselves — and us — by clinging to false hopes and empty idols.
“Never do human beings speculate more, or have more opinions, than about things which they do not understand.”
– Carl Jung, Mysterium Coniunctionis
And so, if we make meaning — if our characters make their own meaning — what is the value of a narrator? Is this where the appeal of an unreliable narrator comes in? To be a porthole through which to view a different kaleidoscope of reality? If we all make our own meaning, are we even capable of being wrong?
This video is a brief discussion of Carl Jung’s arrival at what he dubbed ‘synchronicity’, though is by no means comprehensive. The idea that we often create illusions of reality based on a shared unconscious fabric or materia unsettles some — Freud included. The discomfort can be called a defense mechanism of those that cling to the notion that belief is predated by fact — or that seeing is believing. But the defense mechanism is still one that can ultimately lead us astray. When we say “this person means everything to me, they are the light of my life,” it can mean the difference between being able to pick oneself up and carry on, or fumbling ever further into darkness when that person is no longer with us. Hozier’s "July" touches on this theme, showing us how we can be misled not just by others, but by our own desires and the stories we tell ourselves.
Hozier’s "July" touches on this theme, showing us how we can be misled not just by others, but by our own desires and the stories we tell ourselves.
So, as you listen to "July," think about how it echoes the caution of "Redbone." Both tracks remind us that we need to stay aware, to question the light as much as the dark, and to recognize when we’re being deceived — by others or by ourselves. Food for thought the next time you sit down at your writing desk.
Thanks for listening to this week’s Five Minute Friday. Stay curious, stay vigilant, and as always, stay woke. Until next time.
Nico
“[W]e need more psychology, more understanding of human nature, because the only real danger that exists is man himself. He is the great danger and we are pitifully unaware of it.”
– Carl Jung
5 Minute Friday - "July" in August