Music Blog

Summer Pandemic

Nancy's Notes 🖊️🎶

This week at Glyn Wilton’s Mixed Music Bag,
he’s asking us to write about a song in which
the title or a line mentions the current month. 
Here’s my final artist for July and his song.

© The Cornell Daily Sun

Andrew John Hozier-Byrne, known professionally as Hozier, is a singer/songwriter from Ireland whose music primarily draws from folk, soul, and blues. He often incorporates religious and literary themes while taking political or social justice positions. Hozier began writing songs at the age of 15, taught himself guitar and sang in his school choir. He was educated at Delgany National School and was raised a Quaker. He studied music education at Trinity Collete Dublin.

Hozier’s breakthrough song was “Take Me to Church” written in 2013 followed by the release of his debut EP, also called Take Me to Church. The song addressed themes of sexuality and religious hypocrisy, and its accompanying video tackled gay discrimination in Russia. During COVID, Hozier performed via social media to raise money and awareness for the Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children.

In 2024, Hozier released his third studio album, Unreal Unearth, which was written during the COVID pandemic; his song “July” is from the Unaired EP, a collection of songs originally recorded for the album. “July” finds Hozier personifying the month, and gazing longingly at the prospect of being able to freely go outside again and enjoy the summer. He looks optimistically ahead at the impending contentment that will come in July … the month the Irish government assured the public the COVID-19 restrictions would be lifted (although this was ultimately pushed back). Hozier hints that his fantasy about being able to leave his house and make the most of the summer may not be realized in July, by suggesting that “it’s the hope that was killing you”.

This is “July” by Hozier


LYRICS

Winter worn me out like I was Prada
Threw up on me when the night was through
You can keep a dream in your mind
Only to find it’s the hope that was killing you

But you arrived like sunlight in the gloom
And burned off the haze when the year was still new

Keeping me going how you show up like July, July
And July is still coming
It’s made real by the things that you do
And July, July
And July is still coming
Just knowing that it’s getting me through

And you can go to work
Until your disaster, babe
Build your temple the sound and stone
Put in all of their time only to find
By the end that your god has flown

Or all alone he sank like a stone
Took root where he fell and started to grow

Blooming beyond us like the promise of July, July
And July is still coming
It’s made real by the things that you do
And July, July
And July is still coming
Just knowing that’s getting me through

July, July
And July is still coming
It’s made real by the things that you do
And July, July
And July is still coming
Just knowing that’s getting me through

July, July
And July is still coming
It’s made real by the things you do
And July, July
And July is still coming
Just knowing that’s getting me through

Source: LyricFind
Songwriters: Andrew John Hozier-Byrne/Jeff Gitty
July lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

Mixed Music Bag 2025 – Manhattan Supreme

Big thanks to Glyn Wilton for hosting Mixed Music Bag each week. Please be sure to follow the link and check out Glyn’s site.

Thanks for joining me today and spinning some tunes.

See you on the flip side. 😎

NAR©2025

All text, graphics and videos are copyright for Nancy’s Notes 🖊️🎶, The Sicilian Storyteller, The Elephant’s Trunk, and The Rhythm Section, et. al., and are not to be used without permission. NAR©2017-present.

26 thoughts on “Summer Pandemic”

  5. Thank you Nancy, ,.. considering he’s Irish I should know the name, the music,… but nope,…he has a great voice, ….🎶 so I’m off to listen again, …🎶…..(Alexa……🎶)….💙

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        2. Apparently approximately 1,600, …whilst small in numbers they’re having an impact reform wise, …( I’m learning something new every day, thanks to you, Nancy,…😎). 💙

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