Shrike

“Shrike” is the eighth track from Irish artist Hozier’s 2019 album “Wasteland, Baby!”. It is a track based on heartbreak, using the Shrike bird as a metaphor for strength after arising from a relationship. The track insinuates that the relationship Hozier discusses was an abusive and toxic one, that has been lost.

On the 10th October 2018, a video was uploaded to Hozier’s official YouTube channel featuring Hozier himself discussing the track. “I think I saw like, like a painting of a Shrike. A Shrike is a type of bird… an interesting little bird of prey that would kill a mouse, or a small lizard – and hangs it and crucifies it onto a thorn bush or a barbed wire fence… and eats it there. So it kind of makes it home in thorn bushes… you can identify a Shrike’s nest just by the sight of crucified small animals around it.” Hozier also discussed the meaning behind the lyrics of the track: “Characterising somebody as a thorn bush… I don’t know how or why… but I definitely – it was one of those ones where I wanted to write a song about that. I had the lines in mind but I just didn’t have the melody. I didn’t have the way to capture that in song, I suppose. Paul Brady would be a big influence for me… just leaning into folk influences as well.”

There is no official music video for “Shrike”, but the official audio video has over 5 million views since its upload on the 6th September 2018.

Release Date: 9th September 2018

Songwriter/s: Hozier

Producer/s: Hozier & Rob Kirwan

Label/s: Rubyworks / Island / Columbia

Video Release Date: 6th September 2018