"Take Me To Church" is a song from the Irish singer Hozier.
It was his debut single and part of the album "Take Me To Church EP". It also stands as the first track from the EP. The artist recorded it throughout the year 2013 and released it for digital download on September 16th, 2013.
The title of the track is a metaphor, "church" standing for "lover". It was written by Andrew Hozier Byrne, and when asked about the inspiration for the song's theme, he replied that
"if you see yourself for a moment through their eyes- everything you believed about yourself is gone. In a death and rebirth sense."
The song also contains a quote from the atheist Cristopher Hitchens:
"I was born sick; command me to be well".
"Take Me To Church" compresses three musical styles: blues, indie rock and soul. This is seen in the free Take Me To Church piano sheet music as well. The single was produced by Andrew Hozier Byrne and Rob Kirwan.
The music video that was made for the single was directed by Brendan Canty. It was filmed at Inniscarra Dam, in Cork, Ireland and it was released on September 25th, 2013. It focuses on the relationship between two men and the community's reaction when faced with their sexual orientation. The music video was shot in grey scale but the singer didn't appear in any of the scenes.
"Take Me To Church" has a duration of 4:05 minutes.
It has been covered by other artists since its release. The list includes Ed Sheeran, Kiesza, the British band Neon Jungle, who also included it on "Welcome To The Jungle", their 2014 debut album, Mat McAndrew, who sang it at the talent show "The Voice". His version reached number 92 on Billboard Hot 100 and number 5 on the iTunes chart. It was also used in a Beats by Dre ad that featured LeBron James.
"Take Me To Church" was a high commercial success. It sold over 1.3 million copies in the United States, 2.6 million in Denmark and it was certified double platinum in Italy and Sweden, platinum in New Zealand, Australia, Denmark, Canada, the United States and gold in Switzerland, Belgium and Germany.
The single reached number two on Billboard Hot 100 and topped the US Adult Alternative Songs and US Hot Rock Songs charts. It was also number one in Switzerland, Italy, Greece, Czech Republic, Lebanon, Belgium, Australia, Iceland, Poland, Luxembourg, Portugal, Sweden and Slovakia. The song reached top five in the most important foreign markets as well as in the United States charts.
A beautiful and successful song, you can learn how to play on the piano by using the free Take Me To Church piano sheets below.
