”As It Was” is, in Hozier’s words, “a song about returning.” It is from the point of view of a person coming back to the person he loves.

It’s about reassuring somebody upon your returning, comparing all the wonderful things you’ve experienced and being able to only compare how marvellous it was to this person you’re talking to. There’s a sense of foreboding to it as well.

In his recent Reddit AMA, Hozier described As It Was as a “sibling song” to a previous song of his, “It Will Come Back”.