Hozier is a stage name for a singer most known for the song “Take Me to Church” which was released in 2013. After these years, many songs have become popular including “Too Sweet”, a song released this year. This song is about him and another person having too many differences to be the one for each other.
The song starts with describing who he is and the difference between him and his partner. He is the type to sleep in while his partner wakes up “for the sunrise”. His partner is concerned for him and wants him to “live right”. These differences can come between a couple, but what makes it worse is not accepting the partner’s differences. This creates conflict with the couple.
Then, the singer teases his partner about how great his lifestyle is and hopes that his partner secretly wants to live like him. He sets a boundary and says, “If you’re drunk on life babe, I think it’s great” and continues to say how he wants to live. He is respectful of his partner’s ways, but living with that is not in the cards for him. Boundaries are great for any type of relationship, but it also has to be accepted by the other person, and if it is a dealbreaker, the couple should break up.
The differences between the two are highlighted in the chorus by comparing them to coffee. The repeated “You’re too sweet for me” lines with the repeated lines on how he takes his “whiskey neat” shows this. While he would rather take his life slow and not complicate anything, his partner is too caring about his lifestyle and lives life in a possibly more complicated way that is encouraged by many people. He is sick of being controlled and forced to live that way.
The second verse is all about how he is a realist, but he overworks himself, and his partner is concerned for him although he doesn’t care as he doesn’t want “to live forever”. He cannot go along with what his partner wants. Whether or not overworking yourself is good or bad, no one can change that for you, and this partner needs to realize that.
He describes his partner to emphasize how different they are to him. He would rather have a partner that is more like him, or he would even wait for this other person to become more like him although he knows it won’t happen. This person is not the one for him and he knows it.
The chorus then repeats and is also the outro. This song emphasizes that too many differences and not enough acceptance of them means the relationship will not work and moving on to other people may be the best decision.