Songfacts®:

• "First Time" is an anthem of rebirth where love acts as the catalyst for an awakening. Comparable to a flower's journey from bloom to demise, Hozier navigates the cycle of life, contemplating the aftermath that lies beyond the conclusion of their love story.
  
  "This cycle of birth and death," explained Hozier to Apple Music, "of being lifted by an experience and then that experience ending and it feeling like your world collapsing in on you, and then going again."
• And the first time that you kissed me
  I drank dry the River Lethe
  
  The River Lethe, also known as the River of Forgetfulness or the Yellow River, is one of the five rivers in the Underworld of Hades in Greek Mythology. It was said to flow around the cave of Hypnos, the god of sleep. The souls of the dead were made to drink from the river before they were allowed to enter the Elysian Fields, the paradise of the underworld. The water of the Lethe would make them forget their past lives and allow them to start anew in the afterlife.
  
  That first kiss with his lover was so potent it represented an authentic rebirth, transforming Hozier into a new man.
• This life lived mostly underground
  Unknowin' either sight nor sound
  'Til reachin' up for sunlight just to be ripped out by the stem
  
  "First Time" is the third track on Unreal Unearth. The concept of Hozier "reaching up for sunlight," like a flower only to be torn from its stem, is reflected on the album's cover art.
• Hozier wrote "First Time" with his bass player Alex Ryan and frequent Kendrick Lamar collaborator Bekon. The song originated with a bassline Ryan sent to Hozier. "It was really colorful and light and playful to work with," said the Irish singer.