I've been paying more attention to lyrics lately, and I’ve been searching for more emotional tunes. I love Bon Iver and his poetry is something I hold dear, and it's something that I share with people who I feel will *get* it, or appreciate it regardless. That’s when I decided to listen to him more.
His song "Holocene" has been on repeat lately, and I wasn't sure to make of it at first. As a lover of "For Emma, Forever Ago", I hadn't really enjoyed anything he'd released other than that. I gave the tune a chance and surely enough, I was blown away.
Starting off with "Someway, baby, it's a part of me, apart from me," it sets the scene and creates a solemn cradle for what is going to be coming next. It's calming and pretty, and his vocals are at the perfect pitch. It captivates you right from the start.
The chorus is what really hit me: "And at once I knew, I was not magnificent. Strayed above the highway aisle (jagged vacance, thick with ice), I could see for miles." This line here is one of the best the man's ever written. The realization of knowing that he's "not magnificent" is a feeling that people can relate to at some point in their life, or use it to reflect. It's like he is trying to stab the listener in the heart; it's so stark and forward.
“Christmas night, it clutched the light, the hallow bright above my brother, I and tangled spines. We smoked the screen to make it what it was to be now to know it in my memory: and at once I knew, I was not magnificent.” Wow. This verse is stunning. It’s almost alluding to something religious; the “hallow” and “Christmas” makes it feel almost ethereal. The picture this paints is surreal and tells it like a story.
This song was apparently nominated for a Grammy last year, and rightfully so. The layered sound throws in instruments that are so unique, which is what makes Bon Iver so great. Ranging from a glockenspiel to oboes, the diversity his music shows is impressive. It never loses its punch when the line "I was not magnificent", which brings you back after getting entangled with the words to pushing you to notice the composition of the piece. Every detail is so careful and placed wonderfully; the buildup during the last chorus of with the drumroll and new influx of sounds is the greatest crescendo that Justin Vernon's ever come up with.
This is one of the best songs Bon Iver has ever written. Everything about it is flawless, and it is a song that’ll definitely stick with those who hear it.
It is truly magnificent.