Bon Iver; a reflection on Spring and memories…

Justin Vernon has become a cult hero since his debut album ‘For Emma, Forever ago’ hit dizzying heights back in 2007. His Zeppelin-esque absence from interviews mixed with badly drawn boy beard-hat combo and a general minimalist folk dress sense make him a fascinating character. Not convinced? Did I mention he wrote the whole album on his own in a secluded log cabin in the woods of Wisconsin after his girl dumped him and his band broke up?…….. Interested now?! Thought so.

Justin became a wanted man, taking time from touring the record to collaborate with various superstars like Kanye West. Whilst the fan base waited anxiously for a follow up.

Bon Iver released their self titled second record last week and it is for want of a better word, exquisite. If their first album was written in a winter, this is spring. The music still has the recognisable falsetto instrument that is his voice constant throughout the record, but the sound has expanded, Vernon has asked his talented friends to add more drums, guitar and bass but also French horn, trumpet, saxophone and synth creating at times an almost 80’s feel. That might sound awful, but trust me it really isn’t.

The one thing that can be said of Bon Iver is that the music is easier to interpret than the lyrics are. Vernon admittedly fits words to songs rather than having any profound meaning. However the album does seem to have an over all theme to it. Nearly all the tracks are curiously named after real places (Minnesota WI, Perth, Wash) and after some study, also reflect the lead singers memories.

In Michicant he reflects on childhood: “I was unafraid, I was a boy, I was a tender age” and in ‘Minnesota WI’ reinforces these childhood memories in reflecting back to a time when he maybe felt invincible: “never gonna break never gonna break”. But it is in ‘Holocene’ where these memories begin to get interesting “Someway, baby, it’s part of me, apart from me. you’re laying waste to Halloween” concluding in a poignant and sweeping chorus “And at once I knew, I was not magnificent” this is maybe Vernon displaying all of his insecurities in the face of his massive success, his self esteem still low from his past memories maybe? The record at times sounds like he is running away, but the record closer heralds a triumphant return in an 80’s drenched synth masterpiece with hints of (dare I say it) fun and joy?!

I reflected heavily on these themes. How much of our past do we run away from? Vernon has written his past down for all to see, and for all time. Would I have the same courage to reflect on where I have come from and what that means for me?

Jacob is a great example in scripture of a man who runs from his past. Cheating his brother and father for the first borne blessing, running from his brother Esau’s grudge, and generally not facing up to his mistakes. Jacob is a man who sought after success, popularity and Gods favour, but ultimately (after literally wrestling with God) realises that he was not Magnificent, but a man who needed to be reconnected with his father in heaven.

Justin Vernon is someone who comes across as a man who is not running from his past, full of bad and good memories. But someone who has embraced them, someone who has accepted that they have made them into the man he is today. And I have a lot of respect for that. We shouldn’t run away or hide. Our past is who we are.

But it is not something to dwell on, because our future is very secure. In Jacobs story, God blesses him, giving him a new name, a new start, and immediately Jacob embraces his past and looks to the future.

Know that God has blessed all of us, whether we like it or not. The cross is our blessing and it grants us a new start. And it is Magnificent.