Towers
Bon-Iver Lyrics

For the love, I'd fallen on
Starting off, the singer explains that the love he came across was not something he chose, he simply fell for it.

In the swampy August dawn
The lyric talks about a certain time of the year, placing the story in a specific context.

What a mischief you would bring young darling!
Describing the object of his affection, the singer mentions the 'mischief' he knows will follow.

When the onus is not all your own
Here the singer talks about how the responsibility falls on both of them, not just one.

When you're up for it before you've grown
As they're not yet 'grown', they're still in the process of understanding relationships and how they work.

From the faun forever gone
This line likely refers to a mythology or a fantasy, indicating a certain type of story being told. The faun, a mythical creature from Roman mythology, is used as an example of something that is forever gone.

In the towers of your honeycomb
Honeycombs are structures created by bees, indicating a sort of natural, organic setting.

I'd a tore your hair out just to climb back darling
The singer says he'd do anything to get back to this person, even if it means causing them physical pain. This is likely a metaphor for how they get through tough times together.

When you're filling out your only form
The singer talks about how people are defined by the documents they have to fill out, as if that's all someone is.

Can you tell that it's just ceremon'?
The idea that people have to fit into specific boxes and be labeled in certain ways is ceremonial, not real.

Now you've added up to what you're from
This is likely a reference to the idea that you are a product of your upbringing and your environment.

Build your tether rain-out from your fragments'
This line could be interpreted as making sense out of confusing, disparate pieces of information.

Break the sailor's table on your sacrum'
The sacrum is the bony structure at the base of the spine. Breaking the sailor's table could refer to a violent incident, placing the phrase in the context of pain and struggle.

Fuck the fiercest fables, I'm with Hagen
Here the singer seems to reject classic narratives in favor of something new and individualistic. Hagen could be a reference to the character of Hagen in the Nibelungenlied, a medieval epic.

For the love, comes the burning young
This line seems to foreshadow what's to come -- the intensity and passion of young love will follow.

From the liver, sweating through your tongue
The liver is the source of bile, a substance associated with anger and passion. Sweat through your tongue could be interpreted literally as 'speaking your truth.'

Well, you're standing on my sternum don't you climb down darling
This is likely a metaphorical reference to the weight of a heavy emotion or feeling, and how it can feel like you're literally being crushed or suffocated by it.

Oh the sermons are the first to rest
The 'sermons' could be interpreted as a metaphor for societal norms or expectations. The idea is that people accept what they've been given without questioning it, but the 'first to rest' implies that this can't last forever.

Smoke on Sundays when you're drunk and dressed
This line could be a reference to certain cultural traditions, or simply having a good time on the weekends.

Out the hollows where the swallow nests
A metaphorical and literal reference to the natural world, with hallow trees providing a home for the birds we know as swallows.