The name 'Bon Iver' (pronounced "bon ee-VAIR") is a play on the French phrase 'bon hiver' meaning 'good winter'. Vernon independently released Bon Iver's debut album For Emma, Forever Ago in 2007, most of which was recorded during a four-month stay in a remote cabin in Wisconsin.
While in high school and college Vernon founded the indie-rock bands Mount Vernon and DeYarmond Edison in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, where he still resides.
According to the For Emma Songfacts, after the break-up of De Yarmond Edison, Vernon retreated to his father's log cabin, out in the woods of north-east Wisconsin to hibernate for three snowy months. There he collected his thoughts and formulated them into a suite of songs, For Emma, Forever Ago . The album was originally self-released in late 2007 in a run of 500 copies and sold out instantly.
The album garnered critical acclaim, and was picked up by the indie-rock label Jagjaguwar, which gave the album a proper release on February 19th, 2008. The album was released in the UK and Europe by iconic indie 4AD on May 12, 2008.
When released in the UK, For Emma, Forever Ago received 5/5 and "Album of the Month" reviews in both MOJO and Uncut magazines. It is currently the third highest rated album of 2008 on review-aggregator site Metacritic, with accolades from publications including The Village Voice, The Hartford Courant and The A.V. Club.
The group's second album Bon Iver, Bon Iver was released on June 17, 2011 to universal acclaim. It was named by Pitchfork Media as the best album of 2011 on their annual list. At the 2012 Grammys, the album won Best Alternative Album and the group was awarded Best New Artist, despite having debuted in 2007.
www.boniver.org
Hinnom TX
Bon Iver Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
(Fall out)
(Fall along)
In the first of light
Past the Noachide
Bodies wrapped in white
Stranded every pain
I got out of La Grange
In Hinnom
All this time
With your heart in mind
Didn't you edit?
In Hinnom
Go, the least
And the precious feast
The in-vetted
Sand, it starts to steal (solar peace)
Dirt and ice imbed in cheeks (well, it swirls and sweeps)
In the potter's field (you just set it)
Strangers scattering (armor, down)
Nether passage in the wind (on the wettest ground)
Off pennant tension ring (not to vet it)
The lyrics of Bon Iver's song Hinnom TX are as cryptic as they are alluring. At a surface level, they offer glimpses of a journey through a desolate terrain, where bodies are wrapped in white, pasts are slain, and strangers scatter. Yet, beyond the apparent bleakness of the landscape, there are hints of a search for meaning and redemption. The repeated calls to 'fall in, fall out, fall along' seem to mark a kind of initiation, a passage into a new realm of understanding, where the pain and mistakes of the past can be left behind.
As the song progresses, a new layer of complexity emerges. The reference to the Noachide, a set of laws derived from the teachings of Judaism, suggests a deeper inquiry into the nature of morality and justice. The lines, "with your heart in mind, didn't you edit?" hint at the tension between the impulses of the heart and the need for rationality and self-control. The references to Hinnom, a valley outside Jerusalem associated with punishment and purification, underscore this theme of moral reckoning. In the end, the song leaves us with more questions than answers, but its haunting melodies and evocative imagery linger long after the last chord has faded.
Line by Line Meaning
In the first of light
At the beginning of dawn
Past the Noachide
After the time of Noah's Ark and the flood
Bodies wrapped in white
Dead bodies covered in white cloth
Stranded every pain
Left behind all the hurt
Baby, pasts are slain
We've moved on from our pasts
I got out of La Grange
I escaped from a difficult situation
In Hinnom
In a state of purgatory or turmoil
All this time
For a long time now
With your heart in mind
Thinking of you and your feelings
Didn't you edit?
Did you not try to change things?
Go, the least
Choose the path of humility
And the precious feast
And be rewarded with something valuable
The in-vetted
Those who have not been reviewed or examined
Sand, it starts to steal (solar peace)
The desert takes away a sense of peacefulness
Dirt and ice imbed in cheeks (well, it swirls and sweeps)
Dirt and ice particles embed themselves in your face, kicked up by the wind
In the potter's field (you just set it)
In an unmarked burial site for the poor and unidentified
Strangers scattering (armor, down)
Unknown people running away, shedding off their defenses
Nether passage in the wind (on the wettest ground)
A dark path in the wind, on the soggy ground
Off pennant tension ring (not to vet it)
Breaking away from a stressful situation, deciding not to examine it
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Justin Deyarmond Edison Vernon
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind