Bon Iver Excavates Kumran on �re: stacks�
Posted on July 14, 2008 by Orr | 25 Comments
This my excavation and today is Kumran
Everything that happens is from now on
These lines open â€�re: stacks,â€� the final song on Bon Iver’s debut, For Emma, Forever Ago. Kumran (usually spelled â€�Qumranâ€�) is the site where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in 1947. It symbolizes a personal catharsis for Justin Vernon, the band’s sole member; Vernon retreated to his father’s Wisconsin log cabin for three months to record the album, chop wood, and generally be alone. He explains the Kumran metaphor himself here:
When they found them it changed the whole course of Christianity, whether people wanted to know it or not. A lot of people chose to ignore it, a lot of people decided to run with it, and for many people it destroyed their faith, so I think I was just looking at it as a metaphor for whatever happens after that is new shit.
The song also hints at a slow shedding of the skin, rather than a complete catharsis. In the last verse, Vernon sings:
This is not the sound of a new man or crispy realization
It’s the sound of the unlocking and the lift away
Your love will be safe with me
It’s not a â€�crispy realizationâ€� or a click of a lock in the door – a clean break from the past. In the final line he says that some of the past’s love will continue with him, like a pendant or a memory that won’t fade.
Not convinced? Vernon’s mom, Justine Vernon (real name, we assume), totally agrees. In this very adorable feature featuring several â€�indie rock momsâ€� she says, â€�To me, it is not about getting over things and moving forward, it is about going through the sadness, taking some of it with you and being made whole because of it. I cry every time I listen to it.â€�
What’s good enough for Mrs. Vernon is good enough for us.
from: wordsworthmedia.wordpress.com/2008/07/14/bon-iver-excavates-kumran-on-re-stacks/
Bon Iver Excavates Kumran on �re: stacks� Posted on July 14, 2008 by Orr | 25 Comments This my excavation and today is Kumran Everything that happens is from now on
These lines open â€�re: stacks,â€� the final song on Bon Iver’s debut, For Emma, Forever Ago. Kumran (usually spelled â€�Qumranâ€�) is the site where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in 1947. It symbolizes a personal catharsis for Justin Vernon, the band’s sole member; Vernon retreated to his father’s Wisconsin log cabin for three months to record the album, chop wood, and generally be alone. He explains the Kumran metaphor himself here:
When they found them it changed the whole course of Christianity, whether people wanted to know it or not. A lot of people chose to ignore it, a lot of people decided to run with it, and for many people it destroyed their faith, so I think I was just looking at it as a metaphor for whatever happens after that is new shit.
The song also hints at a slow shedding of the skin, rather than a complete catharsis. In the last verse, Vernon sings:
This is not the sound of a new man or crispy realization It’s the sound of the unlocking and the lift away Your love will be safe with me
It’s not a â€�crispy realizationâ€� or a click of a lock in the door – a clean break from the past. In the final line he says that some of the past’s love will continue with him, like a pendant or a memory that won’t fade.
Not convinced? Vernon’s mom, Justine Vernon (real name, we assume), totally agrees. In this very adorable feature featuring several â€�indie rock momsâ€� she says, â€�To me, it is not about getting over things and moving forward, it is about going through the sadness, taking some of it with you and being made whole because of it. I cry every time I listen to it.â€�
What’s good enough for Mrs. Vernon is good enough for us.