BON IVER – ‘S P E Y S I D E’

BY JANIN AYALA FELIX | SEPTEMBER 20, 2024 | FOLK | TRACKS

Bon Iver’s latest single, “S P E Y S I D E,” the first taste of his upcoming SABLE EP, might feel like a whisper at first, but it resonates with the weight of a soul-searching confession. Stripped down to the bare essentials—a rich, aching voice and an acoustic guitar—it’s Justin Vernon at his most vulnerable. The track unfurls slowly, with light viola flourishes by Rob Moose halfway through, enhancing the song’s emotional depth without overcomplicating the delicate arrangement. It’s an exercise in simplicity, proving once again that less can be infinitely more.

Lyrically, “S P E Y S I D E” is a meditation on regret, self-reflection, and the sometimes-painful process of coming to terms with past mistakes. The opening lines—“I know now that I can’t make good / How I wish I could / Go back and put / Me where you stood”—set the tone for what feels like a heartfelt apology. Vernon’s voice carries a weight of longing and quiet despair, as he admits his failures and reflects on the gulf between what was and what could have been.

The song’s verses unfold like a slow burn of self-reckoning. “Nothing’s really something, now the whole thing’s soot,” Vernon sings in the first verse, capturing the hollow realization of loss and the futility of trying to fix what’s already been scorched. By the second verse, there’s a sense of resigned suffering: “It serves to suffer, make a hole in my foot / And I hope you look / As I fill my book / What a waste of wood.” The imagery is stark, almost Biblical in its weight, as Vernon confronts the emptiness of his own actions.

The third verse shifts gears slightly, as Vernon grapples with his own internal turmoil: “I can’t rest on no dynasty / Yeah, what is wrong with me? / Man, I’m so sorry / I got the best of me.” It’s a moment of brutal honesty, an admission that the “best” version of himself hasn’t lived up to his expectations. There’s a sense of violence in his words—“I really damn been on such a violent spree”—but it feels more like a metaphor for the emotional wreckage he’s left behind.

Yet, there’s a flicker of redemption in the final verse. Standing on “Speyside quay,” a symbolic place of reflection, Vernon sings with tentative hope: “But maybe you can still make a man from me / Here on Speyside quay / With what’s left of me / As you live and breathe / Really know now what had hold on me.” The song’s conclusion is a quiet plea for forgiveness, both from others and from himself.

“S P E Y S I D E” may not have the sweeping, grandiose arrangements we’ve come to expect from Bon Iver’s more recent work, but that’s exactly what makes it so compelling. The sparse production, guided by Vernon and longtime collaborator Jim-E Stack, allows every word, every note to breathe. The result is a lonely melodic apology that feels intimate, raw, and deeply human.

In a world where we’re often overwhelmed by noise, Bon Iver’s choice to strip everything back to its most basic form is a reminder that vulnerability is sometimes the most powerful statement of all. As the first single from SABLE, “S P E Y S I D E” sets the stage for what could be one of Vernon’s most introspective releases yet—an album built on reflection, regret, and, perhaps, the hope for something better

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