“Someway, baby, it’s part of me, apart from me.”
You’re laying waste to Halloween
You fucked it friend,
It’s on its head,
It struck the street
You’re in Milwaukee, off your feet
… and at once I knew I was not magnificent
Strayed above the highway aisle
(Jagged vacance, thick with ice)
I could see for miles, miles, miles
3rd and Lake it burnt away, the hallway
Was where we learned to celebrate
Automatic bought the years you’d talk for me
That night you played me ‘Lip Parade’
Not the needle, nor the thread, the lost decree
Saying nothing, that’s enough for me
… and at once I knew I was not magnificent
Hulled far from the highway aisle
(Jagged, vacance, thick with ice)
I could see for miles, miles, miles
Christmas night,
It clutched the light,
The hallow bright
Above my brother,
I and tangled spines
We smoked the screen to make
It what it was to be
Now to know it in my memory:
… and at once I knew I was not magnificent
High above the highway aisle
(Jagged vacance, thick with ice)
I could see for miles, miles, miles
A Meditation on Self and Scale
Bon Iver’s “Holocene” is a quietly powerful reflection on our place in the world. Through vivid yet fragmented memories—Halloween nights, wintry highways, and moments with loved ones—the song crafts a tapestry of nostalgia and humility. The haunting refrain, “And at once I knew I was not magnificent,” serves as an awakening, a gentle realization of insignificance against the vastness of life and landscape. Yet within that smallness lies a kind of beauty and clarity, as each scene becomes a window into vulnerability and acceptance.
Song Credits
Songwriter: Justin Vernon
Release Year: 2011
Label: Jagjaguwar