I found this amazingly beautiful interpretation of Blood Bank and I’d just really like to share it:
“I’m about to get super sappy and fangirly. Don’t let the literary references fool you.
In Midnight’s Children, a novel by Salman Rushdie, the narrator explains that reality is a matter of perception. He claims that they closer that we are to the present, the more incredible it is. Things only become plausible, legitimate, ordinary as we move away and the present becomes past.
Ain’t this just like Justin Vernon to be showing up Salman Rushdie?
This song so beautifully and succinctly captures that same concept. Love, like the present, sneaks up on you quickly. Unpremeditated, unanalyzed… the most unbelievable, life altering, and breath taking moments so often take place when you least expect them, in places as regular as blood banks and car seats.
I wonder, though, what stage is this relationship in?
My initial thought is that this is a new encounter. After all, the song begins with their meeting. But then again, she recognizes his blood, knows his very essence, right away. Either a testament to the strength of their ‘love at first sight,’ or proof of how well they know each other?
His agreement, “I know it well,” of course changes in meaning throughout the song. Initially, however, it confirms his mutual understanding of himself or perhaps of her. Again, hard to tell whether these impressions have come strong and fast, or have built over time.
In the first chorus, “the secret” has to be romantic feelings hidden for fear of unknown consequences. Will my love be reciprocated? Am I lying by being with this person and not acknowledging the way i truly feel about them? …am i crazy? Definitely “fucks with your honor and teases your head.” The fact that these consequences exist certainly implies that a lot is on the line with the recent romantic revelations. Probably a lot more than a fresh and faux-platonic acquaintanceship.
Can’t bypass the chorus without saying how much I love the tension between the certain and uncertain here. She (he? though he directly addresses her, it seems like he could just as easily be talking to himself) knows the secret, knows that it’s good, but just can’t goddamn overcome her internal conflict, her struggle with what she DOESN’T know — how it will all work out. So relatable; so passionate.
And god, what a simple and gorgeous little scene that comes next? Hand rubbing, candy bar eating, kissing in the snowfall and moonlight… am i watching a winterized version of the notebook? Only Bon Iver can achieve this level of adorable sweetness without making it cheezy as hell and simultaneously manage to nestle the song’s philosophical gem within it.
“Ain’t this just like the present / to be showing up like this?” Incredible. This song, chock full of smoldering intensity, reaches its peak here. In the midst of a giggling interaction, in the negative light of a dying moon, this line sneaks up and smacks you with confusion and relief. I mean… this girl’s spewing insight practically mid hook up. What the hell? And yet i find myself enthralled and enraptured by the profundity of what she says, the exact moment she chooses to say it, the results of her decision (“we started to kiss”; “is that xmas morning creaks?”). Thank goodness the secret is out! Hallelujah that these moments, these words, this present — as incredible and unexpected as it is — happened to piece together in the right way! Thank the powers that be that when all hung in the balance, it tilted towards love!
Still… there’s something bittersweet about it all. If these are new friends, then isn’t fate just an unpredictable son of a bitch for introducing you to the love of your life when you least expect it? If these are old friends, then isn’t fate just an unpredictable son of a bitch for tormenting you with uncertainty one moment and fulfilling your wildest dreams the next? Whichever one it is, again, he “knows it well.” This time it’s acceptance, it’s willingness to give this thing a go, it’s knowledge that this may end up very bitter or very sweet.
Ahh. I love the steady drum that builds during this chorus. I feel like its my heart cheering for them. Finally, straightforward, he says it. He’s “in love.” Duh. We knew that before he did. But zooooom forward into the future, and you realize that this can’t just be lusty love or a short lived romance. “What’s that noise up the stairs, babe? / is that christmas morning creaks?” : He cares about her so much, he can see himself married to her, Having children, hearing them upstairs roused and ready for presents on some distant christmas morning. Of course it can be taken as a literal flash forward, but i like to imagine him waking up with her after their first time together and groggily remembering a whole future he dreamed for them.
This time, when he “knows it well,” it’s commitment. An assuredness of their togetherness. An affirmation of their incredible present, and their even more exciting future.
