i´m so in love with this song can´t wait to hear the studio version of it.
the lyrics are pretty obvious and Justin mentioned that it´s about "being stuck with a girl in the snow"
i love the whole imagery he uses throughout the song although i´m quite sure it´s

"i said know it well" instead of "i said oh no one will".

yeah, he says something along the lines of "this song is about being stuck in the snow with someone new" or something like that.

I don't imagine this man will ever write a bad song. This is incredible. Mindblowingly incredible.

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there are a few problems with the above lyrics. just some minor stuff. i am having trouble with the parts i left blank as well if anyone has any ideas

well i met you at the blood bank
we were looking at the bags
wondering if any of the colors
matched any of the names we knew on the tags

you said see look it that's yours!
stacked on top with your brothers
see how they resemble one anothers?
even in their plastic little covers

and i said i know it well

that secret that you know
that you don't know how to tell
it fucks with your honor
and it teases your head
but you know that its good girl
cause its running you with red.

then the snow started falling
we were stuck out in your car
you were rubbing both my hands
chewing on a candy bar
you said aint this just like the present
to be showing up like this
there's a moon ______ crescent (waiting to?)
we started to kiss

and i said i know it well

that secret that we know
that we don't know how to tell
i'm in love with your honor
i'm in love with your cheeks
what's that noise up the stairs baby
is that christmas morning ___ (coming?)

and i know it well
i know it well


any help?

I'm pretty sure it's "there's a moon waning crescent."

Heard this when I saw him this summer and I just downloaded a leak of the EP. This song is so beautiful. Can't wait to see him again this Sunday.

this is so beautiful

Hey kids. I originally added last year all the lyrics from "For Emma, Forever Ago" and I wanted to chime in on this song... I'm fairly certain the line is "as the moon waned to crescent, we started to kiss."

up until today i had only read the lyrics for blood bank and it didnt look promising. they seemed too obvious, nothing like the album. but today i got hold of a bootleg and this song really does work. cant wait for more new stuff

She's pregnant.

i think the lyrics are great. some of his clearest and best lyrics.

After reading the pregnancy comment i began to think that that could be a possiblitiy....

That secret that you knew
But don't know how to tell
It fucks with your honor
And it teases your head
But you know that its good girl
Cos its running you with red

i interpreted this as keeping a secret that you are unable to share with anyone. Its a big secret that could impact your situation that may be very fragile and precise in what way its received and dependant upon who is told. It makes you question yourself and plays with you. But the person keeping the secret must be brave for someone who is also dealing with the circumstances. Like possibly a secret pregnancy between two people. And because he cares for this girl, no matter his fears and concerns, he reassures her. The bit about red could be interpreted literally, as in the color of blood, or as an subjective element such as an emotion or reaction.


You said "'aint this just like the present
To be showing up like this"
AS a moon waned to crescent

calling pregnancy a present as in a gift. the irony being that this 'present' was unexpected. Like maybe it would have been more appreciated in time. The moon is sometimes used as a reference to being pregnant, growing bigger etc., so the waning moon could signify that this unplanned pregnancy has ended, meaning the pregnancy failed or was terminated or accepted. And whichever way the couple kisses either in sadness or loss or possibly in relief.


That secret that we know
That we don't know how to tell
I'm in love with your honor
I'm in love with your cheeks
What's that noise up the stairs babe?
Is that Christmas morning creaks?
We started to kiss

These next lines show that this indeed about a partnership and shared secret by the inclusion of WE. Its a full circle from beginning to end. At first the first person narrative was dealing with all these questions alone. But now they still have this dilemma but because they're in love it'll all work out. The mention of noise upstairs could be ensuing children, especially with the reference to Christmas which has such a youthful association.

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To reply to Lally123, I'm fairly sure she means present as in the present moment, not present as in a gift or child.

Which is a pretty cool, noticing each moment becoming the present.

As for my own interpretation, the thing she cannot tell is that she's alive. She doesn't know how to explain life & feeling. No answer to the great questions of why we're here and such.. But he says you know it's good though, cause it's running you with red (blood) as kinda of like a symbol for life. (I forgot what those type of symbolisms are called v_v)
So I'm taking it as he's pointing out.. we [her] might not know how to explain life, but it's in our veins.. we have the answer in us, we just don't know how to explain it.



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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 breathe 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 loooove 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 cheezzy 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?" ohmylord. 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 choses 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.

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Oh no, Lally123, she's not pregnant with his baby.

she's cheating on him.

i think that mabey his brother had/has aid or a blood deasise and that is the secret ...

She is pregnant with his brother's baby, and he accepts it as his own.

OK, now this is probably a long shot and it's mainly thinking aloud but...

I see it as the the three of them (Vernon, his girlfriend and his brother) have gone to give blood - hence them looking at the bags:

"Well I met you at the blood bank
We were looking at the bags
Wondering if any of the colors
Matched any of the names we knew on the tags

You said "see look thats yours!
Stacked on top with your brother's
See how the resemble one another
Even in their plastic little covers""


As I understand when you give blood they run tests to make sure it's safe, but this would also pick up on her pregnancy.

"And I said I know it well

That secret that you know
But don't know how to tell
It fucks with your honour
And it teases your head
But you know that its good girl
Cos its running you with red

'It fucks with your honour' because she's not married, and some people still hold views on that.

'It teases your head' - her mind is teasing her with glimpses of what the future is going to be like with a child.

'But you know that its good girl" She know its something 'good', to be celebrated.

'Cause its running you with red' It's a life flowing with in her, literally and metaphorically.

The rest of the song is them celebrating this and each other.

Again, just thinking aloud.

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maybe its "christmas morning chris" like chris kringle aka santa

They donate blood/plasma for money so they can buy christmas gifts for their children.

I think the affair is a good bet. Although, I think it could have something to do with bone marrow cancer. It would make sense that a blood transfusion is necessary, and since siblings are the best type of blood to use, it gives reason to put in his brother.

Also, the secret obviously is the fact that cancer is exists, and he doesn't want to scare anyone, so he's hiding it, for the right time.

I don't know, maybe its the pessimist inside of me, but that's my take.

yeah this songs very clever.

there at the blood bank for whatever reason - blood test or whatever. and it becomes obvious that she's pregnant with his brothers baby. she's tryna convince him and maybe herself abit that there's been a mistake cos the two brothers blood is similar and couldve been mixed up or something.

then he talks about sitting in a car with her. but they still love eachother.

he's in love with her honor that she doesnt want him and his brother to fall out so she lies
he's in love with her cheek cos he loves the fact that she would be bold enough to do it and lie afterwards

even though they both know and accept it because they've fallen in love blah blah blah

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I just have to say this song reminds me of The Office where Michael likes the lady who is giving blood. "I think our blood bags touched" :)

this song always makes me shiver. I like the concept of the pregnancy idea. Though I feel it is a bit far fetched. Considering... who Justin is.......... Who knows. It's still beautiful regardless.