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"Someway, baby, it's part of me, apart from me"
You're laying waste to Halloween
You fucked it friend, it's on it's 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)
And 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)
And 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)
But I could see for miles, miles, miles
You're laying waste to Halloween
You fucked it friend, it's on it's 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)
And 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)
And 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)
But I could see for miles, miles, miles
Lyrics submitted by thuglifeforevs
Track duration: 05:37
"Holocene" as written by Justin Vernon
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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The last chorus seems to set up the moment that occurs in the chorus.
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
---> My theory is the reflections of a car accident with the persons brother. The screen possibly being one of the screens on a highway bridge that you see.
And at once I knew I was not magnificent
High above the highway aisle (Jagged vacance, thick with ice)
But I could see for miles, miles, miles
--> With that last verse this chorus makes sense. It fully describes the scene: Winter, thick icy roads, on a highway bridge with road lamps and screens on either side of the bridge (some bridge's have these to my knowledge anyways -- usually to prevent suicide jumping..). So picturing the scene the car swerves because of the ice (Jagged vacance, thick with ice), off the highway (High above the highway aisle) bridge. The persons brother and the person "tumble" within the car (above my brother, I and tangled spines).
They fly off the bridge and know they are not infinite...or in this case "Magnificient" the song's verses are reflections of moments of his life but he realizes he and his moments are not going to be put down in history books or anything "special". You know that when the swerve off the highway it's probably off of a bridge because he can then, "see for miles and miles and miles". To degree he's almost still in that moment and accepts what's going on.
My brother and his wife decided to move back to Wisconsin because she was unhappy here, away from her family. Months later, my brother came to visit and decided not to go back to Wisconsin. His way to break it to her was by missing his flight and not speaking to her at all. That's why the line "Not the needle, nor the thread, the lost decree. Saying nothing, that's enough for me" reminds me of the silence that went on between them and the general understanding that it was over for them. "You're in Milwaukee off your feet" always gets me. I take it as she's free from anything that caused her unhappiness here.
like when you have your problems, and you think they are the worst problems in the world
or when you feel like you are the most important and coolest person in the world.
But then he is in a place (on a mountain, just somewhere he can see far away) Or just some point in his life where he can see through all the unimportant stuff
and he realises he's not magnificent.
That you are just a little piece of a big world and that you're not that important
Just my two cents
I have been listening to this song regularly for over a year and never gave it too much thought beyond the beauty in the idea of the vastness of the universe simultaneously causing humility and appreciation.
However, the other day this song hit me so hard and I literally put it on repeat for hours.
For me, Justin (as others have touched on) uses the chorus and verses in juxtaposition to one another. Each verse is a recollection of a point of maturity. The first verse- being drunk on halloween is growing beyond a children's holiday into adulthood. The second verse is obviously more a direct reference to time as the house is no longer there- but for me it speaks to a relationship: "Automatic brought the years you'd talk for me". The third, again, like the first references a holiday. This speaks to me personally as me and my older brother "connect" often on holidays (we live far apart) by smoking up and disseminating the relevant season and catch up on life.
Each of these "moments" in his life are times when he seemed happy or perhaps, grounded. Substances, whether alcohol, drugs or music, art, literature and relationships bring him to a point where he feels at ease and connected to the world. It then reaches a head that presents in the respective chorus- the insurmountable, almost limitless universe and the humility of realizing your insignificance. I love the imagery of him above this vast frozen ground between highways that are weaving a connection to another place- to another road, stretching to the edge of the continent and beyond.
The point that struck me the other day though, was the beauty in the title. Holocene: an epoch spanning over 10,000 years- "connectedness" to the earth from present to the past. Not only are we are aware the world is vast- we are aware that we are only a small speck in time. There is beauty in such simple humanity of a flickering flame, the pink hues of a sunrise- things enjoyed by humankind for eons. It connects our present world of Facebook and Smartphones to centuries of humanity that existed before us- and to the future that lays ahead.
He has these "moments" where everything is right with the world: "not the needle nor the thread, the lost decree... Saying nothing was enough for me". Conversation is not needed, you are absorbed in the moment of the "hallowed bright" of Christmas Eve or "Laying waste to Halloween", but "at once", you are struck with the realization that your "moment" is not significant... "I was not magnificent". In this though, there is joy in the feeling that despite that, you are still a part of something.
You are a part of the fabric of humanity- over 10,000 years of 'people'. "Hulled from far the highway aisle", separated from race, religion, politics and war- but connected to love, jealously, empathy, depression and beauty- emotions spanning borders and time. "Someway baby its part of me, apart from me".
Holocene reminds us, humbles us and empowers us.
I have enjoyed reading what others have thought of the song- well perhaps except for those that referred to the lyrics as "garbage"- maybe my thoughts will make sense to someone else.
I think some yr comments are right on, but I'd like to add one or two or three more thought bubbles to the page: Having lived in Minneapolis (as Justin has) and spent time Wisc., I've always thought he was making reference to the bridges the span the 35w freeway in Mpls or the Skyways (in the city)... "High above the highway aisle." "I was not magnificient," points to the realization that one is just a speck in the vast sands of time (Holocene). Of course, we all could be slightly wrong, and J seems like the kind of guy who would never fully explain his lyrics or himself - this is beauty of experiencing open-meaning non-didactic lyrics, yes?