Faith

Album: I, I (2019)
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Songfacts®:

  • According to the writer of the New Testament Epistle to the Hebrews, faith is "being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." Here, Justin Vernon states that his kind of spiritual faith is not based on a belief in the God of the Bible, while still making a convincing case for believing in Him anyway.
  • The gently anthemic song originated with a basement improv that had been floating around for several years. It nearly ended up on Bon Iver's 22, A Million album before Vernon cut it from the track list. BJ Burton, Vernon's friend and occasional co-producer, kept the song alive. Burton recalled to Uncut magazine:

    "I texted him one night and said, 'You've got to finish this song and put it out. It needs to be on an album.' So I went to Eau Claire with the agenda of bringing him a mix of that song so I could blast it on the speakers."

    The plan worked, and "Faith" became the centerpiece of I, I.

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