Heavenly Father

Album: Wish I Was Here (2014)
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Songfacts®:

  • Bon Iver's Justin Vernon penned this song for the soundtrack to Zach Braff's movie, Wish I Was Here. Speaking to NPR, the film's music supervisor Mary Ramos said she screened a rough-cut of the flick for Vernon and his brother Nate in their living room. "They were enjoying it and laughing, but at a certain point, they just got quiet," she said. "When it was over, Justin started humming."

    "We talked afterwards about the relationship between Zach's character and his brother [Josh Gad], and Justin and Nate talked a little about their father - all the while Justin kept distractedly humming," Ramos continued. "Eventually, he sang out the words 'heavenly father.' Before I even left their house, Justin was recording the first version of the song in his downstairs studio. His inspiration was that immediate."
  • Also included on the Wish I Was Here soundtrack is "Holocene," a track from Bon Iver's self-titled 2011 album.

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