Does anyone know the meaning of Bon Iver's song "Skinny Love?"?

It's about love gone sour.

As for the title "Skinny Love" it could be an affectionate term he gave his petite girlfriend, or maby the fact that their love is wasting away- shrinking to skinny. The latter is probably more likely, due to the reference in the first line ("Come on, skinny love just last the year").

"pour a little salt, we were never here"

Salt has healing properties, when put on open wound they help the process along. Probably metaphorically speaking, he wants this doomed relationship to heal, to even "Just last the year."

I like the vivid imagery to blood and crushed veneer in a sink, as if a vase was broken in a fit of rage. I dunno if that ties into the salt reference, maby indirectly.

he then basically tells her to let him go, to cut off the tethers binding him to her.

the third stanza deals wih a blaming the other for the failure of the relationship. She couldn't meet with his expectations, either that or she treated him poorly, probably both.

stanza four seems like a mixture of memories, stating why have we gone wrong when we once loved each other? and how even though the burden of pain (through separating) is heavy, it's still hard to "split."

The last part gives us a glimse as to WHY it went sour. it seems she kind of led him on, that she wasn't that into him- when he really cared for her.

He then states that its unlikely she'll find anyone worthwhile, no one will be able to love her for all the stuff she puts her partners through.

Bon Iver Skinny Love

Skinny Love Lyrics

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Because there is so much confusement about who he is talking to, I would like to tell you what I think.

Searching on the web I only found just a couple of words he said about it in an interview.

I listened to this song over and over again, trying to listen to it in a different way every time. Is he talking to his ex girl, to himself...?

But just now, I think I've found it.

In his first sentence he talks to the skinny love that is left between him and his girl. I think we can all agree about that. Now, I'm thinking the entire song is to this skinny love. Like if it would be a person...

Keep telling the love that it must be balanced, and that everything is just fine. While he knows it isn't so. So in a way he is arguing with his own love for the girl, that is so skinny now that it is breaking. He tried to convince the little love left between them, trying to make it back stronger and to help it getting better, but he is not succeeding.

Here's what Justin Vernon said in an interview with Pitchfork.

Pitchfork: Christy once told me that she immediately knew "Skinny Love" was about her when you first sang it to her. It took you a while to mention people like Christy-- and especially your ex Sara Emma Jensen-- in public. What made you able to talk about it?

JV: I'm not afraid to talk about it, but how do you guarantee it's accurate? To say that "Skinny Love" is about Christy would not be entirely accurate. We dated and she's an incredibly important person that I lived with for a long time, but it's about that time in a relationship that I was going through; you're in a relationship because you need help, but that's not necessarily why you should be in a relationship. And that's skinny. It doesn't have weight. Skinny love doesn't have a chance because it's not nourished.

in an interview with Bon Iver, he said "skinny love was a realationship that didn't have the nourishment to survive"

Here are the lyrics:

Come on skinny love just last the year

Pour a little salt, we were never here

My, my, my, my, my, my, my, my

Staring at the sink of blood and crushed veneer

I tell my love to wreck it all

Cut out all the ropes and let me fall

My, my, my, my, my, my, my, my

Right in this moment this order's tall

I told you to be patient

I told you to be fine

And I told you to be balanced

And I told you to be kind

In the morning I'll be with you

But it will be a different kind

I'll be holding all the tickets

And you'll be owning all the fines

Come on skinny love what happened here

We suckled on the hope in lite brassieres

My, my, my, my, my, my, my, my

Sullen load is full, so slow on the split

And I told you to be patient

And I told you to be fine

And I told you to be balanced

And I told you to be kind

And now all your love is wasted

And who the hell was I?

I'm breaking at the bridges

And at the end of all your lines

Who will love you?

Who will fight?

Who will fall far behind?

Ooh, ooh

--------------------------------------...

'Cause from how I understand it, I think someone's waiting for his/her lover to return but it ended badly. I'm not sure about it though. Thanks!

This song describes the moments that happen after A GUY DEFLOWERS A GIRL, its like a short story of their feelings( more her feelings) after doing this.

They rushed into it, their realionship wasn t strong enough. It s like they though this act will be something special and she/he now feels hollow because of this. She appears to be dissapointed about the feeling (judging from the lyrics) and would want to not have done this so soon.

"Come on skinny love just last the year,

Pour a little salt we were never here,"

She tries to blame him:

"And I told you to be patient,

And I told you to be fine,

And I told you to be balanced,

And I told you to be kind,"

Well guys, he wasn t kind with her, and he didn t have pacience, and this defenetly ruined their "skinny relationship":

"Come on skinny love, what happened here?"

And my friends, if you don t belive me, this is extremly explicit:

" Staring at the sink of blood and crushed veneer."

and this:

"And in the morning I ll be with you,

But it will be a different kind,"

Now, keeping this ideas in mind, listen closely to the song and read the lyrics. You will notice that It s everything DAMN EXPLICIT!

Its about a love that got rushed , go wrong but there on a very fine line (skinny love)and still questioning it , its bringing them both down but they don't want to let go.

well maybe this song isnt literally about someones skinny love but to me i will always associate it with my ex,i used 2 play it all the time,she suffered from anorexia and was so skinny i never seen her lastin the year which unfortunately turned out to be true.she never knew why i liked it so much and why it made me so sad but reguardless of my best efforts it got the better of her.thats why this song has meaning to me.maybe some songs dont have specific meaning its what each individual takes from it for themselfs.