“29 #Strafford APTS” is the fifth track on Bon Iver’s third album, 22, A Million. The track was first performed at Eaux Claires 2016.
Vernon is accompanied on the vocals by Bon Iver’s drummer, Sean Carey.
[Verse 1]
Sharing smoke
In the stair up off the hot car lot
Sun shine hard on the video spot
Hm, mm, mm, mm
Sure as any living dream
It's not all then what it seems
And the whole thing's hauled away
[Chorus]
A womb
An empty robe
Enough
You're rolling up
You're holding it
You're fabric now
Paramind
Paramind
[Verse 2]
Hallucinating Claire
Nor the snow shoe light or the autumns
Threw the meaning out the door
(Now could you be a friend)
There's no meaning anymore
(Come and kiss me here again)
[Chorus]
A womb
An empty robe
Enough
You're rolling up
You're holding out
You're bent prize
Canonize
Canonize
[Bridge]
Motor up and yeah, you're own, ooh
And yeah you're on your own
(Marijuana has you talkin'...)
[Verse 3]
Fold the map and mend the gap
And I tow the word companion
And I make my self escape
Oh, the multitude of other
It comes always off the page
[Chorus]
I hold the note
You wrote and know
You've buried all your alimony butterflies
[Post-Chorus]
Sub find
Some night
29 #Strafford APTS was written by BJ Burton & Justin Vernon.
29 #Strafford APTS was produced by Justin Vernon & April Base.
Bon Iver released 29 #Strafford APTS on Fri Sep 30 2016.
While we can’t really be sure, his songs tend to relate to specific experiences he’s had (or specific emotions) and be fairly esoteric, so it likely is about some experience that happened to him in apartment room 29 in the Srafford Apartments.
Before performing this song live, Justin Vernon has said this song is a “stoner country jam.” He goes on to say, “Even if we’re not from where country music is from, we can all be stoner country people every once and a while.”