Holocene

The song title comes from both a Portland bar and the current climactic era, which began some 12,000 years ago and follows on from the last major Ice Age. Frontman Justin Vernon explained to Mojo magazine: "It's partly named after the (geological) era, but it's also the name of a bar in Portland where I had a dark night of the soul."

Vernon was born and brought up in Eau Claire and still resides there. The song has three verses about three different times if his life living in the Wisconsin town. He told Mojo: "The title is a metaphor for when you're not doing well. But it's also a song about redemption and realizing that you're worth something; that you're special and not special at the same time."

This was released as the second single from Bon Iver on September 5, 2011. It was backed by a cover of Peter Gabriel's "Come Talk To Me," which was originally released in April 2011 as a limited-edition 7-inch for Record Store Day.