By Jupiter Polevoi
One of Bon Iver’s more unknown songs, “Beach Baby,” captivated me from (maybe, “after the”) first listen. From the luscious electric guitar to the heartfelt lyrics, this song has the ability to touch that musical gene in your soul. While the lyrics may not make sense from first listen, here’s what I’ve theorized from the 10 line song.
“When you’re out, tell your lucky one…to know that you’ll leave. Don’t you lock when you’re fleeing, I’d like not to hear keys.”
While many people on Reddit and other social media forum sites have speculated that this song is about Bon Iver getting cheated on, I’ve always seen it as losing someone close to you (whether that be death or someone leaving). Iver is reminding you to always communicate with your special someone when you leave, so if god forbid anything happens to them, you won’t regret your last words. The first stage in grief is denial, so he doesn’t want to hear the keys jingle in the lock because he doesn’t want to accept that his special someone is truly gone, and that they’re “locked” out of his life.
“Only hold till your coffee warms, but don’t hurry and speed.”
He’s starting to accept that she’s really gone, so he wants the pain to leave his mind, but he doesn’t want every memory of them to disappear. He’s discovered the fifth stage of grief, acceptance, but he also wants to take his time, so the memories don’t fade.
“Once a time put a tongue…in your ear on the beach. And you clutched clicking heels.”
While the first line is about a sexual encounter he’s reminicising on, the last line shows that they’re taking their sweet time to leave Iver’s mind, and the booming of their “clicking heels” will forever replay in his head until he truly and finally gets over this awful feeling and possibly his love for them.