Faith – English Lyrics

• By: Bon Iver
• Album: i,i

Lyrics & Translation

Embark on an introspective linguistic journey with Bon Iver's "Faith." This song offers a profound exploration of personal belief and doubt, wrapped in Bon Iver's signature evocative and often symbolic language. Learning the lyrics of "Faith" provides an opportunity to engage with complex themes of spirituality and self-discovery, allowing you to appreciate the nuanced poetic expression and the raw emotional honesty that makes Bon Iver's music so unique and deeply moving. Dive into its rich tapestry of words and let the song guide you through a contemplation of what it means to believe.

[English]

Shattered in history

...

Shattered in paint

Oh, and the lengths that I'd

Stay up late

But brought to my space

The wonderful things I've learned to waste

...

I should've known

That I shouldn't hide

To compromise and to covet

All what's inside

There is no design

You'll have to decide

If you'll come to know if I'm the faithful kind

...

Time and again (Got all that I need)

Time to be brave

Content to the phrases

That at dawn, we ain't mazes

Just some kind of pages

This for my sister

That for my maple

It's not going the road I'd known as a child of God

Nor to become stable

(So what if I lose? I'm satisfied)

Am I dependent in what I'm defending?

And do we get to hold what faith provides?

Fold your hands into mine

I did my believing

Seeing every time

...

I know it's lonely in the dark

And this year's a visitor

And we have to know that faith declines

I'm not all out of mine

...

Key Grammar Structures

• Shattered in history

  ➔ Past Participle as Adjective

  ➔ The word 'shattered' is a past participle used as an adjective to describe 'history'.

• Oh, and the lengths that I'd stay up late

  ➔ Subjunctive Mood

  ➔ The phrase 'that I'd stay' uses the subjunctive mood to express a hypothetical or wished action.

• I should've known

  ➔ Contraction of Modal Verb

  ➔ 'Should've' is a contraction of 'should have', a modal verb used to express regret or advice.

• There is no design

  ➔ Existential There

  ➔ The sentence uses 'There is' to emphasize the existence or non-existence of something.

• Time and again (Got all that I need)

  ➔ Adverbial Phrase

  ➔ 'Time and again' is an adverbial phrase indicating repetition.

• Am I dependent in what I'm defending?

  ➔ Present Continuous Tense

  ➔ 'I'm defending' uses the present continuous tense to describe an action happening now.

• I know it's lonely in the dark

  ➔ Contraction of Verb 'to be'

  ➔ 'It's' is a contraction of 'it is', used for brevity.

• And we have to know that faith declines

  ➔ Modal Verb for Obligation

  ➔ 'Have to' is a modal verb used to express necessity or obligation.