iMi Lyrics
All my life
Ini was
Ooh, mine was a lover of a wrong kind
Keeping what you telling me
I know mine
[Verse 1: Justin Vernon, Camilla Staveley-Taylor & Velvet Negroni]
Living in a lonesome way
Had me looking other ways
'Cause I am, I am, I am lost here, again
But on a bright fall morning, I'm with it
I stood a little while within it
Man, you have to know
Know the way
[Chorus: Justin Vernon & Camilla Staveley-Taylor]
It goes, it goes, it goes
I am, I am, I am, I am
It goes, It goes
I am, I am, I am, I am
[Verse 2: Justin Vernon & Velvet Negroni]
If forgiveness is a chore
What you waiting for?
We been here before
And I can't ignore it anymore
You know the way it goes
How much longer then? (I'll show you in)
(Now I'll tell you why)
I am, I am, I am, I am
I am, I am, I am, I am
[Post-Chorus: Velvet Negroni]
Ain't no say what I do in
Every day say they don't like it, I say
"Hey, don't like it", I say
"Hey, don't like it", I say
"Hey, don't like it", I say
"Hey, don't like it", I say
[Interlude: Justin Vernon & Camilla Staveley-Taylor]
If that ain't just the truth
I am, I am, I am, I am
I like you, I like you
And that ain't nothing new
[Outro: Velvet Negroni, James Blake & Camilla Staveley-Taylor]
And if it don't happen like that
Well, then it don't happen at all
Keepin' what you tell me
(Said Ini)
Now I won't lie
About
“iMi” is the fifth track to be released from Bon Iver’s fourth studio album i,i. The track was released on August 8th, 2019, the day after fans were able to hear i,i in its entirety at listening events held worldwide.
Brad Cook, co-writer on the song and long-time collaborator with Jusin Vernon, describes the song’s history via Apple Music:
It was like an old friend that you didn’t know what to do with for a long time. When we got to Texas, a lot of different people took a crack at trying to make something out of that song. And then Andrew Sarlo, who works with Big Thief and is just a badass young producer, he took the whack that broke through the wall. Once the band got their hands on it, Justin added some of the acoustic stuff to it, and it just totally blew it wide open.
Q&A
Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning
In an episode of New York Times' Diary of a Song, Justin Vernon and other musicians who worked on the song talked about the process behind “iMi.”
It was like an old friend that you didn’t know what to do with for a long time. When we got to Texas, a lot of different people took a crack at trying to make something out of that song. And then Andrew Sarlo, who works with Big Thief and is just a badass young producer, he took the whack that broke through the wall. Once the band got their hands on it, Justin added some of the acoustic stuff to it, and it just totally blew it wide open.
– Brad Cook, Apple Music
While people have speculated that James Blake sings on the intro vocals, Justin Vernon confirmed on Twitter that the vocals belonged to his friend, Mike Noyce.
