For Emma, Forever Ago (2007)

For Emma, Forever Ago is the debut studio album by American indie folk band Bon Iver. It was first self-released in July 2007, and later saw wide release on the Jagjaguwar label in February 2008. The album is principally the work of singer-songwriter Justin Vernon. While living in Raleigh, North Carolina, Vernon fell ill with mononucleosis and a liver infection, and grew frustrated with his songwriting and life. He left Raleigh and drove to his father's remote hunting cabin an hour northwest of his hometown, Eau Claire, Wisconsin, hoping to be alone.

The album was recorded at the cabin between late 2006 to early 2007. Vernon abandoned his old songwriting methods and instead focused on wordless melodies that he later set to words, which he felt evoked a more subconscious meaning. The record's lyrical subjects include lost love and mediocrity. His folk-infused songs include heavy choral arrangements, featuring Vernon's falsetto, and horns. He hunted his own food and spent much of his time isolated. Though he did not intend to make an album, he received strong encouragements from friends and decided to self-release For Emma, Forever Ago in July 2007. After several performances and online exposure, he was signed to Jagjaguwar later that year.

For Emma, Forever Ago attracted wide acclaim from music critics, achieving a spot on dozens of end-of-the-year lists, as well as several awards. It became a major commercial success for Jagjaguwar, an independent label, and has been certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), for combined sales, streaming and track-sales equivalent of over one million units. "Skinny Love" became the album's best-performing single and also went gold. Vernon gathered together several musicians to form a band to tour with. The album's touring cycle lasted two years, ending in late 2009, and visited several countries and music festivals worldwide. In 2020, it was ranked 461 on Rolling Stone's list of the greatest albums of all time.

Background

Justin Vernon was born in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, and grew up pursuing music. He saw the folk duo Indigo Girls in concert in middle school and it proved formative on his life. He attended the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire (UW–Eau Claire), where he played in a number of bands. One such group, Mount Vernon, consisted of ten members, including saxophonist Sara Jensen, who became his first love. He and Jensen broke up in the middle of his college years, but would remain friends. He studied music theory for a time, as well as jazz, but ended up with a degree in religious studies. DeYarmond Edison became his next musical project, as he graduated from college and relocated to Raleigh, North Carolina, in August 2005. The group chose Raleigh hoping for an adventure and a more vibrant musical scene.

Over the course of his time in Raleigh, he became frustrated with his songwriting as well as his personal life. He worked at a local sandwich shop that he felt took too much time from him. He started to have health problems: he first contracted pneumonia, then mononucleosis, which developed into a liver infection that kept him bedridden for three months. Members of the band began to fight, and Vernon was kicked out of the group. Many of his bands had held similar members—some he had known since his adolescence—which amplified the pain of breaking apart. Afterwards, he spent time as a band member for The Rosebuds; his contributions feature on their third album, Night of the Furies. Vernon also recorded a solo EP, Hazeltons, which he distributed in 100 self-made CD-Rs. He lost his money playing online poker, which he viewed as a microcosm for his other problems.

Vernon, then 25, felt his life had spiraled into mediocrity, as though he had lost the sense of purpose he had a lustrum prior. He sensed he had compromised with bandmates and in his personal life. His depression was fueled by indifference, and he decided to get away from Raleigh and return to his hometown. He broke up with his then-girlfriend, Christy Smith, and tossed his recording equipment into the trunk of his car. He drove home to Eau Claire over eighteen hours through the night. He first stopped at his parents' home while they were out. He sat on their couch and felt "claustrophobic" and "super-empty." He returned to the road, in search of silence and hoping to be alone.