Know, back page
Haven Intermediate, 2015
Know is quite possibly the catchiest song I have ever written, and honestly it lots of fun even recording it. The chords are simple and even throw a little twist at the chorus, the lyrics are the typical cryptic Bonfire Realm semi-nonsense, it’s all just good vibes, man.
This is a good point to remind that a lot of these songs off Haven are all musical experimentations in one way or another, in the sense that I was musically starting out and was testing how things work. In this case, Know was kind of me starting to grasp how stringing chord types together creates different moods (really basic stuff, I know). Keep in mind that, back then, I was steeped in Neutral Milk Hotel, so, writing a song like this makes sense.
In fact, this song, along with a different version of Onrac (from the Haven bandcamp bonus tracks), were both songs that were originally intended as Hoi-Poi songs, back when, of course, this was the genre the band fiddled around with, namely, folk rock / fuzz / garage songs. Eventually, though, both would be kept for my own sake, not unlike a gift that you had bought for someone and never got around to giving it to them.
I can’t not also mention the lyrics and thematology, which are prime examples of Bonfire Realm beating-around-the-bush type situations (I reserve the right to blatant self-critique, thank you). Like many others, it is a song of self discovery, this time through wondering whether or not it was worth it pursuing a girl I was kinda into, who lived a little too far away. Me, being too proud (as usual) to focus too much on the other party, of course made it all about me, instead of writing a riveting love song to serenade my potential teenage lover. I honestly do this a lot. That being said, though, it’s not like a didn’t dabble, eventually, in attempting a serenade. All in due time!
♫