Day 20: Bon Iver, 21 M◊◊N WATER | 30-Day Song Challenge 🎶

On Day 20 of the 30-Day Song Challenge, Justin Vernon and Bon Iver give us plenty to unpack with “21 M◊◊N WATER” from the album 22, A Million.

Embracing the trendiness of social media, The Musical Hype unleashes its own, month-long version of the 30-Day Song Challenge.

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Day 20 Prompt: A song that has many meanings to you

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Grammy-winning alternative collective Bon Iver, led by Justin Vernon, deliver the eclectic 22, A Million in 2016.  Incorporating electronic cues and acoustic cues alike, 22, A Million is nothng short of intriguing.  While its lyrics can be challenging – drenched in spirituality, numerology, and the most accessibly, romance – 22, A Million makes listeners think.

For Day 20 in the 30-Day Song Challenge, I borrowed “21 M◊◊N WATER” – fittingly the seventh track from 22, A Million – from 13 Wet Songs About Water, Water, Water!. “21 M◊◊N WATER” perfectly fits the prompt: A song that has many meanings to you.  In this case, I’m not so worried about the personal meaning, but the fact that this song has lots to unpack, literally, lots of meanings.

“21 M◊◊N WATER” is filled with thought-provoking lyrics and references.  Like much of 22, A Million, the record embraces numerology. Interestingly, Justin Vernon sings: “The math ahead / the math behind it / it’s moon water.”  What is particularly significant about those lyrics, as well as “21 M◊◊N WATER” isn’t water itself, but the number 7.  First of all, it appears as the seventh track on 22, A Million.  21, the number referenced in the title, is a product of 7. Also, 21 is comprised of three sevens, and 777 is a key Biblical number.

Here’s the thing.  While Bon Iver makes ‘spiritual’ references, “21 M◊◊N WATER” isn’t Christian.  Numerology certainly isn’t associated with Christianity in the least.  It is numbers based, hence why the reference to math signifies its use here.  Why are two opposite ends of the spectrum – Christianity and numerology – referenced within one song? Duality, which is a key component of 22, A Million and runs rampant on “21 M◊◊N WATER.” A prime example? “I’m not sinking – I’m not synching.”  Wow – how clever is that? Backtracking to spiritual association, if you need further evidence that “21 M◊◊N WATER” isn’t Christian, let’s talk about that ‘M◊◊N WATER,’ shall we?  Moon water, per Witchipedia is:

“Moon water is water that has been charged with the energies of the moon. It is a popular way to charge water to be used during a ceremony or spell working or to brew magical potions and may be used for anything you are directed to use water for.”

“21 M◊◊N WATER” is nothing short of intriguing, period. I also used it as Wacky Wednesday on Weekly Gems 💎 No. 2: Week of 4-6-2020.

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Bon Iver • 22, A Million • Jagjaguwar • 2016

Day 20: Bon Iver, “21 M◊◊N WATER” (30-Day Song Challenge) 🎶 [Photo Credits: Brent Faulkner, Epic, The Musical Hype, Pixabay]

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