Synopsis

An elderly, solitary man leaves his remote home carrying a strange wooden tower, accompanied by fishing nets and other handmade structures. He drives through dense forests and across stark coastal landscapes before taking the tower out onto the water. As he floats offshore, immense tower-like forms rise from the sea, creating an eerie meeting point between his private ritual and the song's themes of memory, love, and impermanence. The journey ends with the fragile structures giving way to the surrounding ocean.

Factoids & Trivia

• The official video premiered on February 27, 2012, shortly before "Towers" was released as a single on March 6.

• "Towers" was the third video made for songs from Bon Iver's self-titled album, following "Calgary" and "Holocene."

• The video was filmed mostly on Indigenous-preserved land in Washington state, using the Pacific Northwest's forests, coastline, and muted natural light as major visual elements.

• The handmade tower carried by the central character was a physical prop built for the production. Adam Lawrence is credited with creating the prop towers.

• The production concept centered on an old man's final journey into the sea, with the distant structures eventually becoming tangible versions of the towers referenced in the song.

• The song's title has a personal connection to Justin Vernon. "Towers" refers to the two-part dormitory at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire where he and a former girlfriend lived in separate towers.