"Things Behind Things Behind Things" is a real thinker.

Believe it or not, there is still a presidential election going on and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders is still out there rousing the troops. Only now, because of the coronavirus pandemic, his rallies are being held online, but they still draw a pretty impressive group of guest performers.

A Saturday night (April 4) virtual town hall featured an acoustic set from Soccer Mommy and Bon Iver‘s Justin Vernon in between video messages from Sanders giving thanks to the frontline health care workers who are battling the COVID-19 virus, as well as his thoughts on the economic crisis wrought by the global health emergency.

“There’s so much going on and so much fear and so much pain, there’s a lot of sickness and there’s a lot of stillness and fear,” said Sanders super supporter Vernon, standing alone in his Eau Claire, Wisconsin, studio surrounded by gear. His brief set on electric guitar included the soothing song “Towers” from the band’s self-titled 2011 debut, as well as the title track from the recently reissued Blood Bank EP, a cover of Bob Dylan’s “With God on Our Side” and the new track.

The elegiac “Things Behind Things Behind Things” points to our collective anxiety and Groundhog Day feelings right about now after more than three weeks of self-quarantining to help flatten the curve of the virus.

“I don’t like the way it’s/ I don’t like the way it’s/ I don’t like the way it’s lookin’,” Vernon sang over a circular guitar riff. “I can’t go through the motions/ I can’t go through the motions/ How am I supposed to do this, how/ I am afraid of change/ The way I look back makes me a competitor/ There are things behind things behind things/ There are wings within rings within rings.”

Bon Iver has pledged 10% of merch sales to two organizations helping those fighting COVID-19, Wisconsin-based Feed My People and the Chippewa Valley Artist Relief Fund. Sanders held a digital rally on March 16, which featured appearances from My Morning Jacket’s Jim James, the Free Nationals, Neil Young and his wife Daryl Hannah.

Watch Soccer Mommy (starting at 16:22) and Bon Iver (starting at 1:02:36 mark, with the new song at 1:10:38).

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