Mumford & Sons have released four studio albums: Sigh No More (2009), Babel (2012), Wilder Mind (2015), and Delta (2018). Sigh No More peaked at number two on the UK Albums Chart and the Billboard 200 in the US, with Babel and Wilder Mind both debuting at number one in the UK and US, the former becoming the fastest-selling rock album of the decade and leading to a headline performance at Glastonbury Festival in 2013. The band has also issued two live albums: Live at Shepherd's Bush Empire (2011) and The Road to Red Rocks (2012).
Mumford & Sons were formed in December 2007 by multi-instrumentalists Marcus Mumford, Ben Lovett, Winston Marshall and Ted Dwane. Band members play acoustic guitar, drums, keyboard instruments, bass guitar, and traditional folk instruments such as banjo, mandolin and resonator guitar. The band name originates from the fact that Marcus Mumford was the most visible member, organizing the band and their performances. Lovett indicated that the name was meant to invoke the sense of an "antiquated family business name".
A handful of similar bands were increasing their visibility in West London around the same time, giving rise to the label "West London folk scene". Mumford downplays that characterisation as an exaggeration—Mumford & Sons and a few other folk acts just happened to be operating in the same general area at the time. In an interview with the Herald Sun, Marcus Mumford said, "It's not folk really. Well, some of it is, and it's certainly not a scene. Someone got over-excited about a few bands who live in a hundred-mile radius and put it in a box to sell it as a package. It's a community, not a scene. It's not exclusive." Having developed in the same musical and cultural environment, Mumford & Sons' sound has been compared to that of artists such as Noah and the Whale, Johnny Flynn and Laura Marling, whose backing band had included Marshall, Mumford, and Dwane.
In early 2008 the band began working with manager Adam Tudhope, who, as part of management company Everybody's, also represents Keane and Laura Marling. It was through Tudhope's connection that Mumford & Sons were exposed to their future A&R at Island, Louis Bloom, who began monitoring the band. Bloom told HitQuarters that they were still at a fledgling state and not yet ready for a label deal: "There was no one there for it, just a few friends, and they needed time to develop. Over the next six months I kept going to see them and they were literally picking up fans every time."
In February 2008, the band completed an extensive UK tour with support from Alessi's Ark, Sons of Noel and Adrian, Peggy Sue and others. June 2008 marked the band's first appearance at the Glastonbury Festival. They also toured Australia with Laura Marling, whose disinclination to interact with audiences encouraged Mumford into the spotlight. The experience helped inform his attitude towards Mumford & Sons audiences, which is to interact frequently and to try to create a comfortable, casual atmosphere. Mumford & Sons' first project was an EP entitled Love Your Ground which took a year to complete and was released in November 2008 on Chess Club Records.
The band began by using bluegrass and folk instrumentation, with the core instruments of acoustic guitar, banjo, piano and a double bass, played with a rhythmic style based in alternative rock and folk. In the documentary Big Easy Express, Marcus Mumford recognizes the Old Crow Medicine Show influence: "I first heard Old Crow’s music when I was, like, 16, 17, and that really got me into, like, folk music, bluegrass. I mean, I’d listened to a lot of Dylan, but I hadn’t really ventured into the country world so much. So Old Crow were the band that made me fall in love with country music." Mumford acknowledges that "the band inspired them to pick up the banjo and start their now famous country nights in London." Ketch Secor, Old Crow front-man, concurs: "Those boys took the message and ran with it.
Much of Mumford & Sons' lyrical content has a strong literary influence, its debut album name deriving from William Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing. The track "Sigh No More" includes lines from the play such as Serve God love me and mend, For man is a giddy thing, and One foot in sea and one on shore. The title of the song "Roll Away Your Stone" is an allusion to Macbeth; the song includes the line Stars hide your fires/ And these here are my desires which borrows and pares down Macbeth's line in act 1, scene 4: Stars, hide your fires,/ Let not light see my black and deep desires. Additionally, "The Cave" includes several references to The Odyssey, in particular the sirens that Odysseus encounters on his journey home. The song also contains many references to G.K. Chesterton's book, St. Francis of Assisi, in which Chesterton uses Plato's Cave as a way of explaining how St. Francis views the world from God's perspective. "Little Lion Man" appears to be a retelling in dramatic monologue form of Chretien de Troyes' Yvain, the Knight of the Lion, which is the story of a knight who goes mad after betraying a promise to his wife to return to her. Both "Timshel" and "Dust Bowl Dance" draw heavily from the John Steinbeck novels Of Mice and Men, East of Eden and The Grapes of Wrath.
The band's change in sound on their third album was described by Lovett as a "natural departure." At the end of the Babel tour Winston Marshall traded his banjo for electric guitar in sound checks and Mumford started playing more drums as the band jammed on heavy instrumentals and even some Radiohead tunes. Banjo does not feature on the record, an instrument that had become synonymous with the band. NME reported that the band's sound is "More expansive than ever and decidedly heavier, thanks to the shift in instrumentation." The group also employed a full drumkit instead of kick drum. "We've had our standard line-up of instruments for the last six years and we felt like that was our palette, [but] we started picking up other stuff," said Lovett. "It's a very natural departure from some of that rootsier stuff."
Lovett told NME that working with James Ford for Wilder Mind was part of trying something new. "We felt a need for change. Not from Markus [Dravs], but he was so closely attached to those first two records that as we had taken that time off, we wanted to try doing something new. It felt like, if we do our third record with Markus, does that mean we do our ninth and 10th records with Markus? At some point you have to try different things, as we collectively felt like it was time to try other stuff. Markus knows that we might well make the next record with him. We definitely haven't broken up [with Dravs], we're just playing the field!".
The band have won a number of music awards throughout their career, with Sigh No More earning the band the Brit Award for Best British Album in 2011 and six overall Grammy Award nominations. The live performance at the 2011 Grammy ceremony with Bob Dylan and The Avett Brothers led to a surge in popularity for the band in the US. The band received eight total Grammy nominations for Babel and won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year. The band also won the Brit Award for Best British Group in 2013.
03. Winter Winds
Mumford & Sons Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Oh the warmth in your eyes swept me into your arms
Was it love or fear of the cold that led us through the night?
For every kiss your beauty trumped my doubt
And my head told my heart
Let love grow
But my heart told my head
This time no
We'll be washed and buried one day my girl
And the time we were given will be left for the world
The flesh that lived and loved will be eaten by plague
So let the memories be good for those who stay
And my head told my heart
Let love grow
But my heart told my head
This time no
Yes, my heart told my head
This time no
This time no
Oh the shame that sent me off from the God that I once loved
Was the same that sent me into your arms
Oh and pestilence is won when you are lost and I am gone
And no hope, no hope will overcome
But if your strife strikes at your sleep
Remember spring swaps snow for leaves
You'll be happy and wholesome again
When the city clears and sun ascends
And my head told my heart
Let love grow
But my heart told my head
This time no
And my head told my heart
Let love grow
But my heart told my head
This time no
This time no
The song "Winter Winds" by Mumford & Sons tells the story of a love that has been challenged by the winter winds in London. The first stanza describes the feeling of being swept up in someone's arms and the doubt of whether it is love or fear of the cold that led them to each other. The chorus then represents the internal conflict between the head and the heart - the head telling the heart to let love grow while the heart hesitates and says no.
The second stanza takes a deeper, more philosophical turn. It speaks of the fleeting nature of life and how ultimately, everything will come to an end. The memories of the love shared should then be good enough for those left behind. The chorus repeats, emphasizing the hesitation of the heart to fully embrace the love they have.
The third and final stanza speaks of hopelessness and how it can drive us to do things that we may later regret. The lyric "pestilence is won when you are lost and I am gone" speaks of how the singer has lost themselves and the hope that they once had. However, there is a glimmer of hope in the last four lines. It speaks of the changing of the seasons and how eventually, things will be happy and wholesome again.
Overall, the song tells a story of a hesitant love, the fleeting nature of life, and the struggle to find hope in a seemingly hopeless situation.
Line by Line Meaning
As the winter winds litter London with lonely hearts
The arrival of winter left many people in London feeling disconnected and alone.
Oh the warmth in your eyes swept me into your arms
The singer was drawn to the love and kindness he saw in the eyes of his partner, which made him feel safe and loved.
Was it love or fear of the cold that led us through the night?
The singer questions whether he and his partner were guided by true love or simply by a desire to escape the harshness of the winter season.
For every kiss your beauty trumped my doubt
In the midst of doubt and uncertainty, the physical beauty and love of the artist's partner was enough to reassure him and keep their relationship strong.
And my head told my heart
Let love grow
But my heart told my head
This time no
This time no
The artist struggles with conflicting emotions about their relationship, with his head telling him to continue loving while his heart is hesitant and unsure.
We'll be washed and buried one day my girl
And the time we were given will be left for the world
The flesh that lived and loved will be eaten by plague
So let the memories be good for those who stay
The singer recognizes the fleeting nature of life and the inevitability of death. He advises his partner to cherish their memories and leave behind a positive legacy for future generations.
Oh the shame that sent me off from the God that I once loved
Was the same that sent me into your arms
The singer reflects on how his personal struggles led him to question his faith, but also brought him closer to his partner and the love they share.
Oh and pestilence is won when you are lost and I am gone
And no hope, no hope will overcome
The artist acknowledges that in the face of loss and tragedy, hope may seem impossible to grasp, but reminds his partner that their love can overcome even the darkest of moments.
But if your strife strikes at your sleep
Remember spring swaps snow for leaves
You'll be happy and wholesome again
When the city clears and sun ascends
The artist encourages his partner to take solace in the fact that difficult times are only temporary, and that eventually a new season of life and happiness will arrive.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: BENJAMIN WALTER DAVID LOVETT, EDWARD JAMES MILTON DWANE, MARCUS OLIVER JOHNSTONE MUMFORD, WINSTON AUBREY ALADAR MARSHALL
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@iseeisee7141
"Winter Winds"
As the winter winds litter London with lonely hearts
Oh the warmth in your eyes swept me into your arms
Was it love or fear of the cold that led us through the night?
For every kiss your beauty trumped my doubt
And my head told my heart
"Let love grow"
But my heart told my head
"This time no
This time no"
We'll be washed and buried one day my girl
And the time we were given will be left for the world
The flesh that lived and loved will be eaten by plague
So let the memories be good for those who stay
And my head told my heart
"Let love grow"
But my heart told my head
"This time no"
Yes, my heart told my head
"This time no
This time no"
Oh the shame that sent me off from the God that I once loved
Was the same that sent me into your arms
Oh and pestilence is won when you are lost and I am gone
And no hope, no hope will overcome
But if your strife strikes at your sleep
Remember spring swaps snow for leaves
You'll be happy and wholesome again
When the city clears and sun ascends
And my head told my heart
"Let love grow"
But my heart told my head
"This time no"
And my head told my heart
"Let love grow"
But my heart told my head
"This time no
This time no"
@ranger1217
mumford and sons holds a special place in my heart...
@jonnyo9193
I love that mumford liked this comment 8 years after releasing this vid. Respect
@lunya1519
@Big Jon ikr, this is my favorite album
@nowistimeforfightingyouson3325
My Heart, soul, head its all theirs
@reginacelli5848
i am brazilian and like you, munpford and my children and granddaughter have a special place in my heart
@vanessaparra8901
Totally agree 🌹😍
@KalinaHill
This has always been my absolute FAVORITE song by Mumford & Sons. I have "let the memories be good for those who stay" on a bracelet that I always keep with me. Even if I'm not as big of a fan as I used to be, I will always always always adore this song. So beautiful.
@thechesshelper3277
+Kalina Hill same here! Winter win for days!
@dash0173
+Kalina Hill For real though, i just found this song and recently started listening to mumford and sons. I loveee songs that sound like this, it gives me so much energy and happiness. This song, "further on" by bronze radio return and strawberry swing by coldplay are my 3 summertime songs.
@ThomasMcGiveron1
+Kalina Hill that's awesome.