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.
Believe.
Mumford & Sons Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
But you've only lost the night
Present all your pretty feelings
May they comfort you tonight
And I'm climbing over something
And I'm running through these walls
I don't even know if I believe
I don't even know if I believe
Everything you're trying to say to me
I had the strangest feeling
Your world's not all it seems
So tired of misconceiving
What else this could've been
I don't even know if I believe
I don't even know if I believe
I don't even know if I believe
Everything you're trying to say to me
So open up my eyes
Tell me I'm alive
This is never gonna go our way
If I'm gonna have to guess what's on your mind
Say something, say something
Something like you love me
Less you want to move away
From the noise of this place
Well I don't even know if I believe
I don't even know if I believe
I don't even know if I wanna believe
Everything you're trying to say to me
So open up my eyes
Tell me I'm alive
This is never gonna go our way
If I'm gonna have to guess what's on your mind
So open up my eyes
Tell me I'm alive
This is never gonna go our way
If I'm gonna have to guess what's on your mind
The song "Believe" by Mumford & Sons talks about the confusion and doubt that comes with a failing relationship. The opening lines speak of calling it quits for the night, but also suggest that something has been lost in the process. The singer yearns for their partner to express their true feelings, hoping for some sense of comfort. The lines "And I'm climbing over something / And I'm running through these walls" indicate the emotional hurdles the singer has to overcome to keep the relationship going.
The chorus repeatedly expresses the singer's doubt about what their partner is trying to say to them. The second verse goes deeper into the singer's inner turmoil, as they have a hunch that their partner's life is not as perfect as it seems. This line hints at some sort of betrayal or dishonesty on the part of the partner which could be causing the turmoil. The plea "open up my eyes / tell me I'm alive" can be interpreted as the singer asking for the truth, even if it hurts them.
Finally, the last verse is a plea for the partner to communicate their true feelings, and to express their love for the singer before it's too late. The reference to wanting to move away from the noise of the place can be seen as the singer wanting to escape the negativity of the situation. The song ends on a note of uncertainty, both on the part of the singer and the relationship as a whole.
Line by Line Meaning
You may call it in this evening
You might make a late-night call
But you've only lost the night
But you've wasted the night by calling
Present all your pretty feelings
Share your emotions
May they comfort you tonight
Hoping they may make you feel better
And I'm climbing over something
I am determined to overcome something
And I'm running through these walls
I am trying hard to break free from something
I don't even know if I believe
I am not sure if I can trust what you say
Everything you're trying to say to me
Everything that you are saying seems uncertain to me
I had the strangest feeling
I sensed something unusual
Your world's not all it seems
Things are not as good as they appear to be
So tired of misconceiving
I am tired of misunderstanding
What else this could've been
Wondering what else this situation could mean
So open up my eyes
Help me see the truth
Tell me I'm alive
Convince me that I am still living
This is never gonna go our way
This situation will not work out
If I'm gonna have to guess what's on your mind
If I have to constantly try to figure out what you are thinking
Say something, say something
Speak up, communicate
Something like you love me
Express your feelings towards me
Less you want to move away
If you want to leave me
From the noise of this place
To escape from the chaos of our surroundings
I don't even know if I wanna believe
I am not sure if I want to believe
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: BENJAMIN WALTER DAVID LOVETT, EDWARD JAMES MILTON DWANE, MARCUS OLIVER JOHNSTONE MUMFORD, WINSTON AUBREY ALADAR MARSHALL
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@lucasdaniel-mx2pn
You may call it in this evening
But you've only lost the night
Present all your pretty feelings
May they comfort you tonight
And I'm climbing over something
And I'm running through these walls
I don't even know if I believe
I don't even know if I believe
I don't even know if I believe
Everything you're trying to say to me
I had the strangest feeling
Your world's not all it seems
So tired of misconceiving
What else this could've been
I don't even know if I believe
I don't even know if I believe
I don't even know if I believe
Everything you're trying to say to me
So open up my eyes
Tell me I'm alive
This is never gonna go our way
If I'm gonna have to guess what's on your mind
Say something, say something
Something like you love me
Less you want to move away
From the noise of this place
I don't even know if I believe
I don't even know if I believe
I don't even know if I wanna believe
Anything you're trying to say to me
So open up my eyes
Tell me I'm alive
This is never gonna go our way
If I'm gonna have to guess what's on your mind
So open up my eyes
Tell me I'm alive
This is never gonna go our way
If I'm gonna have to guess what's on your mind
@jacquelinelabuschagne1888
Still one of my biggest dreams, to see Mumford & Sons Live💛🇿🇦 one day🤞
@marsbar2020
Saw them pre pandemic here in Canada, was a great show but the fans were all only loving on the first big hit country album songs. In my mind u need to do your thing and move forward... great show
@XxMuSicAddicTxX000
The crowd deserves a gold medal!
@sambhatti805
I lost my mind at 3:03, when everyone sang their heart out.
Got flooded by emotions.
This is the best song I've ever heard in my life so far.
@thehows978
If there is ONE band to live the rest of a life with ... this one is all I need. <3
@ChanelDarkSide
I watching them in lolla Brazil, going crazy in every music as usual, but I notice this girl who was there looking at me , and she told me " I never listen to them, but they are so good, I m almost crying" I felt happy, my favorite band ever is so amazing that almost made this girl who never listen them cry. 5 minutes after I look at her, she was actually crying. This ladys and gentlemen's, is Mumford & sons. sorry for the bad english
@nathanmcdonald462
ChanelDarkSide preach it man. Theyre the my favorite band ever to land on this earth
@878550
a minha alma ficou nesse show e voltou só o corpo, melhor dia da minha VIDA!!
@ziphozihlemoyeni4956
I thought you were going to say, you married the girl
@lucasdaniel-mx2pn
You may call it in this evening
But you've only lost the night
Present all your pretty feelings
May they comfort you tonight
And I'm climbing over something
And I'm running through these walls
I don't even know if I believe
I don't even know if I believe
I don't even know if I believe
Everything you're trying to say to me
I had the strangest feeling
Your world's not all it seems
So tired of misconceiving
What else this could've been
I don't even know if I believe
I don't even know if I believe
I don't even know if I believe
Everything you're trying to say to me
So open up my eyes
Tell me I'm alive
This is never gonna go our way
If I'm gonna have to guess what's on your mind
Say something, say something
Something like you love me
Less you want to move away
From the noise of this place
I don't even know if I believe
I don't even know if I believe
I don't even know if I wanna believe
Anything you're trying to say to me
So open up my eyes
Tell me I'm alive
This is never gonna go our way
If I'm gonna have to guess what's on your mind
So open up my eyes
Tell me I'm alive
This is never gonna go our way
If I'm gonna have to guess what's on your mind