Mumford & Sons are an English folk rock band formed in London in 2007.[2] T… Read Full Bio ↴Mumford & Sons are an English folk rock band formed in London in 2007.[2] The band consists of Marcus Mumford (lead vocals, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, drums), Ben Lovett (vocals, keyboards, piano), and Ted Dwane (vocals, bass guitar, double bass). Banjo player Winston Marshall left the band in 2021.

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.

Hot Gates
Mumford & Sons Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

There is no great thing, to stop and sing
Waiting for the rain
And this perfect pill, it's all too much
On the edge again
Don't look away
Couldn't help but note the coldest thing
In your precious face
Why do you always speak when you have no grace

In your precious face

But even in the dark I saw you were the only one alone
But these hot gates you spent your victory on
Though your swore you wouldn't do this anymore
And I can't be for you all of the things you want me to
But I will love you constantly
There's precious little else to me
And though we cry, we must stay alive

Another fragile edge, and a tender sound
And then you went aground
Near a duller blade, a promise out of sight
There's nothing here for you tonight

But even in the dark I saw you were the only one alone
But these hot gates you spent your victory on
Though your swore you wouldn't do this anymore
And I can't be for you all of the things you want me to
But I will love you constantly
There's precious little else to me
And though we cry, we must stay alive

Let my blood only run out when my world decides

There is no way out of your only life
So run on, so run!

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Mumford & Sons' song Hot Gates describe a relationship that is strained and on the brink of collapse. The singer reflects on the pain and hurt they have felt as they observe their partner's actions and words. They note the futility of waiting for something that may never come, alluding to the idea that there is no "great thing" to wait for. The singer mentions a "perfect pill" that may be too much and hints at the danger of addiction or dependence.

The chorus of the song acknowledges the loneliness and isolation that both parties in the relationship may feel. The "hot gates" represent the emotional turmoil and conflict that the pair has experienced, and the victory that was spent on these gates alludes to the high emotional cost of fighting and arguing. The singer admits that they cannot be everything their partner wants them to be, but they will love them consistently and remain committed to their relationship. The final lines of the song suggest that even in difficult times, it is important to keep moving forward.

Overall, the lyrics to Hot Gates convey a mood of sadness and weariness while also holding out hope for the possibility of love and commitment.

Line by Line Meaning

There is no great thing, to stop and sing
There is no such thing worth celebrating or being grateful for

Waiting for the rain
Hoping for something that might never happen

And this perfect pill, it's all too much
Something that once seemed perfect is now overwhelming and unbearable

On the edge again
Feeling anxious and uncertain

Don't look away
Don't ignore or evade the situation

Couldn't help but note the coldest thing
Noticing the most hurtful and cruel aspect of someone else

In your precious face
In front of you

But even in the dark I saw you were the only one alone
Acknowledging someone else's loneliness and vulnerability, even in difficult circumstances

But these hot gates you spent your victory on
Referring to the Greek myth of Thermopylae and the idea of achieving victory at a great cost

Though your swore you wouldn't do this anymore
Promising to avoid repeating negative behaviors or patterns

And I can't be for you all of the things you want me to
Expressing limitations in a relationship or partnership

But I will love you constantly
Making a commitment to remain loyal and supportive

There's precious little else to me
Acknowledging the importance of the other person in one's life

And though we cry, we must stay alive
Despite emotional pain or hardship, it's important to persevere and continue living

Another fragile edge, and a tender sound
Describing a delicate, vulnerable moment

And then you went aground
Experiencing a failure or setback

Near a duller blade, a promise out of sight
Encountering a disappointing or unfulfilling situation

There's nothing here for you tonight
Feeling empty or lacking purpose in the present moment

Let my blood only run out when my world decides
Choosing to live life to the fullest and not giving up until the end

There is no way out of your only life
Recognizing the finality of life and the importance of making the most of it

So run on, so run!
Encouraging someone to keep pushing forward and not give up

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

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