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.
liar
Mumford & Sons Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And though there's too many words left unsaid
You say you have spoken
Like the coward I am, I hang my head
And you lay careless your head on my chest
And don't even look at me looking my best
And all these things I can't describe
You would rather I didn't try
Oh please, don't cry, you liar
They told me love was a fortress
And I had never put it to the test
And all the while I relied on this honesty
Well in love we are but amateurs at best
But please don't cry, you liar
Oh please, don't cry, you liar
Oh please, don't cry, you liar
Oh please, don't cry, you liar
You're leaving for your last kiss
And who in this world could ask me to resist
Your hands cold as they find my neck
All this love that I've found I detest
The lyrics of Mumford & Sons's song Liar is about a broken relationship. The singer knows that something is wrong and that things are broken, and despite many words being left unsaid, they confront their partner who responds as if the conversation never happened. The singer feels like a coward for not pushing the issue more but can't describe the strange distance between them, which their partner would prefer they didn't even try. The chorus repeats this idea, pleading with their partner to stop pretending to cry and feigning emotion when they both know that something is wrong.
The second verse talks about the idea of love as a fortress and that the singer had never put it to the test; they believed that honesty was essential for such a bond to work. However, as a couple, they remain amateurs, unable to navigate and understand the complexities of love. The singer begs again for their partner to stop pretending, to stop "crying" and acting as if everything is fine. The bridge talks about the singer's partner leaving for their last kiss, and the singer can't help but wonder who could ask them to resist, despite all the love they've found in this tumultuous, broken relationship. Despite having found love, the singer doesn't like or understand it anymore, which is a sad and stark realization.
Line by Line Meaning
I know that things are broken
I am aware that there are issues in our relationship
And though there's too many words left unsaid
We have not been communicating effectively
You say you have spoken
You claim to have expressed yourself openly
Like the coward I am, I hang my head
I feel guilty for not being brave enough to confront the situation
And you lay careless your head on my chest
You seem to be comfortable and indifferent towards me
And don't even look at me looking my best
You don't appreciate my efforts to impress you
And all these things I can't describe
There are many things I cannot put into words
You would rather I didn't try
You don't want me to attempt to explain my feelings
But please don't cry, you liar
I am aware that you are not being truthful and I don't want you to pretend to be upset
Oh please, don't cry, you liar
I don't want you to continue being dishonest and hiding your emotions
They told me love was a fortress
I was told that love is a strong and secure bond
And I had never put it to the test
I have never truly experienced or been challenged in my love before
And all the while I relied on this honesty
I believed that honesty was the foundation of our relationship
Well in love we are but amateurs at best
We are inexperienced and naive when it comes to love
You're leaving for your last kiss
You are saying goodbye with a final kiss
And who in this world could ask me to resist
I am unable to resist your farewell kiss
Your hands cold as they find my neck
Your touch is distant and unfeeling
All this love that I've found I detest
I have come to despise this love that I once cherished
Contributed by Caden I. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@MrSWweTheRockChick
know that things are broken
And though there’s too many words left unsaid
You say you have spoken
Like the coward I am I hang my head
You lie careless your head on my chest
And don’t even look at me looking my best
And all these things I can’t describe
You would rather I didn’t try
But please don’t cry, you liar
Oh please don’t cry, you liar
Oh please don’t cry, you liar
Oh please don’t cry, you liar
Oh please don’t cry, you liar
Oh please don't cry, you liar
And you lean in for your last kiss
Who in this world could ask me to resist
Your hands cold as they find my neck
Oh this love that I've found, I detest
@HBosman
Dedicated to the woman I once loved with my entire heart and soul. Who I respected and was always there for. Whom I gave my very BEST to. And that best was not good enough.
Because she turned out to be married and living a 2nd life and betrayed my love and my trust and my every waking moment which I always gave to her. To always be there for her and love and support her. She was my "Angel". But never in my wildest dreams did I suspect she was something else. Those perfect sweet blue eyes looking into mine when we made love. That head on my chest when I was being my best.. All LIES.
She lied to me about absolutely everything. Everything that was ever important and sacred between us. Not even leaving me with a single sweet memory. Never saying sorry and leaving me with no answers or closure. Destroyed the person I was. And all I ever did was love her and all I ever wanted was to be loved by her. My angel - married. And everything we ever shared were all lies....... Everything.
"Liar" - Mumford and Sons
I know that things are broken
And though there’s too many words left unsaid
You say you have spoken
Like the coward I am I hang my head
You lie careless your head on my chest
And don’t even look at me looking my best
And all these things I can’t describe
You would rather I didn’t try
But please don’t cry, you liar
Oh please don’t cry, you liar
Oh please don’t cry, you liar
Oh please don’t cry, you liar
Oh please don’t cry, you liar
Oh please don't cry, you liar
And you lean in for your last kiss
Who in this world could ask me to resist
Your hands cold as they find my neck
Oh this love that I've found, I detest.
@fionagorman2237
Still listening in 2022.. Legends forever 🙌
@thaboulthesis
Still listening in 2023 boi what u saying lol
@fionagorman2237
@thaboulthesis love this..still here..again in 23..most beautiful song ever❤
@thaboulthesis
@Fiona Gorman 4 sho bro til I die reminds me of my old bitch I use to play it in front of her "YOU LIAR"
@jeffreycole7993
@I_Am_Liege still listening today bro
@TamberCave
Welp it's still the best Mumford jam in '23
@greggdodd7351
It’s released nowhere, however it’s one of there best and most raw honest songs they’ve ever written. Every person who’s ever loved and lost can relate.
@Trivia67san
Dunno why there's not on Spotify!
@mikeyd641
Just shows how incredible a song is for it to get 13million views without it being released on an album and without any promotion of it
@pirategirl1916
The harmonies in this song just kill me. It's absolutely beautiful.