I'm Clifford Stumme, and I use literary analysis and research to explain the deeper meanings of pop songs. Feel free to leave a comment or to email me at clifford@popsongprofessor.com with questions or ideas!
All tagged wilder mind
"Hot Gates" is, by far, the most pointed and purposeful song on Mumford & Sons's Wilder Mind album. It's a sharp and clear cry that begs a friend considering suicide to choose to keep fighting on. The music is mostly soft and quiet, though it contains the powerful swells that have been a signature of the style on Wilder Mind. The song, itself, lyrics and music together, is a powerful, complicated plea for life.
In "Only Love," Mumford returns to the spiritual questions about faith that he began asking in "Believe." Musically, gentle piano and mere hints of electric guitar make up most of this song until 2:51 when the drums and guitar kick in. The song is a mix of gentleness and power and, as always for Mumford & Sons, vulnerability.
Any song on Wilder Mind that's upbeat is a surprise. In the case of "Ditmas," it's certainly a pleasant one. The song nearly lilts as it rushes through the story of yet another love that isn't working out, this time through the fault of a woman who accuses Mumford of having changed even while she leaves him behind for a "[a] life lived much too fast." The song is sad, but it's not mournful; Mumford argues deftly and powerfully-he won't let the blame for the end of this relationship fall on him.
"Cold Arms"is a song of pain and sorrow, which isn't anything new to Wilder Mind but this song asks a tough question and shows what may be the difficult-to-live-with wrong answer.Marcus Mumford and the band play this song slowly and mournfully, a strummed electric guitar ringing out just enough melody to highlight the sadness of what is being said. "Cold Arms" goes beyond the other songs on the album in its attempt to be truly honest and vulnerable with its audience.An interesting aspect of "Cold Arms" is the ease with which one can sing along with it, and doing so, oddly enough, feels confessional and cleansing. The lyrics are about a man who told a woman he loved her without meaning it. His words have brought them together, but the words were empty, so the two end the song together in a bad situation, not really loving each other and simply keeping up a ruse they both know is false.
The drum beat at the beginning of "Wilder Mind" from the new Mumford & Sons album Wilder Mind had me confused. It's upbeat and happy-sounding and fairly fast. The previous songs released had been moody and heavy, but this song was so much lighter, suggesting far lighter tone and subject matter. However, the difference didn't last; the music thickened quickly and the lyrics in "Wilder Mind" are still intense and near-brooding.
"Tompkins Square Park" is about a relationship that ends in Tompkins Square Park in New York City, the site, according to Wikipedia, of numerous riots over the past 150 years. The park served as a gathering place for artists (Allen Ginsberg lived nearby during the 1988 riots), bohemians, and the homeless. Due to gentrification, the park has lost some of its artsy vibe, but its legacy serves well as a backdrop for the difficult subject of Mumford & Sons's new song.
Everybody's talking about Mumford & Sons' new bango-less sound, but the depth of meaning and vulnerability in the bare lyrics of "Believe," the band's first single from Wilder Mind, should be enough to keep everyone happily occupied, even if they don't like the new style.
Mumford and Sons just released the next installment from their soon-to-come album, Wilder Mind. The song is called "The Wolf," and it's a departure from their earlier music. Gone are the days of hipster alternative blends of folk instruments and crooning, soulful harmonies. "The Wolf" retains some of the familiar harmonizing, but everything is more intense. While his voice stays recognizable, the music surrounding Marcus Mumford's vocals is much grittier and much more rockin' & rollin'.
