Mumford and Other Observations

Mumford and Other Observations

By T. S. RussellMusicMusic Commentary
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Mumford and Other Observations episodes

  • After the Storm - Recapping the Entire Album

    Follow us on Instagram @mumfordpodcast


    "After the Storm" Lyrics


    And after the storm

    I run and run as the rains come

    And I look up

    On my knees and out of luck, I look up


    Night has always pushed up day

    You must know life to see decay

    But I won’t rot, I won’t rot

    Not this mind and not this heart, I won’t rot


    And I took you by the hand,

    And we stood tall

    And remembered our own land

    What we live for


    But there will come a time you’ll see

    With no more tears

    And love will not break your heart

    But dismiss your fears

    Get over your hill and see, what you find there

    With grace in your heart and flowers in your hair


    Now I cling to what I knew

    I saw exactly what was true, but oh no more

    That’s why I hold

    That’s why I hold with all I have

    That’s why I hold


    And I will die alone, and be left there

    Well I guess I’ll just go home

    Or God knows where

    Because death is just so full, and man so small

    I’m scared of what’s behind, and what’s before


    But there will come a time you’ll see

    With no more tears

    And love will not break your heart

    But dismiss your fears

    Get over your hill and see, what you find there

    With grace in your heart and flowers in your hair

    1 hr 18 min
  • Dust Bowl Dance - The Grapes of Wrath and Mumford & Sons' Only Ballad

    Follow us on Instagram @mumfordpodcast

    "Dust Bowl Dance" Lyrics

    The young man stands on the edge of his porch

    The days were short and the father was gone
    There was no one in the town and no one in the field
    This dusty barren land had given all it could yield

    I’ve been kicked off my land at the age of sixteen
    And I have no idea where else my heart could have been
    I placed all my trust at the foot of this hill
    And now I am sure my heart could never be still
    So collect your courage and collect your horse
    And pray you never feel this same kind of remorse.

    Seal my heart and break my pride
    I’ve nowhere to stand and now nowhere to hide
    Align my heart, my body, my mind
    To face what I’ve done, and do my time

    Well you are my accuser, now look in my face
    Your oppression reeks of your greed and disgrace
    So one man has and another has not
    How can you love what it is you have got
    When you took it all from the weak hands of the poor
    Liars and thieves you know not what is in store
    There will come a time I will look in your eye
    You will pray to the God that you always denied
    Then I’ll go out back and I’ll get my gun
    I’ll say you haven’t met me, I am the only son

    Seal my heart and break my pride
    I’ve nowhere to stand and now nowhere to hide
    Align my heart, my body, my mind
    To face what I’ve done, and do my time

    Well yes sir, yes sir, yes it was me
    I know what I’ve done, ‘cause I know what I’ve seen
    I went out back and I got my gun
    I said you haven’t met me, I am the only son

    1 hr 6 min
  • Awake My Soul - The Psalms in the Music of Mumford & Sons

    Everything starts to come together at the end of the album, starting with this song. Awake My Soul is so good and so jam-packed with awesomeness that we had to record a mega-episode in order to do it justice!

    Check us out on YouTube and follow us on Instagram @mumfordpodcast

    This podcast is a production of The Flight House. Support our work at buymeacoffee.com/theflighthouse


    Links Mentioned in Episode:

    Dennis Russell

    Dennis From Scratch


    “Awake My Soul” Lyrics

    How fickle my heart and how woozy my eyes

    I struggle to find any truth in your lies

    And now my heart stumbles on things I don’t know

    My weakness I feel I must finally show


    Lend me your hand and we’ll conquer them all

    But lend me your heart and I’ll just let you fall

    Lend me your eyes, I can change what you see

    But your soul you must keep totally free


    Awake my soul, awake my soul


    In these bodies we will live, in these bodies we will die

    Where you invest your love, you invest your life


    Awake my soul, awake my soul

    For you were made to meet your maker


    1 hr 28 min
  • Thistle and Weeds - The Parables of Christ and Mumford & Sons

    We continue our discussion of the album Sigh No More by examining Thistle and Weed's connections to Christ's parables.

    Check us out on YouTube and follow us on Instagram @mumfordpodcast

    This podcast is a production of The Flight House. Support our work at buymeacoffee.com/theflighthouse


    “Thistle and Weeds” Lyrics


    Spare me your judgments and spare me your dreams

    ‘Cause recently mine have been tearing my seams

    I sit alone in this winter clarity which clouds my mind


    Alone in the wind and the rain you left me

    It’s getting dark, darling, too dark to see

    And I’m on my knees and your faith in shreds it seems


    Corrupted by the simple sniff of riches blown

    I know you have felt much more love than you’ve shown

    I’m on my knees and the water creeps to my chest


    But plant your hope with good seeds

    Don’t cover yourself with thistle and weeds

    Rain down, rain down on me


    Look over your hills and be still

    The sky above us shoots to kill

    Rain down, rain down on me


    I will hold on, I will hold on hope


    I begged you to hear me, there’s more than flesh and bones

    Let the dead bury the dead

    They will come out in droves

    But take the spade from my hand, and fill in the holes you’ve made


    Plant your hope with good seeds

    Don’t cover yourself with thistle and weeds

    Rain down, rain down on me

    1 hr 9 min
  • Timshel - The Significance of John Steinbeck's "East of Eden" in Mumford & Sons' Music

    We continue our discussion of the album Sigh No More by examining Timshel's connections to John Steinbeck's East of Eden and the book of Genesis. Featuring special guests Elizabeth Bernadette and Clare Fletcher.

    Check us out on YouTube and follow us on Instagram @mumfordpodcast

    This podcast is a production of The Flight House. Support our work at buymeacoffee.com/theflighthouse

    Links:

    Little Lion Man by Mumford and Sons

    East of Eden - The First Page

    Through the Deep, Dark Valley by the Oh Hellos

    Sirens by the Gray Havens

    Dante's Inferno - The First Page

    “Timshel” Lyrics

    Cold is the water, it freezes your already cold mind

    Already cold, cold mind

    And death is at your doorstep and it will steal your innocence

    But it will not steal your substance


    But you are not alone in this

    You are not alone in this

    As brothers we will stand

    And we’ll hold your hand


    You are the mother, the mother of your baby child

    The one to whom you gave life

    And you have your choices — these are what make man great

    His ladder to the stars


    But you are not alone in this

    You are not alone in this

    As brothers we will stand

    And we’ll hold your hand


    But I will tell the night

    And whisper lose your sight

    But I can’t move the mountains for you

    48 min
  • Little Lion Man - The Wizard of Oz, John Steinbeck, and Mumford & Sons

    We continue our discussion of the album Sigh No More by examining Little Lion Man's connections to L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, John Steinbeck's East of Eden, and the book of Genesis.

    Check us out on YouTube and follow us on Instagram @mumfordpodcast

    This podcast is a production of The Flight House. Support our work at buymeacoffee.com/theflighthouse

    Links:

    Little Lion Man by Mumford and Sons

    East of Eden - The First Page


    “Little Lion Man” Lyrics:

    Weep for yourself my man

    You’ll never be what is in your heart

    Weep little lion man

    You’re not as brave as you were at the start

    Rate yourself and rake yourself

    Take all the courage you have left

    Waste it on fixing all the problems that you made in your own head


    But it was not your fault but mine

    It was your heart on the line

    I really “effed” it up this time

    Didn’t I, my dear


    Tremble for yourself my man

    You know that you have seen this all before

    Tremble little lion man

    You’ll never settle any of your scores

    Your grace is wasted in your face

    Your boldness stands alone among the wreck

    Now learn from your mother or else spend your days biting your own neck


    But it was not your fault but mine

    It was your heart on the line

    I really “effed” it up this time

    Didn’t I, my dear

    48 min
  • I Gave You All - Shakespeare's King Lear in the Music of Mumford and Sons

    We continue our discussion of the album Sigh No More by examining I Gave You All's connections to Shakespeare's King Lear.

    Check us out on YouTube and follow us on Instagram @mumfordpodcast

    This podcast is a production of The Flight House. Support our work at buymeacoffee.com/theflighthouse

    Links:

    I Gave You All by Mumford and Sons

    King Lear - The First Page

    I Gave You All Lyrics: 

    Rip the earth in two with your mind

    Seal the urge which ensues with brass wires

    I never meant you any harm

    But your tears feel warm as they fall on my forearm


    But close my eyes for a while

    Force from the world a patient smile


    How can you say that your truth is better than ours

    Shoulder to shoulder, now brother, we carry no arms

    The blind man sleeps in the doorway, his home

    If only I had an enemy bigger than my apathy I could have won


    But I gave you all


    Close my eyes for a while

    Force from the world a patient smile


    But I gave you all


    But you rip it from my hands, and you swear it’s all gone

    And you rip out all I have just to say that you’ve won


    Well now you’ve won

    49 min
  • White Blank Page - Theology of the Body, Shakespeare, and Mumford and Sons

    We continue our discussion of the album Sigh No More by examining White Blank Page's connections to JPII's Theology of the Body and Shakespeare's Othello. Featuring special guest Elizabeth Bernadette

    Check us out on YouTube and follow us on Instagram @mumfordpodcast

    This podcast is a production of The Flight House. Support our work at buymeacoffee.com/theflighthouse

    Links:

    White Blank Page by Mumford and Sons

    Othello - The First Page

    Theology of the Body - The First Page

    52 min
  • "Roll Away Your Stone" - Dante, Macbeth, and Mumford and Sons

    Episode Four of Mumford and Other Observations podcast. We continue our discussion of the album Sigh No More by examining Roll Away Your Stone's connections to Dante's Divine Comedy and Shakespeare's Macbeth.

    Check us out on YouTube and follow us on Instagram @mumfordpodcast

    This podcast is a production of The Flight House. Support our work at buymeacoffee.com/theflighthouse

    Links:

    Dante article mentioned in the episode

    Roll Away Your Stone by Mumford and Sons

    First Page of "INFERNO" by Dante Alighieri

    First Page of "MACBETH" by William Shakespeare

    Like a Rolling Stone by Bob Dylan

    57 min
  • "Winter Winds" - The Song of Songs & Mumford and Sons

    We continue our discussion of the album Sigh No More by examining Winter Wind's connections to the Song of Songs and the classic theme of Memento Mori. Featuring special guest Andrew Russell.

    Check us out on YouTube and follow us on Instagram @mumfordpodcast

    This podcast is a production of The Flight House. Support our work at buymeacoffee.com/theflighthouse

    Links:

    Winter Winds by Mumford and Sons

    First Page of "THE SONG OF SONGS" from Holy Scripture

    First Page of "THEOLOGY OF THE BODY" by John Paul II

    First Page of "THE CANTERBURY TALES" by Geoffrey Chaucer

    Unfinished Business by Mumford and Sons

    1 hr 2 min

About Mumford and Other Observations

From the publisher's feed

An examination of the literary sources in Mumford and Sons' lyrics. T. S. Russell and Bridget Gamboni seek the answers to life's most important questions with the music of Mumford and Sons as their…