“Little Lion Man” by Mumford & Sons

On Mumford & Son’s “Little Lion Man”, the narrator ironically speaks to his younger self about how well he has done in life. He begins by reminding himself that regardless of what a person’s wild child-like dreams are, they may never become exactly real.

You can view the lyrics, alternate interprations and sheet music for Mumford & Sons's Little Lion Man at Lyrics.org.

He describes himself as a ‘Little Lion Man’ to imply the confusion in his own identity. On one hand, he wants to be independent and mature, while on the other hand, he still feels like a child. The writer continues to remind himself of his wrong decisions which have landed him in his current state, such as using the best part of his energy to focus on problems, rather than developing himself. In the chorus, he blames his past or younger self for his current failures.

In the second verse however, he tries to advice his future self in an ironic way to let go of his past mistakes, accept his failures and make an effort to find new opportunities and make good use of them. He admits that growth comes with a lot of responsibility and he has to brace himself for that, otherwise, he may end up being stuck to feeling childish and controlled by others.

Summary

Mumford and Sons uses this song to talk about the struggles people face as they mature emotionally. They also use it to shed light on the extent of damage caused by people’s choices and thoughtlessness.

“Little Lion Man” Information

Writing: W. Marshall, B. Lovett, T. Dwane and M. Mumford
Production: Markus Dravs
Release: August 11th, 2009
Album: Mumford & Sons’ “Sigh No More” (which is the band’s first album)

Was “Little Lion Man” a Mumford & Sons’ single?

Yes. Actually “Little Lion Man” was the band’s maiden single.

The Hot 100 Performance

This indie folk song performed commercially well and charted in a bunch of countries. The United States was one of these countries. Here, it made it into the Billboard magazine’s “Hot 100”, where it reached 45 (its peak position).

Other Charts

New Zealand, Australia and Ireland are some other territories where “Little Lion Man” charted impressively. It also entered the UK’s official singles chart (where it peaked at 24).

A Grammy Contestant

In 2011, this Mumford & Sons track was among the songs that competed for “Best Rock Song” award at the Grammys. Neil Young eventually won the contest with “Angry World“. Other songs that contested include: The Black Keys’ “Tighten Up” and Muse’s “Resistance“.

5 Responses

  1. Anonymous says:

    Johnny Depp wrote the song. It was originally in the movie Once Upon a Time in Mexico (2003). Not saying that Mumford and Sons didn’t buy the rights, but they didn’t write it.

  2. Amber Heard says:

    Not a shred of truth in that statement…

  3. Joe Mama says:

    i dont think johnny depp wrote it

  4. Leander says:

    The singer is a deadbeat dad talking to his son, the Lion Man. He regrets not being present, and laments the trouble he has caused his son, which will make the rest of the boy’s life hard.

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