Songs for the apocalypse: Mumford and Sons “The Ghosts That We Knew”

Right I know I’ll get shot for this one but bands that everyone thinks are a bit shit can still sometimes write songs that have a resonance for you – this was a track I listened to in the car on the way back from visiting my dear old friend Tom who was about to die. He was 90 and was ready to go but his feelings at the end of his life were basically the refrain “Give me hope in the darkness that I will see the light”. At about 3’10” this song kicks into something quite magical – as one of the comments below the track on YouTube says: “That fucking banjo man. Gets me every time.”

 

About Mark Whitfield 2063 Articles
Editor of Americana UK website, the UK's leading home for americana news and reviews since 2001 (when life was simpler, at least for the first 253 days)
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Andy Campbell

You should get shot.
For saying that the band are shit!

Bren

I am from Mexico and went to see them live the first time they came. Marcus was feeling a bit too good for the crowd,q turning his back on the people and just “doing his job” making obvious his dislike, but Mexicans have a big heart for people and music and by the middle of the gig, he was loving it and so did we. I been to every concert after and now it’s obvious that he loves Mexico as much as we love them. This is a song that touches my core. I instinctively listen to it with my eyes closed and paying attention to every word and musical note and when the piano and banjo play, tears always seem to show. To your expertise and learned education, they might be shit, but the heart and soul don’t lie, they are gold.