Mumford and Son’s sixth studio album Prizefighter is a surprisingly calming and fulfilling piece. The album is flooded with realizations and overwhelming love and security. The usual pain filled belts and passionate rough strumming has come to a halt to present a delicate finger picking and promising messages. It is hard to believe that a long time yearner and self destructive Marcus Mumford could feel and write such things but you better believe it. It’s all right here, behind a simple drawing of a lighter.
Here
The opening track of this record starts with the blended voices of Marcus Mumford and Chris Stapleton. The two men are laying it all out there. They warn that this album will be the reasoning behind their memories and troubling thoughts. By being open and honest, they are admitting their faults and creating a space for forgiveness. They ask the audience “Can you hold all my secrets?/ Can we swear that we can forget?” They want the benefit of doubt and understanding. This album will be a confession and a feeling of closure.
Rubber Band Man
The Banjo Song
The raw strum of a full force banjo and lyrics that describe a darkness that surrounds a person rings in our ears. The lyric leading into the chorus says “Don’t turn your face around, you can come undone.” This line reassures an insecure person that they do not need to hide their pain and ugly. The chorus ignites a message of comfort, telling this person that they will have support and everyone has their struggles. Marcus Mumford chants out lyrics that say “Do you need someone? I could be someone for you.” The second verse describes this same person and the light he sees them in once they have accepted his company and support. The bridge is an encouragement of the different stages of life. He says that even if things are going a bit left, “Things don’t have to fall apart.”
Run Together
The theme of the banjo continues as we describe feelings of anxiety reading “Smoke on my neck/ Voice in my head.” The feeling that brings comfort to him is being together with his family. He knows if anything goes wrong he can always look to them for help and support. The uplifting instrumental break that leads us into the second verse sounds like something they would put in a movie about a dog. The verse is crowded by metaphors that all point to messages that say “I am learning and growing and coping.” After many years of pushing pain into music, this track is an uplifting way to tell us that Marcus Mumford has found happiness in life and wants to share it with the world. The bridge is more confirmation that this song is dedicated to his family with lines like “Kick the cans around” which refers to backyard games that are typically played with kids. The lines “Cause when we run, we run together/ When we’re apart, we fall apart/ I am yours, and yours, and ever/ Can we start?” This is a string of proposals to his wife and kids, asking if they will begin a journey with him. A journey where they rely on each other and grow as one.
Conversation With My Son
This track telling us from the title is a confrontational conversation between father and son. As the father, he is scared of the cruel sides of the world that his son may experience. He is scared for him to grow up and how curiosity may hurt him. The line “The kids and their questions/ It’ll keep you up all night” tells us that being a parent keeps you up and worrying. Nevertheless, he constantly reassures his son that “Your mother and I will show you.” He promises to guide his children through the world and try his best to protect them from hurt. There is a buildup before the bridge which signifies the growth and life of the kids. A light riff is played which reflects optimism. Finally, a downward strum takes us through a breakdown into the bridge. This is more reassurance that the father will be “With you til the end, with my hand over your heart.” He needs his son to understand that they are together in this and will get through whatever struggles arise together.
Alleycat
The quiet, muffled introduction of tapping and a ukulele sequence and the lyrics “Another red leaf drive/ An endless summer/ I was quiet, I was alright/ til it pulled me under” takes us into a somber hint of seasonal depression. Life could be consistent for so long until it hits you out of nowhere. The ending of the verse presents an ending to this depression, a lover. The chorus is a recurring thought in life wondering “Is this all there is?” We all wonder this sometimes. If we will ever achieve something higher or are we forced to stay content with stability? The bridge states that “These are our halcyon days, still wonder/ Just a vision, just a haze.” This is to mean that he wonders if these calm and happy days filled with peace are just a dream. He wonders when something terrible will come crashing down. There is a tone of fear in his voice. He tells us in the third verse that he is still the same as he was describing this depressed persona as an ‘Alleycat.” Someone who worries for the next bad thing praying that happiness will last. Someone who is too scared to come out from the shadows. Too scared that they will get hit by bad luck naturally. Though he hopes to stay happy, the shy, back of the mind voice still tells him otherwise causing him to live in fear.
Prizefighter
The title track of this album has a quiet opening reflecting on a memory with a special person. The lines “You move on/ but I stay put” tell us that this person has moved on from the relationship but the storyteller has not. It is revealed that the person may have passed away with the line “If I could, then I would/ Take a piece of the sky down with me.” He knows that he cannot turn back time and must support others around him from this loss. As we listen further into the story, it becomes clear that the person that has passed away caused pain before they passed. The line “Ghosts cannot apologize” shares with us a sad truth that once someone is no longer with us, there is nothing that can be done about the past. No apologies. No take backs. The storyteller was dying to be accepted by the person that passed, which leads me to believe that we must be referring to a parental figure. He wishes this person could see him “In my glory.” He wishes that this person could see all that he has accomplished in life and all of the beautiful things he has created.
Begin Again
Right off the bat this track sounds like something that can be thrown into a feel good “Dog’s Purpose” movie. The acoustic build up sends us a message of self acceptance and forgiveness. He wants to “Begin Again” and start over in a more positive light. The chorus brings in an encouragement of forgetting about the bad things of the past and moving forward. He says “Don’t carry your father’s sins more than you can take” which essentially means that we should not dwell on mistakes that are not ours. The strength in the strumming pattern ignites a sense of passion telling us to fight and make it out of whatever crowded headspace we are feeling. It tells us not to give up and make efforts to find happiness.
Icarus
This track begins with a faint keyboard note repeating as a story is told of a woman that took a man for granted. He is in pain at the fact that she “threw him away” without a care in the world. It clearly took him a long time to get over her. The metaphor of getting too close to the sun seems to be related to the feeling of being hurt by someone dangerous. In the next verse, Gigi Perez comes in with a clean rasp and more metaphorical speaking. The concept of it all is the difficulty of staying away from someone that you desire that is bad for you. Being blinded by immaturity and young age. Giving in to this type of feeling sets a person back in life in a sense that you feel like you’re “falling.”
Stay
The first line of this track is extremely straightforward. This track will be about togetherness and helping each other be human. It is clear that the narrator is speaking to someone that is considering taking their own life. He assures them that this life is to be done together and that they are not alone. He reminds them of the promise they made together to always communicate and remember the good things in life. He begs them “So, will you stay?” Beginning to know if he has done enough to convince them not to deprive themself of the good things this world has to offer. Again, he promises that this person will never be alone. He reminds this person that he has been in this position before and they helped him through it. He feels the same responsibility to “hold you to it.” The outro chants out again and again “So, will you stay?” as well as a promise “Cause I swear I’ll stay.”
Badlands
This track was a pleasant surprise with a feature from the incredible Gracie Abrams after a long hiatus. The layering of Marcus Mumford’s and Gracie’s voice is a beautiful blend that I didn’t know we needed. The lyrics display an introduction of a timid kid making their way through the world. It becomes clear that this story is in the perspective of a boy in process of blossoming into a man. The repetition of the chorus “Don’t look down now/ I’m not done here yet” sounds to me like a thought that repeats in this boy’s head to keep himself moving. The bridge is a build up of a message that tells us that this boy is running from his pain and is praying for a reason to go on. He begs for inspiration. The ending line of “I know I’m better a high-wire kid” encapsulates the mind of a person that needs constant stimulation and reasons to move forward.
Shadow Of A Man
Marcus reveals a touch of pain in his life in the beginning of this song. He tells us that he is always on edge waiting for something bad to happen. This point being similar to the previous track “Alleycat.” He can never settle down and take it in that he is okay and that something can feel like a home. Despite these intrusive thoughts, his life is good right now and he has been “holding onto everything as tightly as I can.” He is desperate to “feel at ease” but he knows that since he is so not used to the feeling it is so hard. The concept of being a “Shadow of a Man” is a metaphor for feeling so loud in the mind but coming down to earth and realizing that he is just a simple human being. A human being just like everyone else, and although his mind may lead him in different directions and towards wild thoughts, he tries his best to stay calm and grounded.
I’ll Tell You Everything
The prominent finger picking alongside the description of a shapeshifting personality makes us a promise that he will always lay out everything he has out to his partner. Even if the truth is dark he knows he must share it with her to keep their relationship true and two sided. He recognizes his faults and apologizes for any pain he may cause. The bridge presents questions with hopes of reassuring answers. He is desperate not to lose her and begs for her patience.
Clover
Potentially one of the most beautifully calming tracks on the album we close out with track 14. The opening line “And when it’s over/ And the chemicals are all intact” sets the scene of a conclusion. He admits “You know I adore you.” Marcus is being extremely open and truthful with an important person in his life. The quiet finger picking signifies a theme of peace and settlement. The chorus sings out “The chase is over, I am done/ The chase is over my love.” He wants her to know that all the games are over and they can now be together and happy for the rest of their lives. He feels so in love with routine and security which is a beautiful contrast to the pain and suffering that usually comes with a Mumford and Sons song. All he wants is to take in one another and stay fulfilled. All he needs to do is “These honey eyes on me.” The last cry out of “The chase is over” reveals to us in code his love and lifeline “Devon Clover,” essentially wrapping up the entire album on a very positive note. The name “Devon Clover” could have multiple meanings that all allude to the combination of a specific person and/or place that bring him a feeling of peace and closure in life.
lyricritic 
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