Babel

So when your hopes are on fire
But you know your desire
Don't hold a glass over the flame
Don't let your heart grow cold
I will call you by name
I will share your road

MUMFORD & SONS - HOPELESS WANDERER LYRICS 
_______________________

Can I just tell you how much I love this album?  When I first heard it, I thought it was good, but as always with this group, the more I pay attention to the lyrics, the better it gets.  Every time I listen to it, I hear something else that strikes my heart like a hammer shaping steel on an anvil.

Take these from "Ghosts that We Knew":

So give me hope in the darkness that I will see the light
Cause oh they gave me such a fright
But I will hold on with all of my might
Just promise me we'll be all right

Ghosts that we knew made us black and all blue
But we'll live a long life
And the ghosts that we knew will flicker from view
And we'll live a long life

I love that love here is something that conquers the ghosts everybody carries around with them.  The love is the light that finally puts the shadows of the past to rest.  I want that.  Oh, how I want that.

Another example:


Now I'll be bold
As well as strong
And use my head alongside my heart
So tame my flesh
And fix my eyes
A tethered mind freed from the lies

And I'll kneel down
Wait for now
And I'll kneel down
Know my ground

Raise my hands
Paint my spirit gold
Bow my head
Keep my heart slow

'cus I will wait, I will wait for you
And I will wait, I will wait for you


~ I WILL WAIT 

The line about using "my head alongside my heart" and having a "tethered mind freed from the lies" is tremendous.  If you read here much at all, you know I am creature of the mind as much as I am of the heart.  The joining of the two here, the grounding of the intellect and the clearing of the vision as a step to get ready for love is so much me.  I also find the idea of "paint[ing] my spirit gold" just beautiful.  The imagery of it fills me with a sense of the mystery and wonder that this particular relationship will bring. This whole idea of putting oneself under control and getting ready for love instead of flying around impulsively is gorgeous to me.

And that seems to be a theme throughout the album.  Not every song has it, but it comes up repeatedly.  It's not something one hears a lot in music today.  Most artists do more of the Carpe Diem "sieze it before it's gone" sort of lyrics.  I find the idea of waiting for something that is real and worthy infinitely more appealing.  It's hopeful that the thing desired is out there somewhere and that until it comes, we need to be working on ourselves with patience.  This is always something I need to hear.

I could quote more lyrics, talk about more of the songs, but I will leave these here and just continue to enjoy the rest without the commentary.