Mumford & Sons – The Cave (Chords)

So we’re all playing ukulele because of Mumford and Sons. According to the London Evening Standard and STV. Having inspired a ukulele boom is quite an achievement considering:

Chords, melody, and music theory analysis of The Cave by Mumford and Sons.

a) they released their debut album long after the resurgence began;
b) they’re not much known across the pond;
c) they don’t play ukuleles and
d) their big hit is in the key of E guaranteeing annoyed ukers.

Yes, this one is in E. Flip skater play game free. So I’ve taken the usual step of moving it up to F for ease of playing. That means you’ll have to tune down half a step if you want to play along with the original. But it’s a top notch tune so worth the bother.

Twiddly Bits

The Cave (Intro Tab)

http://ukulelehunt.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/cave.mp3
Intro and Verse

Even with the tuning down, this one takes a bit of finagling on uke. The picking I use is:

g and C = Thumb
E = Index
A = Middle

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Suggested Strumming

All you need here is simple Strum #1 from the Strum Book: all down strums. But in the exciting parts, feel free to throw in any up strums you deem fit.

Chord Inversions

From the D minor chord in the chorus, I like to use these inversions of the chords:

General CommentI agree with what most people are saying, except the relationship aspect (guy/girl). I feel like the whole essence of this song goes far beyond the pain/joy of being with someone else. It's a song about self discovery in ways that transcend the actual concept of self.I definitely think the whole song is an overall reference to Plato's Allegory of the Cave.' It's empty in the valley of your heartThe sun, it rises slowly as you walkAway from all the fearsAnd all the faults you've left behindThe harvest left no food for you to eatYou cannibal, you meat-eater, you seeBut I have seen the sameI know the shame in your defeat'This is his view of fellow 'cave dwellers'. He sees and understands the pain that they are enduring, but he ends this verse/sings the chorus to show that the difference isn't in people's situations, but in their view and response to them.'

Cause I have other things to fill my timeYou take what is yours and I'll take mineNow let me at the truthWhich will refresh my broken mindSo tie me to a post and block my earsI can see widows and orphans through my tearsI know my call despite my faultsAnd despite my growing fears.' It is in the second verse that he, in a way, becomes fed up with feeling sorry for himself and takes a step towards perspective. And although this song, overall, has very strong Christian, Biblical undertones, this verse is probably the most profound. There is a spiritual determination here. 'Now let me at the truth which will refresh my broken mind.' The second part of the second verse is my absolute favourite lyric.

I am a huge fan of The Odyssey, his allusion is perfect for this song. Again, it calls to mind a sense of urgency, especially when bonded to it's unmistakable Biblical reference. He's so determined to see beyond himself and his 'negative situation' to see the hurt and need in the world that is represented by the ones who have lost loved ones (widows and orphans).This is so significant because in Hebraic culture, the widow and the orphan represent the lowest of the low as far as social status goes.

They represent the ones who are in the utmost need. The ones who have life's noose around their necks, if you will.' So make your siren's callAnd sing all you wantI will not hear what you have to sayCause I need freedom nowAnd I need to know howTo live my life as it's meant to be'This song comes full circle by him being so compassionate, that he invites those in the 'negative situations' to join his point of view (upside down - I Corinthians 1:25), and see that there are others who have less than they. But even though he is compassionate, he will not be dragged down by their complaints and their ideas of what is fair and what is unfair.Until this point, I have neglected to mention one the most key aspect of this song. In the chorus, he says, I'll know my name as it's called again. Although it can mean many things, I think that it goes along perfectly with the rest the clear Christian theme of this song.All throughout the Bible, when people would be called to higher purpose, out of their former situations, many times God would change their names as their lives and characters would also change. So his name would be called again as he changed his ways.Overall, no matter how you interpret this song, it is amazing.

It is encouraging. It is just beautiful.

Mumford & Sons is an amazing group of musicians. Awesome that you could relate so well to a marvelous piece of music. Think it is great how people can relate to the songs in different ways without putting to much thought in it.

I, on hte other hand, love to analyze and find out what my deepest thoughts can draw out a beautifully lyrical piece. I like to test my intelligence a bit. I think it is nice that people still see love in this world, eventhough love has run aground on a massive island called sexual liberalism.Don't know why I'm writing this here, just felt like it. A wonderful analysis!

I love Odysseus and Plato and God - so I ate this song right up! These boys are deep. I think of Steely Dan's song 'Home at Last' which says 'Still I remain tied to the mast.'

I think the sirens are the world's woes and he is saying I could drown in the sorrow of the world, but I need to get to the bottom of WHAT I'M HERE TO DO FOR GOD, and it might not be what everyone else THINKS he should do. In order to be effective, we have to meditate, pray and find out what we're here to do, otherwise we flail and drown to the siren's calls (we either self-medicate with drugs and booze or become terrorists - forgetting that LOVING those around us and finding our own calling is the best way to do God's Will). But I think he is also saying that he won't abandon any of his brothers - the noose around your neck.

He will love them unconditionally and be there for them, but not be sucked in to their dramas that don't aid his own purpose that God is giving him. Which in this case?

To write great songs!!! Keep it up Mumford and Sons - I think you've found your purpose! I agree so much, but I see it in a very different way. I think the great thing about this song is that it can be interpreted in SO many different ways, and is very easily related to. My InterpretationThis song is about reaching enlightenment.

It references several texts in ancient theory, most notably Plato's Cave and Homer's Odyssey.Plato's Cave sets up a scenario in which prisoners, from childbirth, are shackled and chained deep within a cave, unable to move their heads and thus forced to look at the wall in front of them. Above and behind them, there is a platform, and behind that, a fire. On the platform figures walk and interact with objects, and the light from the fire projects their shadows onto the wall below. To the prisoners, the shadows are reality, being the only thing they have ever witnessed.

When a prisoner breaks free, he turns around and realizes his idea of reality was a mere illusion, and despite being scared, goes further up until he reaches the sunlight outside of the cave, which is the source of all truth. Really interesting insights - I've been trying to see how Plato's Cave Allegory works its way in here and you've lade it out nicely.

One thing you didn't comment on was the lyric 'tie me to a post and block my ears,' which directly references the sirens scene in the Odyssey (Odysseus asks his crewmates to tie him to the mast so that he can hear the sirens' song but cannot escape to meet his death in their trap). This sets up an interesting contrast - with Plato, freedom comes from escaping the chains, and following the path that the others in the cave have not walked before. In the Odyssey, however, Odysseus' being tied up gives him a new freedom, as he allows himself to listen to the song without letting it kill him, and thus tempting but ultimately foiling fate. Also, there is an interesting paradox in the last stanza: he wants freedom, but he wants to live his life as it's 'meant to be' - an idea that beautifully sums up the contrasting ideas presented in Homer and Plato. General CommentHow they fit together is a tough question I'm not going to try and answer, but this song makes 3 very clear literary references. And no, Plato's allegory isn't one of them.

I don't know how that's still the prevailing theory.The first is the most obvious- Homer's The Odyssey'So tie me to a post and block my ears'So make your siren's callAnd sing all you wantI will not hear what you have to say'This is a reference to where Odysseus and his men leave Circe's island and pass the Sirens, creatures that call sailors to their death with beautiful songs.' I've always wondered in 'the cave' was a reference to Plato's cave:Plato describe a group of people who have lived chained to the wall of a cave all of their lives, facing a blank wall.

The people watch shadows projected on the wall by things passing in front of a fire behind them, and begin to ascribe forms to these shadows. According to Plato, the shadows are as close as the prisoners get to viewing reality. He then explains how the philosopher is like a prisoner who is freed from the cave and comes to understand that the shadows on the wall do not make up reality at all, as he can perceive the true form of reality rather than the mere shadows seen by the prisoners.

General CommentThese lyrics are poetry. I've enjoyed some of the interpreations written here.

The literary allusions are interesting. Something wrote concisely (paraphasing), 'it's about person who can't help but to see into the dark wold and wants to be happy' That says a lot in its simplicity. My interpretation clearly sees a man who is deepy conflicted regarding his self itdentity. Is caught but trying to escape the cultural paragdygm in which we all live. Our world isone fraught witht tension and divisiveness, we are programmed to accept the big lie, The lie that creates fear, lethargic hope, and the culltural myth that our lives can only be happy by competing for all things obedience and conformity can reward us. We will fight for out comforts, This charactor with in the song has, for a deeply personal reason chosen, against the odds, of breaking away to achieve truth and enlightenment. His struggle is internal; to surrender to an unjust and violent world and continue living in within a collective reality of struggle, phycological dependene on biases and mistruths.

He is tired of the way has lived and wants his world view to evolve towar positivity and self potential.He won' allow himslef to kill himself, but won't listen to the srens that call him toward his self destruction. He knows what he's dome and and knows what self awareness he has attained.

Thris represents us more sensitive and spiritual people and must struggle leave the negativity of our past and perhaps present actions. General CommentI am surprized no one noticed this. This song is an allusion to Homer's The Odyssey. The cave is when they were at the Isle of the Lotus Eaters and Odysseus was trapped by Circe. The reason I know this song is about Odysseus is because there is a part in the song where he says 'tie me to a post and block my ears, I can see widows and orphans through my tears' there was a part in the Odyssey where they were going through the water and the sea sirens(this also is in conjunction withe the part where he says 'so make your siren's call and sing all you want, I will not hear what you have to say) were signing and they would cause men to go mad. Odysseus let himself be lashed to the mast to endure it so he would not go crazy.

The widows and orphans refers to his wife Penelope and his song Telemachus who thought he was dead. ALso the cannibal part is where calypso turns all the men into pigs and they don't know it and are feasting on humans who she turned into pigs. All of their songs are littered with literary allusions, like that song on the album where he says 'stars hide your fires, these here are my disires' that is a mismash of a line from the play Macbeth 'stars hide your fires and show not by black desires.' General Comment If you notice Mumford and Sons has an incredible amount of Christian and Biblical undertones, part of the reason i like them so much.

Repeated things like 'truth' and references to themes in the bible like in this song 'Ill find strength in pain and i will change my ways ill know my name as its called again' I think the part about 'i will hold on hope, wont let you choke.' Refers to saving someone from the world and what awaits them, thus bringing them to God.' Come out out of your cave walking on your hands' or stop hiding from the truth (Cave) and humble yourself thus 'walking on your hands'. 'you can understand dependence when you know the makers land' another clear cut reference to GodWell thats just what i got out of it, i just figured i'd give this perspective since i haven't seen it mentioned on here yet. My response to you who see bible references in these lyrics my thoughts are thus. I think that in vague poetry such as this the capability to find links to the religion are possible it does not mean that this piece is bound to christian thought and reference.

By vague i do not mean any disrespect i mean to say that there are a many different interpretations that may be garnered from these lyrics. I have studied christian theology for the last 4 years and before that i studied religion from a purely historic manner as a student. The things i have learned are that inspiration wether divine or human can mean something to someone whether or not it is directly linked to their belief system. So therefore it is futile to attempt to group the lyrics of poets by religion because they all speak of the strong emotions felt by the author and that is where their inherent value lies. Not in the version of scripture that they refer to but in the emotion of the person who felt them and spoke the words.

Now I will add that my beliefs do not influence this because I personally am a person who does not follow any religion. I advise you to find the raw emotion which with this song was written and enjoy how it helps you strengthen your faith but do not bind it solely to one belief because once it is bound to a religion others will disregard it and believe that it solely applies to followers of another faith. I agree with 'Trust This Interpretation' to me the song has a huge biblical meaning. I think it is like god talking to a guy or girl. God is saying with 'I will hold on hope and I wont let you choke on this noose around your neck' I think god is saying he will not let the human race destroy themselves he wont give up on us.

And then eg: 'make your sirens call and sing all you want I will not hear what you have to say' that is a biblical reference, look it up. That is the person saying they arent listening to satan they are with god. To me this song tells my life story and makes me thankful.

I think you are right about the christian undertones in this song. It seems to me to be based on 'Saint Francis' by G K Chesterson, Chapter 5you'll have to read the whole chapter to feel the full meaning of the song, but here is one paragraph from it:'Francis, at the time or somewhere about the time when he disappeared into the prison or the dark cavern, underwent a reversal of a certain psychological kind; which was really like the reversal of a complete somersault, in that by coming full circle it came back, or apparently came back, to the same normal posture. It is necessary to use the grotesque simile of an acrobatic antic, because there is hardly any other figure that will make the fact clear. But in the inward sense it was a profound spiritual revolution. The man who went into the cave was not the man who came out again; in that sense he was almost as different as if he were dead, as if he were a ghost or a blessed spirit. And the effects of this on his attitude towards the actual world were really as extravagant as any parallel can make them.

He looked at the world as differently from other men as if he had come out of that dark hole walking on his hands.' At least, that is where the phrase 'come out of your cave walking on your hands' comes from. It means to drastically turn your life around.so here is my take on it.

With all that in mind. But you can take whatever meaning you like from a song;) this is only what I think he was inspired by.He's left his fears behindhe will not give up hope, he finds strength in pain (i.e. Job)he turned his life around (walk out of the cave on his hands)understands his dependence in his Creator (the makers hands)is free from the noose around his neck (frequently the allegory used for sin)and will know his name when it is called again (God calling his chosen). I was going to post that it was referencing Chesterton's work, but I was delighted to see Mcdude and Jonzim caught it too. Although I've never read his book on St.

Francis, he makes the same point in other works like Everlasting Man and The Poet and the Lunatics. In the latter, he says he fancies that when St. Paul was crucified upside down, 'he saw the world as it really was. The stars as flowers and the clouds as hills, and man hanging on by the mercy of God.' Thus the line in the song, 'you can understand dependence when you know the Maker's land.' Song MeaningI met Marcus Mumford in March 2010, when they played at Hoxton Square.

I was studying philosophy at the time and I asked him after the gig if he was influenced by Plato's Cave with this song - he said it was all based on this- he studied classics.This song is suggesting that we look at shadows created by a fire on the wall of the cave and we think this is life and we think it's reality. If we turned around and faced the sun we could see the world around us and ourselves in all our glory rather than merely looking at shadows - hence coming out of the cave walking on your hands.looking at life in a completely different way and freedom from our assumed reality.knowing our true selves- our names as they're called again. I get the allegory of the cave, but I think there is more to it then that. St peter was crucified upside down per his request, He wanted to go out like he came in to the world, (Normal child birth the head being the opposite of the mothers), hence walking finally right side up in to your maker's land. I believe the song to be about a destruct relationship, the relationship is over and the narrativor is trying to prevent the other from offing themselves.The subject sucked all they could from the relationship and now the narrator left, and the subject is despondent and Mt. The narrator is trying to prevent the unpreventable, but knows even after pain and tears of them offing themselves they will be better off.

Both of them. I think the cave is some imagery from the Odyssey.

Odysseus is held captive in Polyphemus the cyclops' cave. The entrance is blocked by a boulder so large only Polyphemus can move it. Odysseus and his men escape by gouging out Polyphemus' eye. Each man then binds three of the cyclop's sheep together and cling to the middle sheep's underside with their legs, using their hands for support on the ground, as they pass through the cave's opening, which is gaurded by the cyclops. Polyphemus feels the top and sides of the sheep as the leave the cave but not the underside, allowing the Greeks to escape, e.g. 'So come out of your cave walking on your hands / And see the world hanging upside down.' Ditto siren's song/blocking ears/tying to a post stuff.

Can't beat the classics for imagery. Probably the same great themes as Homer's epic work. Retuning home, overcoming adversity, defeating human failing, and resisting temptation to reach your goals. The cave is the third step of odysseus's journey.

It follows the 'fall' of Troy and the lotas flowers. The fall of Troy is symbolic of the fall of man, the lotas flowers is the initial state of a man who has just fallen, a period of time where a man has lost all sense of himself( hence why men have been known to loose themselves forever in the flowers ie -thinking- instead of moving forward). Getting to this point is a very delicate process and college's usually spend multiple semesters getting students to this point, relatively few make it and some that do make it don't get out.

Ever wonder why schizophrenia usually sets in around the age of twenty. Probably not but anyways. The one eyed cyclopes is the all seeing eye of God- cherubim wings meeting over the mercy seat form a pyramid shape with the eye of God in the middle like the dollar bill( I encourage you to look it up). The individual now knows they are 'naked' they realize the one eye of God is upon them, meaning they realize the life they have lived has been a controlled existence lacking volition to that point (think about it, how could they have come this far if it wasnt?). The individual then poses as a sheep 'crawling on their hands' out of the cave to a world upside down. 'who are all these people how did i get in this body and who can i trust' they have thoughts like that and what not because they now realize that you don't no who takes part in the manipulation.

I'll tell you the rest if yah care to know but im tired of typing at the moment. I will say i acknowledge i missed some steps but they can be explained and also the sirens call after odysseus leaves circe (who wanted to make him immortal) because he chooses death (home) hence his trip to the underworld. The sirens he recieves after are warnings which is why our artists say 'I can see widows and orphans through my tears' Odysseus's main goal is his freedom. Remember Homer tells us Odysseus dies a free man. 'Cause I need freedom now':).