Mumford & Sons – Dust Bowl Dance

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The young man stands on the edge of his porch
The days were short and the father was gone
There was no one in the town and no one in the field
This dusty barren land had given all it could yield

I've been kicked off my land at the age of sixteen
And I have no idea where else my heart could have been
I placed all my trust at the foot of this hill
And now I am sure my heart can never be still
So collect your courage and collect your horse
And pray you never feel this same kind of remorse

Seal my heart and break my pride
I've nowhere to stand and now nowhere to hide
Align my heart, my body, my mind
To face what I've done and do my time

Well you are my accuser, now look in my face
Your oppression reeks of your greed and disgrace
So one man has and another has not
How can you love what it is you have got
When you took it all from the weak hands of the poor?
Liars and thieves you know not what is in store

Well, there will come a time I will look in your eye
You will pray to the God that you've always denied
Then I'll go out back and I'll get my gun
I'll say, "You haven't met me, I am the only son"

Seal my heart and break my pride
I've nowhere to stand and now nowhere to hide
Align my heart, my body, my mind
To face what I've done and do my time
(x2)

Well, yes sir yes sir yes it was me
I know what I've done 'cause I know what I've seen
I went out back and got my gun,
said, "you haven't met me I am the only son"

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Lyrics submitted by Nobody-special, edited by softhought

Track duration: 04:41


Dust Bowl Dance song meanings
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  • 0
    My Interpretation:In beginning and middle parts of the song it seems this song is a story about a young boy (16) who is the man of the house and farm during the Dust Bowl when the land on his farm can grow no more crops and therefor he has no way to pay for the land or his family.

    It's obvious the boy has worked up spite and during the opening part of the song, the bank is in the process of taking his land so he's warning "Well, there will come a time I will look in your eye
    You will pray to the God that you've always denied
    Then I'll go out back and I'll get my gun
    I'll say, "You haven't met me, I am the only son""

    that he will not go down without a fight.

    The next verse is a sort of "during time" and in the last verse

    Well, yes sir yes sir yes it was me
    I know what I've done 'cause I know what I've seen
    I went out back and got my gun,
    said, "you haven't met me I am the only son"

    it's obvious he's admitting it was him that shot the banker, he doesn't feel remorse because the guy deserved it.

    The changing from

    "Well, there will come a time I will look in your eye
    You will pray to the God that you've always denied
    Then I'll go out back and I'll get my gun
    I'll say, "You haven't met me, I am the only son"

    to

    Well, yes sir yes sir yes it was me
    I know what I've done 'cause I know what I've seen
    I went out back and got my gun,
    said, "you haven't met me I am the only son"

    how at first he's warning "there will come a time" to when he says "yes sir it was me".
    Flag mollyjeanmon May 08, 2013   Link
  • 0
    My Interpretation:Whenever i sing it, this is how i interpret it, (Its my song to the woman i believe murdered my dad)
    A man is planning a murder and admitting to it. He doesnt have anything left, and he isnt going to let the person that took everything from him get away with it. He's saying to the person he is attempting to kill that they deserve it, they are a terrible person. They stole, lied and cheated their way into whatever life they are living and he is going to take it from them, much like the person took it from the people he loves.
    When the police get him, he admits fully to doing the entire thing.
    He isnt ashamed that he did this.
    I feel so much when i listen to this, it brings me to tears everytime.
    Flag serenesimplicityon February 19, 2013   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:"Dust Bowl Dance" directly refers to the Dust Bowl during the Great Depression. Marcus Mumford also said that it's based on the Grapes of Wrath, which is a novel about the Dust Bowl and Great Depression. Not much else to it. Crazy the ideas the pop into peoples minds about the meanings of songs! It's truly just a song.
    Flag srosehon February 14, 2013   Link
  • +2
    My Interpretation:It's possible that this could be inspired by a book or a true event, but to me, it's simply an epic ballad that has one purpose: to tell a story.

    It's a story of one man taking a stand against tyranny and oppression.

    "Well you are my accuser, now look in my face
    Your oppression reeks of your greed and disgrace
    So one man has and another has not
    How can you love what it is you have got
    When you took it all from the weak hands of the poor?
    Liars and thieves you know not what is in store"

    Having made his accusations, he threatens to go out and get his gun. In my opinion, the final words of the song indicate that he carried out what he saw as justice against the person or group that he accused.

    "Well yes sir, yes sir, yes it was me
    I know what I've done, cause I know what I've seen
    I went out back and I got my gun
    I said, 'You haven't met me, I am the only son'"

    He'd threatened to take action against them, and he didn't back down when the time came. "I know what I've done, cause I know what I've seen." He had seen the corruption and the injustice, and chose to deal out the righteous judgment that no one else was willing to give, and he's ready to take the consequences for it.
    Flag jhfrank87on October 24, 2012   Link
  • +3
    My Interpretation:A ballad telling the story of a young man, son of a tenant farmer, in the Dust Bowl region. The father is gone because he died or abandoned the family so the bank is foreclosing on the farm. Rather than giving up, getting up and leaving as others have ("so collect your courage and collect your horse, and pray you never feel the same kind of remorse") the son instead decided to fight back. He gets his gun and when whomever is to take over the property comes to kick the family off (or he goes and hunts them down himself) there is a fight, symbolized in song by the sudden violent instrumental, and the boy hurts or kills him. Now he's in court pleading guilty.
    Flagged SirJerryon July 22, 2012   Link
  • +3
    My Interpretation:I always thought this song was about an amish boy.
    "I've been kicked off my land at the age of sixteen"
    At age 16, the amish are considered adults. They leave the community for rumspringa, a period of time where they are allowed to venture away from the community and test out the mainstream American teenage lifestyle.

    "Seal my heart and brake my pride
    I've nowhere to stand and now nowhere to hide"
    If the children engage in immoral activities they are not welcomed back into the community

    "Well you are my accuser, now look in my face
    Your opression reeks of your greed and disgrace"
    I think here, the boy is talking to his oppressive father. A lot of scandals have been surfacing about physical and sexual abuse in Amish communities.

    'Align my heart, my body, my mind
    To face what I've done and do my time'
    Here it seems that the boy is feeling remorse and realizing that he will be punished for the murder he is about to commit because of the values the community instilled in him.

    "There will come a time I will look in your eye
    You will pray to the God that you always denied
    The I'll go out back and I'll get my gun
    I'll say, "You haven't met me, I am the only son"
    I think, like some others said, that he is calling his father a sinner and a hypocrite here by saying "the God that you always denied". He is comparing himself to Jesus by calling himself the only son, and carrying out the work that he thinks Jesus would do(the murder).
    Flagged whiteyaon April 08, 2012   Link
    • 1 Reply
  • -5
    Song Meaning:I find amazing how narrow the mind of religious people can be, that they get this sort of monothematic obsession with Jeebus and all those fairytales. This song is about “All the pretty horses”, because the authors said so on their own website. That’s it. But I get that if you are brainwashed enough, you can believe anything.
    Flagged nonpropheton March 15, 2012   Link
  • +4
    My Interpretation:The name-Dust Bowl Dance-is a direct reference to the Dust Bowl of the Great Depression. The song might not be a complete connection to The Grapes of Wrath, but there is a clear connection. During the Great Depression, the land in the Great Plains, from around the area of Oklahoma all the way to the west in California, was suffering a major drought, and the land became basically infertile. Many of the farmers in that area were tenant farmers, meaning they rented the land from the banks of the era, but the banks still owned the land, and when the land stopped producing, ("There was no one in the town and no one in the field, This dusty barren land had given all it could yield") the tenant farmers were evicted by the banks ("I've been kicked off my land at the age of sixteen And I have no idea where else my heart could have been", "Your oppression reeks of your greed and disgrace", "When you took it all from the weak hands of the poor?"). Many of these farmers put up a fight against the banks, and some even threatened the men with guns ("To face what I've done and do my time", "Well yes sir, yes sir, yes it was me, I know what I've done, cause I know what I've seen, I went out back and I got my gun I said, "'You haven't met me, I am the only son'"). An entire chapter of The Grapes of Wrath is dedicated to the eviction of these tenant farmers. The main character, Tom Joad, returns to his home from jail to find his family has been evicted and they are on their way to the western coast, where there are rumors of thousands of open jobs. By the end of the novel, Joad becomes a leader in the uprising against the banks.
    Flagged dolphinboyndon March 09, 2012   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:thats it skip! the pure unabashed emotion it describes...and evokes... depression era, god, irish potato famine...whatever...there are strong points to any opinion but thats just it opinion...although just because the phrases "god" "pray" and "only son" isnt a very strong theory.....keep your opinions... they are yours to keep or change....just hear me out: listen to the song..dont try to associate it to a book or histrical event...if thats what your thinking about while listening to this song your missing it....just listen...
    Flag Crafty207on February 10, 2012   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:This is definitely a song about good versus evil, at any level it's astonishing. the level of symbolism and mood in this song and the album as a whole is just unreal.

    Check out some of my music reviews @
    red-chex.tumblr.com
    Flagged RedChexon January 26, 2012   Link

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