Lover of the Light

'And I will be your goal' should be 'And I will be your gold', I know at one part it sounds like 'goal' but in the other part it clearly sounds like 'gold' which to me makes more sense.

As for song I would simply say that he wants more than anything for this girl to have God as her rock rather than him.

'But love the one you hold And I'll be your gold To have and to hold A lover of the light'

I am referring a lot of my interpretation to the music video & the symbolism used in the song lyrics. This is a tricky one, but I believe this song is about one's inner dialogue & struggle to find our Faith, no matter which faith that may be; but there is a lot of Christian Bible symbolism used, so I will refer to what I noticed & share, FWIW.

In the video, which Idris Elba is the actor & director of, a blind man seems to be struggling to fight his fears & find his faith during his challenging life. He wakes up from a dream, a dream in which he succeeds in facing his fears & finds his faith. As the video progresses, he seems to think back to it from time to time, & the elk seems to be a memory of this dream. At one point, he seems to be talking to himself or God, telling about what he did in this crazy dream--ran to a cliff alone? Him? That's crazy, right?! But then he looks wistful.

He also seems to be having an inner dialogue with God, who is inviting him in to become a 'Lover of the Light.'

As the video progresses, he thinks back to this dream from time to time, and each time the elk (who often symbolize strength, perseverance & courage) seems to reappear, so this may be symbolic of strength & stamina & keeping steadfast on one's journey towards having faith despite our fears.

There is a lot of symbolism from the Bible, such as our Higher Power being 'The Light', and how as we go through the challenge we seem to have our lives torn down around us, only to be built up even better if we do find our faith.

The man prepares 2 meals, but he is the only one there. I think this symbolizes his willingness to invite God into his life. He remembers his dream & the elk always seems to show up then. He seems to be having an inner dialogue with God, and in reading the lyrics this way, they seem to be both the man's dialogue, and God's dialogue.

The animal (elk?) in the video seems to be an aspect of this man, and it watches him on his journey to free his soul via finding faith, so I think the animal represents freedom, or maybe it symbolizes the aspect of self which is unconscious & operating out of blind instinct. In order to reach our goals, we have to aim further than this, so we have to find courage & strength within us to take that leap of faith. So the animal may represent our non-understanding of things in our lives, but to realize that we are strong enough to face them, & may need to fight our instinct to hide & protect ourselves. The animal seems to be watchful of this man, so I think it refers to an aspect of himself.

The blind man gets ready to leave his home, & struggles with himself as he finally decides to leave the safety & security of his walking cane & guide dog behind, & go for a walk (run!?) through the woods all by himself, seeking the 'Light' beyond the cliff, which is probably symbolic of taking a leap of faith.

So with the man being blind (probably symbolizing how we are all 'blind' until we find our faith), for him to run through the woods to a cliff's edge is quite the demonstration of throwing caution to the wind & finding his faith! Notice that the Light of the sun is shining on the horizon beyond this cliff. He didn't take an actual leap of faith off the cliff, but in essence that is what he did by by running through the woods unaided, even with his walking stick or guide dog.

In the end, he finds the courage to face his fears & demons, seek the Light of his Higher Power, & finds joy.

Lovely song, moving video. Love it!

Hope this was helpful for some of you.

Agree or disagree as you wish. These are only my opinions. I may be correct in some places, and incorrect in others.

I'm pretty sure this song is about Mumford's search for God or spirituality. A lot of their songs have themes of religious searching. I'll explain my thoughts by the lyrics themselves. With a verse, and then thoughts.

In the middle of the night, I may watch you go There'll be no value in the strength of walls that I have grown There'll be no comfort in the shade of the shadows thrown But I'll be yours if you'll be mine

I'm pretty sure the line 'in the middle of the night, I may watch you go' refers to the come-and-go phenomenon of Mumford's faith. God is there at one moment, but he escapes Mumford's grasp the next. He just can't quite get past a barrier, and his faith keeps fleeting away.

The next line, 'there'll be no value in the strength of walls that I have grown' would suggest that if God is gone, the walls he has built up around himself have no meaning. There's no point in the barriers he has built up around his faith if God is not present. It's like having a cage in a zoo without an animal inside. What's the point of the cage? There's no point in having walls to build up around his faith if he cannot find God.

The third line, 'there'll be no comfort in the shade of the shadows thrown' means something rather different, but has the same general feeling. There is no point hiding in the shadows if God is not present. If God is not there, there's no point hiding in the shadows. Basically, the whole point of these two lines is that there's pointlessness without God.

The fourth line is pretty much an invitation, it would seem. He is saying that if God will come into him, he will give himself to God. It's a spiritual bond he is proposing.

Stretch out my life and pick the seams out Take what you like, but close my ears and eyes Watch me stumble over and over

Another very spiritual passage. 'Stretch out my life, and pick the seams out.' This is Mumford offering himself wholeheartedly to God, to pick apart, to analyze. To see inside of him. He is giving himself up to God. The second line is Mumford asking God to close his ears and eyes to the world, so he can focus instead on the Holy Trinity. He wants nothing to distract him from the light. And the final line is something most Christians are highly familiar with. Continuous sin. You may give yourself up wholeheartedly to God, but sin is always there. Mumford acknowledges that he will continuously stumble, time and again. But he's giving himself up nonetheless.

I have done wrong, so build your tower But call me home and I will build a throne And wash my eyes out never again

Similar to the last line. 'I have done wrong, so build your tower.' This is an acknowledgement of sin, and when he says 'so build your tower,' he is referencing a tower of imprisonment. He is kind of turning himself in to the authorities, but to the ultimate authority (God). The next line, 'but call me home, and I will build a throne' signifies Mumford's desire for God to reveal himself to him, and if he did so, Mumford would do anything, and build the kingdom of God on earth. It could also mean something to do with heaven, of course, since 'call me home' could be God bringing Mumford to heaven, but the throne is something to rule from, and so I believe Mumford is referencing the lengths to which he would go to build the kingdom of God on earth. The final line, 'and wash my eyes out never again,' probably references Mumford being made clean before God. Washing yourself in the Bible is obviously very symbolic (baptism!), so washing your eyes is erasing all the evil you have seen, and done, and instead coming to God, and he would make you clean, so washing yourself of your sins is no longer necessary.

But love the one you hold And I'll be your goal To have and to hold A lover of the light

This basically is merely Mumford's wish for God to love him as he is, and if he does so, Mumford will be a 'lover of the light.' If God should love him as he is, Mumford will turn away from everything, and focus his attention on God.

Skin too tight and eyes like marbles You spin me high so watch me as I glide Before I tumble homeward, homeward

The first line is alluding to how he is tired of living in this searching pattern. He feels tight, and his eyes are glazed. He doesn't feel right. It is all becoming too much. The last two lines are very easily interpreted. Sometimes the Word of God can send him high, and he feels the presence of God, and feels like it is all coming together, but then it ends, and he tumbles homeward. Back to earth. And that connection with God is gone.

I know I tried, I was not stable Flawed by pride, I miss my sanguine eyes So hold my hands up, breathe in, breathe out.

The first line is Mumford's failed attempts to come fully to God. He tried to become a servant of Christ, but he 'was not stable.' He just couldn't find God in his searched. The next line is similar. He was flawed by pride. He was too proud to maybe admit that he truly needed God more than anything. And he misses his sanguine (or heavily optimistic) eyes. Because he used to view his search for Christ with an optimistic outlook, but now he's doubting he'll ever find his answers. The final line is a reference to worship, or searching through worship. Calling on the Lord to come into him and fill him with the spirit. He's trying to find that feeling of the Lord coming into him.

But love the one you hold And I'll be your goal To have and to hold A lover of the light

And in the middle of the night, I may watch you go There'll be no value in the strength of walls that I have grown There'll be no comfort in the shade of the shadows thrown You may not trust the promises of the change I'll show But I'll be yours if you'll be mine

So love the one you hold And I will be your goal To have and to hold A lover of the light

So love the one you hold And I will be your goal To have and to hold A lover of the light

The rest of the lyrics merely continue as they were, so I won't theorize them. But that is basically my thoughts on this song. I love this song, because I've fought the same fight as Mumford is in this song. Faith is a journey, not a destination. Finding God is always a fight. Even when you believe, sometimes there's a wall there, and you can't break through. I relate to this song so much.

Okay, that's basically it. Comments are appreciated!

I think its religious. I can't seem to connect "lover of the light" to anything romantic. Jesus is often referred to as the light of the world.

I have done wrong, so build your tower But call me home and I will build a throne

I know that the Bible talks about making our bodies temples for the lord and how the holy spirit dwells inside of us.

I might be wrong though.

I think its religious. I can't seem to connect "lover of the light" to anything romantic. Jesus is often referred to as the light of the world.

I have done wrong, so build your tower But call me home and I will build a throne

I know that the Bible talks about making our bodies temples for the lord and how the holy spirit dwells inside of us.

I might be wrong though.

well this song speaks to me on many levels - on a personal level it speaks of one person waking up to a new level inside of himself opening up to a new level of love and contentment and to how a relationship is going and realising many things have been said/been bad and can see the relationship continuing it's destructive path and how each person locks their selves further and further away..... and yet it's calling out to the other and each as one to call the relationship forward to a new level where each is a king and a queen both creating thrones for each in their love and gratitude for each other further empowering each in an upward spiral, but the other partner looks on in disbelief not trusting that the change she see's is something lasting continuing on her same path of destruction unravelling him each time and detroyiong him over and over and yet he calls her on ... be mine and i'll be yours

Honestly what I'm getting from it is that the speaker is feeling intense love for someone that he for some reason cannot have. From various lines throughout the song I keep getting the idea that the speaker is saying "this is all of me, the good and the bad, accept me for what I am, push me to be my best, believe in me, and I'll do the same for you".

There's a verse missing between:

Skin too tight and eyes like marbles You spin me high so watch me as I glide Before I tumble homeward, homeward

and

And in the middle of the night, I may watch you go There'll be no value in the strength of walls that I have grown There'll be no comfort in the shade of the shadows thrown You may not trust the promises of the change I'll show But I'll be yours if you'll be mine

I think it goes like this:

I know I tried I was not stable Floored by pride I missed my sanguine eyes so hold my hands up breath in breath out.

I didn't hear a chorus between the last verse and this one though. It's my understanding that this is a newer song of theirs, so maybe they are still working on it. I got my copy from the band website forum.

how has this got so little comments?!

hmm, as so many Mumford & Sons songs, i think its about a break up. he's done something to mess up (i have done wrong, so build your tower), and the girlfriend has broke up with him, and i think he's basically trying to say that he accepts what he did was wrong, and he'll try to change, even though she didnt believe it when he said it (You may not trust the promises of the change I'll show), and he's just trying to say he'll always be there if she ever wants him again.

i could be completely wrong, thats just how i interpreted it. :)

The line is:

"There'll be no valley with the strength of walls that I have grown"

As in, not even a valley between two mountains has walls like the ones I've put up.