The 30 Best Mumford and Sons Songs, from The Cave to I Will Wait

What is Mumford and Sons' most famous song?

"I Will Wait" is Mumford and Sons' most famous song and their biggest hit, reaching number 12 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and the UK chart in 2012. "The Cave" and "Little Lion Man", from their debut album, are just as loved, along with "Awake My Soul" and "Believe".

Mumford and Sons' biggest songs

1. "I Will Wait", 2012: the stomping lead single from Babel and their highest-charting song.
2. "The Cave", 2010: a banjo-driven anthem that reached number 27 in the US.
3. "Little Lion Man", 2009: the raw, furious breakthrough single.
4. "Awake My Soul", 2009: a hushed, building song of faith and longing.
5. "Believe", 2015: the electric lead single from Wilder Mind.
6. "Winter Winds", 2009: a brass-tinged single from Sigh No More.
7. "Lover of the Light", 2012: a single from Babel with a famous video starring Idris Elba.
8. "Hopeless Wanderer", 2013: a Babel single with a comic video starring Jason Sudeikis, Ed Helms, Will Forte and Jason Bateman.
9. "Guiding Light", 2018: the lead single from Delta.
10. "Roll Away Your Stone", 2010: a fast, joyful folk song from Sigh No More.

Songs from Sigh No More (2009)

Their debut album, released in October 2009, took its title from a line in Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing and turned a London folk scene into a worldwide sound.

11. "Sigh No More", 2009: the slow-building title track and album opener.
12. "Timshel", 2009: a quiet song named after a word from John Steinbeck's East of Eden.
13. "Thistle and Weeds", 2009: a dark, swelling song.
14. "White Blank Page", 2009: an intense song of heartbreak.
15. "Dust Bowl Dance", 2009: a dramatic story song with a thunderous ending.
16. "After the Storm", 2009: the gentle closing song, often played at memorials.

Songs from Babel (2012)

Babel came out on September 21, 2012, debuted at number one in the US and the UK and won the Grammy for Album of the Year.

17. "Babel", 2013: the urgent title track and album opener.
18. "Whispers in the Dark", 2013: a fast, driving single.
19. "Below My Feet", 2012: a hymn-like song that builds to a big finish.
20. "Ghosts That We Knew", 2012: a tender, slow song of reassurance.
21. "Holland Road", 2012: a fan favorite from the album's second half.
22. "Lover's Eyes", 2012: a slow, soaring album track.

Songs from Wilder Mind (2015) and Delta (2018)

On Wilder Mind the band put away the banjo and plugged in, and Delta mixed both sounds.

23. "The Wolf", 2015: a loud, electric single.
24. "Ditmas", 2015: a single named after a Brooklyn neighborhood.
25. "Tompkins Square Park", 2015: a single named after a park in New York.
26. "There Will Be Time", 2016: a collaboration with Senegalese singer Baaba Maal.
27. "Beloved", 2019: a tender single from Delta.
28. "Woman", 2019: a soulful single from Delta.

Songs from Rushmere (2025)

29. "Rushmere", 2025: the title track of their fifth album and a return to their acoustic roots.
30. "Rubber Band Man", 2025: a single with Hozier.

Rushmere, released on March 28, 2025, was their first album in more than six years. The band followed it with Prizefighter in February 2026.

Who are Mumford and Sons?

Mumford and Sons formed in London in December 2007, with Marcus Mumford on vocals, guitar and drums, Ben Lovett on keyboards, Winston Marshall on banjo and Ted Dwane on bass. They came out of a West London folk scene that also produced Laura Marling and Noah and the Whale, and their mix of bluegrass instruments, British folk and rock energy made them one of the biggest bands of the early 2010s. Marshall left the band in 2021, and Mumford, Lovett and Dwane have continued as a trio.

The story behind I Will Wait

"I Will Wait" was the lead single from Babel and the song that confirmed the band's success was no fluke. Its live-recorded video, filmed at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Colorado, captures the joy of their concerts, and the song reached number 12 in both the US and the UK. Its themes of patience, devotion and starting again have made it one of the most popular modern folk songs for weddings and recessionals.

The story behind Little Lion Man

"Little Lion Man" was the first single from Sigh No More, and Marcus Mumford has described it as a song of blaming himself after hurting someone he loved. Its explicit chorus meant radio stations played an edited version, but the song's raw honesty and furious banjo made it the band's breakthrough on both sides of the Atlantic, and it is still the moment at their concerts when the whole crowd shouts along.

Gentlemen of the Road

From early on, the band toured the way they made music, as a gang of friends. Their Gentlemen of the Road Stopovers were one-day festivals in small towns, where the band and their friends took over the streets for a weekend, and the 2012 documentary Big Easy Express followed them on a vintage train across the American South with Old Crow Medicine Show and Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros.

Babel and Album of the Year

Babel sold more than 600,000 copies in its first week in the US, one of the biggest debuts of 2012, and in February 2013 it won the Grammy for Album of the Year. It made banjos and group harmonies a fixture on pop radio and helped launch a wave of stomp-and-holler folk bands.

Mumford and Sons songs for a wedding

"I Will Wait" is the favorite for a recessional or a big moment on the dance floor, and "Awake My Soul" and "Ghosts That We Knew" are moving choices for a ceremony or a first dance. "Sigh No More" suits a processional for a couple who love its Shakespeare roots. For more ideas, see our wedding exit songs and rock wedding songs.

Mumford and Sons songs for a memorial or a hard time

"After the Storm", "Timshel" and "Awake My Soul" are often played at memorials and celebrations of life, and "Ghosts That We Knew" offers comfort in a hard season. For more, see our songs about hope.

Mumford and Sons songs for a graduation

"Roll Away Your Stone" and "Awake My Soul" are inspiring send-offs for a graduate, and "Hopeless Wanderer" suits anyone heading out to see the world, whether that means college, a new job or a year abroad. For more, see our graduation songs.

Artists like Mumford and Sons

Fans of Mumford and Sons usually love The Lumineers, Of Monsters and Men, Hozier and Noah Kahan. See our Noah Kahan songs for another modern folk storyteller.

A folk song about your story

Mumford and Sons write about love, faith and holding on through hard times. A personalized folk song can do the same for someone you love: their name, the memories you share and the moments that made you who you are. It makes a moving wedding, anniversary or birthday gift.

How to create a personalized folk song

1. Choose a style from 14 genres: folk, acoustic, rock and more.
2. Add their name.
3. Share three memories or details about them.
4. Review the lyrics and edit or regenerate them for free before any music is made.
5. Listen to 4 free 45-second previews and choose your favorite.

The full 3 to 4 minute song costs $35.99, or $40.99 for Premium with four full versions and editable lyrics. You get the MP3, a gift page and the lyrics as a PDF.

Give them a folk song of their own: create a song and hear four previews for free.