| Babel | |
| Cover: | Mumford-&-Sons-Babel.jpg |
| Type: | single |
| Artist: | Mumford & Sons |
| Album: | Babel |
| Released: | 9 July 2013 |
| Recorded: | 2011–2012 |
| Genre: | Indie folk |
| Length: | 3:29 |
| Label: | Island Records |
| Producer: | Markus Dravs |
| Chronology: | Mumford & Sons |
| Prev Title: | Whispers in the Dark |
| Prev Year: | 2013 |
| Next Title: | Hopeless Wanderer |
| Next Year: | 2013 |
"Babel" is a song performed by British folk rock band Mumford & Sons, released as the fourth single from their second studio album Babel (2012). It was released on 9 July 2013 as a digital download. The song was written by Mumford & Sons and produced by Markus Dravs.
"Babel" is the name of both the song and the album on which their song appeared. The title is a reference to the story known as the Tower of Babel from Genesis 11:1–9 in the Bible.[1] The song features numerous other biblical references too, which is common for music by Mumford & Sons.[2]
Still, they maintain that their message is not intended to be explicitly religious in nature.[3] Rather, their bassist, Ted Dwane, noted in a Rolling Stone interview that the song is more generally about human striving and discontentment: "As humans, we’re such a discontented species. We’re always trying to further ourselves, and you get all the way to the moon and then it’s just discontent. You want to go to Mars."[4]
A music video to accompany the release of "Babel" was first released onto YouTube on 8 July 2013 at a total length of four minutes and five seconds. The video shows the band performing the song in the former 16th Street station in Oakland, California.[5] [6]
| Chart (2013) | Position |
|---|---|
| US Hot Rock Songs (Billboard)[7] | 45 |
| US Adult Alternative Songs (Billboard)[8] | 39 |