Day 24: Where Are You Now – Mumford & Sons

Let’s talk about Facebook. And how easy it is to stalk people. I mean “stalk” in the best way, not like, following them around all creepy, but…following them around online…less creepily. Okay, I guess it’s still a little creepy. But still. Facebook has made it easy to catch up with people you’ve lost touch with after a long period of time, kinda whether you want to or not. Most profiles are just kinda…there.

I have a bad habit of checking up on people I haven’t talked to in awhile, and I admit I get a strange sense of satisfaction when I percieve that I’m doing “better” than them somehow. Especially if at one point I considered this person an adversary. Yeah, super not healthy, gotta work on that. But why is it so fascinating to “check in” on people like that and glean any possible hot goss we can?

Maybe it’s because we wonder if they think of us. 

Day 24: Where Are You Now – Mumford & Sons

I’ve covered Mumford before. I covered their newer stuff last year, the oft-debated “Wilder Mind,” which introduced us to a newer, synthy Mumford. This song is classic Mumford, with four part harmonies and sparse instrumentation. Some people may say it’s the best kind of Mumford.

I’d say this could be the Mumfordiest of Mumford songs, other than “I Will Wait,” which is full barn-raising glory. But this is Mumford at home, relaxing and plucking a guitar in the evening light, with scant lyrics made up along the way.

We came to the end it seems you had heard
As we walked the city streets you never said a word
When we finally sat down your eyes were full of spite
I was desperate, I was weak, I could not put up a fight

Marcus Mumford is telling us a story. A heartbreaking story of a breakup. Who knows how long ago this happened – months, years, decades. But a lot of times those memories don’t go away easily. I remember crying in my car after my first breakup. Heck, I remember crying in my car after I realized my crush liked someone else. Those memories are sticky.

But where are you now?
Where are you now?
Do you ever think of me
In the quiet, in the crowd?

The chorus is a logical question – where are you now? It’s an easy thing to wonder. I’m guessing Mumford has social media of some sort, but it’s more fun to ponder. After all, you can only see so much on Facebook. His ex might be posting fun selfies at bars, but that can’t really be what she’s feeling.

You were strangely less in pain than you were cold
Triumphant in your mind of the logic that you hold
You said no one would ever know the love that we had shared
As I took my leave to go it was clear you didn’t care

And we delve back again into some ruminations on the past. Marcus remembers scene-by-scene how their split went down. It seemed that at the time she didn’t care – she was apathetic to him. But now, he wonders, does she feel the same? Feelings change with time, after all.

And I hear of your coming and your going in the town
I hear stories of your smile, I hear stories of your frown
And the darkness can descend we can relish all the pain
But I know that’s what you love cause you know I love the same

Ooh, here comes the hot goss. Because who doesn’t ask about their ex after a breakup? Just want to make sure you’re doing better than they are. It’s a weird flex we all do. But he knows deep down that she feels it too, even if it was a long time ago (which at this point I’m guessing it’s pretty fresh.)

That wondering is a real thing, whether you’re wondering what an ex is up to or where a former high school friend has landed. We wonder for different reasons. Oftentime for me, it’s to compare. I know, I know – unhealthy. But sometimes it’s also to reminsice. There was a time when I knew that person intimately, when I saw them and talked to them every day. And when they become strangers, it suddenly changes. Sometimes you look back to wonder what went wrong.

Or sometimes you just wonder where they are.