Mumford & Sons: Hopeless Wanderer Meaning

Hopeless Wanderer Lyrics

You heard my voice I came out of the woods by choice
Shelter also gave their shade
But in the dark I have no name

So leave that click in my head
And I will remember the words that you said
Left a clouded mind and a heavy heart
But I was...

1. 1TOP RATED

   #1 top rated interpretation:
   anonymous

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   Apr 7th 2018 !⃝

   I believe this song could be interpreted as somebody discovering their sexuality. The hopeless wanderer is indeed a confused person who has come out and now is trying to decide and learn how to live and fit in with society.

2. 2TOP RATED

   #2 top rated interpretation:
   anonymous

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   Jun 30th 2014 !⃝

   To the guy above... you are brainwashed by religion way to much.
   i'm not an expert at interpreting.. but i know that this song, was not just dedicated to a religion made by someone else.. but instead an expression of the Mumford and sons themselves.
   
   Each human has his own senses and not everything is about a crappy bible. i hate how people try to tell lies and pretend they are doing a 'good' thing.
   
   I could give my opinions about what the song means, generally i think its based on being an adventurer...(wanderer) but without the vision of truth. (reality and what is to come).... nothing to do with religion though... unless you're talking about the religion of the Mumford and Sons.. (not major bullshit).
3. anonymous

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   Sep 21st 2018 !⃝

   I imagine this beautiful song is about the soul and spirit of the ''hopeless wanderer'' who originally came down from the heavenly realms and is now having a earthly human experience. Wherenow he's old enough as a young man to come out from his ''sheltered time'' spent in the woods of this earth, with the mindset thought of the once wandering and fast falling ''star'' that's in need to be caught by human love now. Who once came out and down from the cold space of darkness, that went looking to find his ''dear'' love under the skies of those woods, but now he came outta the forest and is ready for a warm human relationship of love with that special one that would catch this ''hopeless wanderer''
4. anonymous

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   Jun 4th 2018 !⃝

   I think everyone's opinions are valid. That (to me) is the beauty of interpretation...just like the Bible itself, is a conglomerate of interpretations. I don't disagree that there are religious nuances, in fact, for me, that's comforting. However, my interpretation is more self-serving (my 'self' being a very jaded and untrusting human). My interpretation is more of an identification with a very tumultuous time in my life where I was repeatedly abused by family...who would indeed, "tell me all was fine." I would absolutely, "lose my head" and in turn, "lose my spine." My head being my ability to stop/fight. My spine being my ability to say something or get help. I did/do indeed need to, "learn to love the skies I'm under." The world is an ugly place...it's even uglier when those who are supposed to help/love/protect you are in fact the ones making it ugly. Just posted to help if anyone else has/had this connection.

   This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
5. anonymous

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   Jun 17th 2015 !⃝

   It's about Marcus Mumford not being able to settle down with girlfriends whilst being on tour. He's a "Hopeless Wander" that "longs to grow old" with someone.
6. anonymous

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   Mar 28th 2015 !⃝

   I totally agree with the guy who basis it on his religious experience I do too. I agree that TO ME it means the same. The hopeless wanderer is me needing Jesus without him I would wonder around getting no where. This song and Mumford and sons others have helped me through crap in this world. To the person who is slating religion and others opinions. Grow up! Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and who are you to tell anyone what the words mean to them. Every person takes them different and no one, I repeat no one! Has the right to slate them. If you have nothing better to do with your life than bring down other people, I feel truly sorry for you and your narrow mind. As there are others out there with different opinions and yours I am sorry to tell you are not the only ones that matter. Every opinion should be accepted even if It is not what you agree with. Who are you to say what is true and what is not. You are one human being. Open your mind and you may learn something in this world if not you will stumble and fall through it.
   I hope you decide to take life as a learning experience rather than a hate brigade.
   
   To the people who are religious, keep your chin up dont let anyone pull down your beliefs, you are entitled to them. Men might live so that they have joy.
7. anonymous

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   Dec 17th 2012 !⃝

   They're English not Irish
8. anonymous

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   Oct 23rd 2012 !⃝

   Good sir above me, your interpretation sounds very close to mine. I would just like to remind you of a few things. I also am a christian, and also love this band. First off, I would like to remind you that they are Irish, and thus have a different culture that you, assuming you are not Irish. The few "curse words' you have heard are presumably "arse" and "f***". While these words are considered wholly innapropriate and taboo in most cultures, the Irish hold these words much more commonly. The, in all honesty, are not true curse words there. So, I would like to think that, along with your thoughts of subtle christianity, this band does not hold any large holdings of Anit-christian holdings at all.

   This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
9. anonymous

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   Oct 5th 2012 !⃝

   I believe that some music can and is interpreted differently by each of us based on where we are in our lives... I am celebrating my 10 year born-again birthday this year, and since I've been saved, I haven't really gotten into modern music, I just haven't really found anything worth listening to, other than good Christian music and maybe some of the classics. Music literally used to consume me, it became who I was, it robbed me of my money and much of my time, so I had to let a lot of it go so that it did not hinder my relationship with the Lord. Now, I'm not saying music is bad, in fact, it is meant for us to honor and glorify God! But the music I was consumed by was more honoring to the world.
   So... I was recently flipping through the tv channels and saw Mumford and Sons performing on SNL "I Will Wait" and I was instantly hooked! I just had to download these guys to my itunes and since then, I cannot stop listening. The quality of music is just amazing and moving, and I can truly see myself listening to these guys 20 years from now and still enjoying their sound. Its hard to find good quality music like this anymore!
   I do not know if these guys are Christians or not, I am pretty sure that they are not classified under the Christain genre (since I have heard a cuss word once or twice), but I do believe that there may be some Christian principles in their music, whether intentional or not.
   Hopeless Wanderer sounds to me like someone who is lost without Jesus.
   "You heard my voice, I came out of the woods by choice" sounds like when we (decide to) come out of the darkness (sin) and call upon Jesus, He hears us. Always.
   "The shelter also gave the shade and in the dark I have no name" The shelter refers to the comfort of living in the world, but it is a dark place. Satan does not care who you are, he does not care what your name is, he only wants to use you in spite of God. When you live in sin and of the world, you belong to Satan and are totally at his disposal.
   "I will call you by name." Jesus knows your name. He will call you by name. and when you call upon him, He will "share your road" and walk with you through the good and the bad.
   "Hold me fast, cause I'm a hopeless wanderer" The Lord is a shephard, and we are his sheep. He tends to us and watches over us. To put it bluntly, sheep are dumb animals... as are we. We stray from the path we need to be on time and time again, we just don't learn, just like sheep. But the good news is, God knows where we are always, and when we get stuck on our backs due to our own stupidity, and we call on Him, He is there.
   Like I said, this is only MY interpretation of the song, but I could be totally off... I'm sure that 10 years ago, as a 20-yr old lost soul, I would've totally interpreted this song differently than I do today!
   btw - if you do not know Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior, I invite you to know Him today. He is waiting for you with open arms, waiting for you to invite Him into your heart and your life! The world gives nothing in return for your time and energy, the world does not love you, but Jesus gave His life for you. Its easy to love the things of this world, but this world has nothing to offer you when you depart from it. Is it not the greatest honor that God, the One who created the sun, the moon, the galaxies the stars... He wants to spend eternity with you?! I find that exciting

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