Little Lion Man

I absolutely agree! But also sometimes when I listen to it, I think he's talking to his best friend that he hurt. Have you read the book A Separate Peace? It's one of my favorites, and I recently reread it and for some reason could not stop relating this song to the book. Finny and Gene have a great friendship but Gene is constantly jealous of Finny which leads him to hurt Finny. At one point in the book Gene goes to visit Finny in the hospital and Finny doesn't want to talk with him (or can't speak with him I can't remember) but Gene runs away, distraught--as if he's trying to run from his problems. And I feel like that's when the songs starts. Gene is trying to outrun what he's done and he's thinking to himself "I'm such an idiot". And this really applies to anyone who has hurt someone and is trying to escape that.

Weep for yourself, my man
You'll never be what is in your heart.
Weep little lion man
You're not as brave as you were at the start
Rate yourself and [rake] yourself
Take all the courage you have left
Wasted on fixing all the problems
That you made in your own head

--Gene is giving Finny permission to feel sorry for himself because he is not the person he used to be, he can't do the things he used to. Gene feels terrible because he made all these problems in his head, which caused him to do a terrible thing to his best friend.

But it was not your fault but mine
And it was your heart on the line
I really fucked it up this time
Didn't I, my dear?

--Gene is saying this to Finny. It was my fault, but you're the one suffering for my foolishness. I really fucked up.

Tremble for yourself, my man
You know that you have seen this all before
Tremble little lion man
You'll never settle any of your score
Your grace is wasted in your face
Your boldness stands alone among the wreck
Learn from your mother
Or else spend your days biting your own neck

--Gene to Finny: Tremble because you'll never be satisfied. You're talented but well aware of it. You're bold but bring destruction with you where you walk. Listen to those who know better, or you'll end up hurting yourself. (Gene thought Finny was out of control yet got away with everything because he was charming. Even though Finny was his best friend, he felt he needed to learn a lesson).

But it was not your fault but mine
And it was your heart on the line
I really fucked it up this time
Didn't I, my dear?

--So he hurt him. But then he felt terribly guilty. I love this song so much! And the book! If ever there was a remake of the movie, I wish this song would be in the soundtrack. I almost want to make that happen myself. Anyway, I hope this makes sense to everyone...it kind of makes me think of people I've wronged/ have been wronged by...it's sad but such a beautifully and poetically written song.

I agree with you jtquenlin. wow you said much better than I.

jtquenlin, that's exaclty how I see this song from the first I heard it. Father to son. Even the title Little Lion Man, teenage boy, full of bravado, fear, angst, etc.
"weep for yourself, my man,
you'll never be what is in your heart
weep little lion man,
you're not as brave as you were at the start"
All young men (girls too) have dreams but few of us achieve them. We're not as brave and open as when we are young.

Great songs have many interpretations, that's art.

It is between father and son (God and Jesus). I'm not a religious person but I do believe it is an interpretation of Jesus final days.

I believe the verse, "but it was not your fault but mine and it was your heart on the line i really fucked it up this time didn't I, my dear?" Is in answer to, "Father why have you forsaken me".

"learn from your mother or else spend your days biting your own neck." May be in reference to Mary.

"weep little lion man, you're not as brave as you were at the start." May be the crucifixion.

Just saying...

The whole father and son perspective makes more sense to me than a boy and girl relationship.

Had to create an account to state I think you're dead on - I originally was thinking about the bad relationship, theory, too... Then your take made much more sense.

It could be taken even a step further, and it could be about a father talking to his boy about a divorce or breakup between him and the child's mother. The father is going to leave the family, and is giving his son some final words.

Dead on jt. Feels as if the father has abandoned the mother and son, leaving the son to ponder what he did to drive his father away. The question haunts him, never allowing him to achieve self-acceptance.

"learn from your mother or else spend your days biting your own neck"

The mother in the song appears to have shed the displaced guilt and the father's pleads with the son to do the same, or risk being consumed by the self-hatred that should belong to the father alone. "The sins of the father are visited upon the son" type thing.

I also had to sign up just to respond to your comment. As a mother of an 18 year old son who is very angry with his absent father and doesn't speak to him any longer I have to agree with your interpretation. I tell my son that he is grown now and that he can make his own decisions regarding his relationship with his father, but that it's not worth it to hold bitterness in his heart and that I hope he can one day let go of that so I very much relate to the line "learn from your mother or else spend your days biting your own neck". When I 1st heard this song I cried because it reminded me of my son and what his father should be saying to him.

A father talking to his son was also the first thing that leapt into my mind the first time I caught this on the radio.

I get a rather "it's all too late" attitude from it, myself. To me there's a tinge of loss to this song that really rips my heart out.

I wholeheartedly agree with this interpretation. It is amazing to me how many people seem to think this song is about a romantic relationship gone bad and/or that it is sarcastic. I feel that it is quite clearly a heart-wrenching apology for being a crappy father. "However screwed up you are, it is my fault, because you loved me and your happiness was my responsibility, and I was careless and callous when I should have loved you unconditionally and held your feelings above my own."

Actually, I feel like a lot of the songs on this album seem like they are related to recovery, so my first thought about this song is that it is an alcoholic dad apologizing for screwing up his son's life while at the same time warning him not to end up the same way. Of course, if it is indeed sarcastic, it could be the angry son taunting his father.

I wanted to add that "biting your own neck" is not a vampiric reference. If a snake bites its own neck, the pain it inflicits upon itself causes it to bite down harder, so it won't let go. A serpent biting its tail is, for this reason, a symbol of eternity. "Biting your own neck" is symbolic of fighting a futile battle against an imagined enemy, when in fact you are only fighting yourself.

I also wonder if "courage" in the first verse is a reference to alcohol, as in "a shot of courage," so that the little lion man is using the problems he's made up as his excuse to abuse alcohol.

NICE. Yeah, absolutely a great interpretation :) I love songs like this, where they could mean so many different things depending on the person listening.

This made me think of the conversation my dad and I had a couple of days before my wedding. My folks had been divorced and reconciled and had a host of things happen in between that certainly hurt everyone involved. He basically used the chance to apologize and acknowledge the hurt that had taken place and to also offer up advice for my husband and I as a "what not to do" type of conversation. Very moving song.

This song can't be about a Father and Son - it was written by Marcus Mumford (22 in 2009 at the time, maybe even younger when he wrote it) who does not have children and who's parents are happily married and are leaders at a Church.

This is what HE said about the song:
"It’s a very personal story, so I won’t elaborate upon too much. Suffice to say, it was a situation in my life I wasn’t very happy with or proud of… and sometimes when you can’t describe a feeling with your own words, it’s almost easier to express in a song. And then, when you get asked about the songs, it’s quite difficult to explain. It’s a conundrum – you don’t want to seem self-indulgent explaining yourself; it’s always awkward. Which is weird again, because it’s never awkward actually singing them. I suppose the song should stand on its own and people draw their own interpretation from the words. But for me, personally, it’s the lyrics that I listen to again and again in a song. I place specific importance on them. I can’t write lyrics unless I really feel them and mean them, which can sometimes be quite frustrating – because if you’re not feeling much at the time, you’re stuck. I guess the sound of it grabs you a little bit by the balls – it’s quite an aggressive song, a bit more of a punch in the face. Or at least, for our stuff, anyway – a lot of our stuff isn’t quite as hard-hitting as that. It felt like the right song to be the single because it represented the harder, darker side of what we do, and at the same time, the more folksy and punchy side.”

Based on the quote, for it to be personal to him - it would have to be about a relationship with a girl and not a father/son.

I completely agree that this is a fathers apology to his son. That was my first thought upon hearing the song, and although I'm a daughter it resonates with me.

@laurie85... why on EARTH do you think that his parents being leaders of a church negates the possibility that Mumford was singing about his relationship with them or specifically with his father? Growing up in a theologically-driven conservative household is a GREAT reason to be fucked up and have a terrible relationship with your parents. I think that is part of the reason the song resonates with me so well, I grew up in a very strict, theologically-oriented authoritarian household where Protestant values underpinned my parents' demands for incredibly high achievement (the Protestant work-ethic) and self-deprivation (any sort of physical indulgence was frowned upon and visceral self-restraint was praised). You notice Mumford touching upon themes of self-actualization in "the cave", where he says he will "live my life as it's meant to be". I mean we will probably never know for sure what Mumford was singing about in "Little Lion Man" and the point is for listeners to find their own meaning in the words, but I do think that that many of Mumford's lyrics are totally consistent with the frustrations of growing up in an authoritarian and/or restrictive household due to an intense commitment to Protestant values.

@laurie85, just cause he was 22 at the time and didn't have any kids yet, doesn't mean he couldn't have written this from a father's POV, or what he imagined that'd be. No family is perfect, and I'm sure Marcus and his dad had their fair share of fights and disagreements. Who knows, maybe this is how Marcus imagines his own dad must've (or should've) felt like toward him at some point of his life. He wants his own dad to feel sorry for their relationship, so he writes a song about a father asking forgiveness from his kid. Possible scenario, you have to admit it.

The "little lion man" title and lines make more sense with the song being about father and son than a boy/girl relationship, tbh.

@jtquenlin Regarding Laurie85's comment, I can't help but think of Paul McCartney writing Hey Jude for John Lennon's son. A father-son dynamic doesn't require an actual father and son. I thought basically the same as jtquenlin.

@jtquenlin excellent interpretation. I interpret in a different way, but thought I should dig out for more interpretation or perhaps a different hidden meaning, and this is definitely what I was looking for that I couldn't see! Thanks!

I think its very easy to assume that this song is about the guy making a mess of things. But you need to notice that the singer is talking to the guy. Im lead to believe that this man was in an abusive relationship where he would constantly ignore that fact that he is being mistreated.
"you know that you have seen this all before"
as if the same problems keep reoccuring
he was so brave and bold at the beggining but now he is ruined
his grace is wasted and he stands ALONE among the wreck
as though he was more loyal or passionate about the relationship
and yet, through all of his problems and being mistreated
He still turns to her and says its his fault, "I really fucked it up this time, didnt I my dear?"
which is him apologizing again for something that isnt his fault
hes no longer brave
It sounds too sarcastic by asking "didnt I?"
obviously everyone has their own opinions and no one is really right
just a take on the song to consider

True, but he seems to imply that the person he is talking to is a male ("... my man").

So, following your thought process, it could be that it's a homosexual relationship or that he's talking from the female's perspective.

But, personally, I think it's much more likely that he is talking to himself here. Having been in the situation that this song perfectly describes, I can say that I spoke of and to myself with great disgust and hate. All the things he says here, I said to myself. The chorus, where he is speaking to his significant other, is almost exactly what I said to my own significant other at the time.

this may sound stupid but i think this song is a wife beater , the little lion man is the coward(little man ) that thinks hes tough (lion)beating the missus
hes offerin advice to the son in the second verse "whos seen it all before" ,, the dad beating the ma
and he tells him to listen to his mother or spend the days biting your own neck "being on your own"
even listen to the way he says my dear in the chorus it starts out sounding evil then ends up him saying it like hes regretful

Except Richard I was Richard the Lionheart, not Richard III.

Sif,

Richard III was Duke of Gloucester (whose coat-of-arms includes the Lion) of House York which is a smaller house to House Plantagenet (whose coat-of-arms is the Lion).

Hence the "Little" Lion Man does not refer to the great Lionheart, but rather a lesser member who styled himself as a great lion. Richard III wanted to be a great lion but he was not destined for that fate, so he created it himself.

@mumford613 Ok I've never done this before but I actually created an account because you are so wrong.

Even if Richard III was ever styled "Lionheart" by anyone, which he wasn't - barely a century after his rule, during Queen Elizabeth's reign, where anything written against the monarchy was punishable by DEATH, Shakespeare was able to write about Richard III in a seriously negative light - your example out of the lyrics of the song exhibit your ignorance on the subject. "Your grace is wasted in your face," implies that the person acts badly, but looks good. This operates on the assumption that any one person is given a finite amount of grace, and in this case the grace has gone to physical appearance rather than actions/morality.

The worst part about this is that "Roll Away Your Stone" may indeed be influenced by Macbeth. You are manipulating a reader who has a cursory knowledge of Shakespeare by using your earlier analysis to build credulity for this one, when this has absolutely no validity whatsoever.

I think any Shakespeare fan would agree. I also think you really should have spent more time doing proper research. Thank God for people like Sif, who have the courage to contradict incorrect statements even in the face of such pretentious idiocy.

Yes!! Exactly!! Like "Father and Son" by Cat Stevens except for perceived from the view of a father instead of a son.

excactly what i thought! inferiority complex? i think not!

in the booklet that comes with the CD its rake..

sorry I have the album, the liners notes say "rake yourself"

but right after it says "rate yourself and (whatever) yourself" it would make sense to say rape because after that line it says "take all the courage you have left" it would make sense because the word rape also means to seize, take, or carry off by force. and he uses it good if thats what he even says lol excellant song

I think this is exactly right.

I think this interpretation is right, but the lyrics are "rake."

I have never heard that. But I do know that the cat family bites the neck of their young to carry them.
I'm pretty sure it's this answer and not your sexual one no offense. This is too good of a song to be sexual :/

Ms Tubular your answer doesn't really make sense. And fucking yourself over isn't really sexual...it's figurative you dumb ass.