Little Lion Man

"Little Lion Man" is the debut single by English folk rock band Mumford & Sons. It was released as the lead single from their debut studio album, Sigh No More, on 11 August 2009 in the United Kingdom. The song had a positive commercial performance, charting in several countries and peaking within the top twenty in Australia, Belgium (Flanders), Ireland, and New Zealand.

"Little Lion Man"
Single by Mumford & Sons
from the album Sigh No More
B-side	"To Darkness"
Released	11 August 2009[1]
Recorded	2009
Genre	Indie folk folk rock bluegrass alternative rock[2]
Length	4:06 (album version) 3:30 (radio edit)
Label	Island Glassnote
Songwriter(s)	Mumford & Sons
Producer(s)	Markus Dravs
Mumford & Sons singles chronology
"Little Lion Man" (2009) "Winter Winds" (2009)

Composition

Frontman Marcus Mumford has 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.^[3]

Commercial performance

"Little Lion Man" debuted on the UK Singles Chart on 20 September 2009 at number 72. The following week the single climbed eleven places to number 61. On 4 October 2009, the single climbed to number 47, before climbing into the Top 40 at a peak of number 24 on its fourth week in the chart. The single fell ten places to number 34 before falling to number 47 on 25 October 2009, meaning it only spent two weeks within the Top 40. The song found its biggest success in Australia, debuting at number 23 in October before eventually reaching a peak of number 3 in February 2010.

In the US, "Little Lion Man" entered the Billboard Hot 100 chart dated 28 August 2010, when it debuted at No. 98. It reached No. 61 but re-entered at No. 45 after a performance at the Grammys. It has sold 2,336,000 digital copies there as of April 2013.^[4]

Awards

The single was ranked first in the Triple J Hottest 100 of 2009, an annual music poll run by Australian national radio station Triple J and described as the largest in the world. It would be the last song released by a British act to top the list until 2020, when Glass Animals won with "Heat Waves".^[5]

The song was nominated for Best Rock Song at the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards.^[6][7]

In October 2011, NME placed it at number 43 on its list "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years".^[8]

Year	Organization	Award	Result
2010	MTV Video Music Award	Best Cinematography	Nominated
2011	Grammy Award	Best Rock Song	Nominated
	Billboard Music Award	Top Alternative Song	Nominated
		Top Rock Song	Nominated

Track listing

• CD single^[9]

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Little Lion Man"	4:06
2.	"To Darkness"	4:42

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2009–11) Peak position Australia (ARIA)[10] 3 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[11] 70 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[12] 4 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[13] 39 Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[14] 59 Ireland (IRMA)[15] 19 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[16] 41 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[17] 9 Scotland (OCC)[18] 23 UK Singles (OCC)[19] 24 US Billboard Hot 100[20] 45 US Adult Alternative Songs (Billboard)[21] 2 US Adult Pop Airplay (Billboard)[22] 16 US Alternative Airplay (Billboard)[23] 1 US Hot Rock & Alternative Songs (Billboard)[24] 3

Year-end charts Chart (2009) Position Belgium (Ultratop Flanders)[25] 81 Chart (2010) Position Australia (ARIA)[26] 46 Belgium (Ultratop Flanders)[27] 46 UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[28] 173 US Hot Rock Songs (Billboard)[29] 27 Chart (2011) Position US Hot Rock Songs (Billboard)[30] 13 Decade-end charts Chart (2010–2019) Position US Hot Rock Songs (Billboard)[31] 45

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[32]	4× Platinum	280,000^
Belgium (BEA)[33]	Gold	15,000*
Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[34]	Gold	30,000‡
Canada (Music Canada)[35]	2× Platinum	160,000*
Germany (BVMI)[36]	Gold	150,000‡
Italy (FIMI)[37]	Gold	25,000‡
New Zealand (RMNZ)[38]	Platinum	15,000*
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[39]	Gold	30,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[40]	3× Platinum	1,800,000‡
United States (RIAA)[41]	2× Platinum	2,336,000[4]
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

See also

• List of number-one alternative rock singles of 2010 (U.S.)

References

1. "Little Lion Man - Single". iTunes.
2. Nattress, Katrina (22 November 2019). "30 Alternative Rock Songs That Defined the 2010s". iHeartMedia. Retrieved 11 May 2022.
3. "Countdown: Hottest 100 - 2009". ABC Online. 27 January 2010. Retrieved 27 January 2010.
4. Paul Grein (3 April 2013). "Week Ending March 31, 2013. Songs: "Thrift Shop" Sets First Quarter Record". Yahoo Music (Chart Watch). Retrieved 10 April 2013.
5. "Hottest 100". Triple J. January 2009. Retrieved 10 February 2013.
6. Andre Paine (2 December 2010). "Mumford & Sons 'Over The Moon' At Double Grammy Nod". Billboard. Archived from the original on 6 December 2010. Retrieved 12 December 2012.
7. Sinead Garvan (3 December 2010). "BBC - 6 music News - Mumford's Grammy nod". BBC Radio. Retrieved 12 December 2012.
8. "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years". NME. 2011.
9. "Little Lion Man". Amazon UK.
10. "Mumford & Sons – Little Lion Man". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
11. "Mumford & Sons – Little Lion Man" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
12. "Mumford & Sons – Little Lion Man" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
13. "Mumford & Sons – Little Lion Man" (in French). Ultratop 50.
14. "Mumford & Sons Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard.
15. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Little Lion Man". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 22 January 2020.
16. "Mumford & Sons – Little Lion Man" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
17. "Mumford & Sons – Little Lion Man". Top 40 Singles.
18. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
19. "Mumford & Sons: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company.
20. "Mumford & Sons Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
21. "Mumford & Sons Chart History (Adult Alternative Songs)". Billboard.
22. "Mumford & Sons Chart History (Adult Pop Songs)". Billboard.
23. "Mumford & Sons Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard.
24. "Mumford & Sons Chart History (Hot Rock & Alternative Songs)". Billboard.
25. "Jaaroverzichten 2009". Ultratop. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
26. "ARIA Charts – End Of Year Charts – Top 100 Singles 2010". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 8 January 2011.
27. "Jaaroverzichten 2010". Ultratop. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
28. "End Of Year Charts: 2010" (PDF). UKChartsPlus. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 June 2012. Retrieved 10 August 2011.
29. "Hot Rock Songs – Year-End 2010". Billboard. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
30. "Hot Rock Songs – Year-End 2011". Billboard. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
31. "Decade-End Charts: Hot Rock Songs". Billboard. Archived from the original on 16 December 2019. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
32. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2013 Singles" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association.
33. "Ultratop − Goud en Platina – singles 2011". Ultratop. Hung Medien.
34. "Brazilian single certifications – Mumford & Sons – Little Lion Man" (in Portuguese). Pro-Música Brasil. Retrieved 20 March 2024.
35. "Canadian single certifications – Mumford & Sons – Little Lion Man". Music Canada. Retrieved 4 October 2023.
36. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Mumford & Sons; 'Little Lion Man')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
37. "Italian single certifications – Mumford & Sons – Little Lion Man" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved 25 February 2019.
38. "Latest Gold / Platinum Singles". Radioscope. 21 August 2011. Archived from the original on 31 August 2011.
39. "Spanish single certifications – Mumford & Sons – Little Lion Man". El portal de Música. Productores de Música de España. Retrieved 26 August 2024.
40. "British single certifications – Mumford & Sons – Little Lion Man". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
41. "American single certifications – Mumford & Sons – Little Lion Man". Recording Industry Association of America.