The Cave (song)

"The Cave" is the third single by London folk rock quartet Mumford & Sons, released from their debut album Sigh No More. It was released in the UK on 26 February 2010. It placed 81 in Triple J Hottest 100, 2009 before the single had been released. It was the second single in the US after "Little Lion Man", and has sold 1,657,000 digital copies there by September 2012.^[1] The song is accompanied by a guitar tuned to open D (with a capo on fret 2).^[2]

"The Cave"
Single by Mumford & Sons
from the album Sigh No More
Released	26 February 2010
Recorded	2009
Genre	Indie folk folk rock bluegrass
Length	3:37
Label	Island
Songwriter(s)	Mumford & Sons
Producer(s)	Markus Dravs
Mumford & Sons singles chronology
"Winter Winds" (2009) "The Cave" (2010) "Roll Away Your Stone" (2010)

Chart performance

"The Cave" first entered the Australian Singles Chart on 12 February 2010, almost a month before its release. The song peaked at number 31 making it Mumford & Sons' second single to make an impact on the Australian Singles Chart.

On 19 February 2010 "The Cave" debuted at number 43 on the Irish Singles Chart, making it Mumford & Sons' second single to make an impact on the Irish Chart. The following week the single climbed to No. 29, and on 5 March 2010, "The Cave" reached a new peak of No. 20, beating Little Lion Man's peak placement of No. 21. "The Cave" then debuted in the Irish Top 10 on 26 March 2010 at No. 10.

The song was also featured on VH1's top 40 videos of 2011.

"The Cave" first entered the UK Singles Chart on 7 February 2010, at No. 88. The following week, the single climbed eighteen places to No. 70 and then climbed a further 7 to No. 63. The single then climbed to No. 51, and on 7 March 2010, following the physical release of "The Cave", the single climbed to No. 37, making it Mumford & Sons' second Top 40 hit in the UK. The single remained at a fixed position of No. 37 for three weeks. On 28 March 2010, the single climbed five places to No. 32, then reached a peak of No. 31.

As of April 2013, the song had sold 1,778,000 copies in the US.^[3]

Use in popular media

In May 2012, the song featured on a Lastminute.com advertisement and on the ITV World Cup 2010 coverage in England. It was also featured prominently in the pilot episode of the Fox Network's drama Lone Star. The song also featured on the first episode of the fourth season of the British TV series Skins.

The song is referenced in the song "All My Lows" by British musician Example with the lyric "Lost in a cave like sons of Mumford".

Award

On 30 November 2011, the song received four nominations in the 54th Annual Grammy Awards including for Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Best Rock Performance and Best Rock Song.

Year	Organization	Award	Result
2011	Billboard Music Award	Top Alternative Song	Nominated
	MTV Video Music Award	Best Rock Video	Nominated
2012	Grammy Award	Record of the Year	Nominated
		Song of the Year	Nominated
		Best Rock Performance	Nominated
		Best Rock Song	Nominated
	Billboard Music Award	Top Alternative Song	Nominated

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2010–11) Peak position Australia (ARIA)[4] 32 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[5] 21 Belgium (Ultratip Bubbling Under Wallonia)[6] 22 Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[7] 31 Ireland (IRMA)[8] 10 Japan (Japan Hot 100)[9] 83 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[10] 65 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[11] 23 Scotland (OCC)[12] 23 UK Singles (OCC)[13] 31 US Billboard Hot 100[14] 27 US Adult Alternative Songs (Billboard)[15] 2 US Adult Pop Airplay (Billboard)[16] 40 US Alternative Airplay (Billboard)[17] 3 US Hot Rock & Alternative Songs (Billboard)[18] 2

Year-end charts Chart (2010) Position UK Singles (OCC)[19] 121 Chart (2011) Position US Hot Rock Songs (Billboard)[20] 6

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[21]	Platinum	70,000^
Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[22]	Gold	30,000‡
Canada (Music Canada)[23]	2× Platinum	160,000*
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[24]	Gold	45,000‡
Germany (BVMI)[25]	Gold	150,000‡
Italy (FIMI)[26]	Gold	25,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[27]	2× Platinum	1,200,000‡
United States (RIAA)[28]	2× Platinum	1,778,000[3]
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Music video

The official music video for "The Cave" features each of the four band members driving on scooters through the roads of Goa, India while singing the song in tandem with four Indian men in marching band uniforms to whom they gave their instruments at the start of the video.^[29]

Release history

Region	Date	Format	Label
United Kingdom	26 February 2010[30]	Digital download	Island
	2 March 2010	CD single
United States	26 October 2010	Radio	Glassnote

References

1. Paul Grein (4 January 2013). "Week Ending Dec. 30, 2012. Songs: Taylor Knew Bruno Was Trouble". Yahoo! Chart Watch. Retrieved 4 January 2013.
2. "Mumford & Sons - the Cave (Tab)".
3. 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.
4. "Mumford & Sons – The Cave". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
5. "Mumford & Sons – The Cave" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
6. "Mumford & Sons – The Cave" (in French). Ultratip.
7. "Mumford & Sons Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard.
8. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – The Cave". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 15 January 2020.
9. "Mumford & Sons Chart History (Japan Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 19 March 2015.
10. "Mumford & Sons – The Cave" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
11. "Mumford & Sons – The Cave". Top 40 Singles.
12. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
13. "Mumford & Sons: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company.
14. "Mumford & Sons Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
15. "Mumford & Sons Chart History (Adult Alternative Songs)". Billboard.
16. "Mumford & Sons Chart History (Adult Pop Songs)". Billboard.
17. "Mumford & Sons Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard.
18. "Mumford & Sons Chart History (Hot Rock & Alternative Songs)". Billboard.
19. "End of Year Charts: 2010" (PDF). UKChartsPlus. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 June 2012. Retrieved 10 August 2011.
20. "Hot Rock Songs – Year-End 2011". Billboard. Retrieved 23 May 2020.
21. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2014 Singles" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
22. "Brazilian single certifications – Mumford & Sons – The Cave" (in Portuguese). Pro-Música Brasil. Retrieved 29 February 2024.
23. "Canadian single certifications – Mumford & Sons – The Cave". Music Canada.
24. "Danish single certifications – Mumford & Sons – The Cave". IFPI Danmark. Retrieved 4 October 2023.
25. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Mumford & Sons; 'The Cave')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 3 September 2023.
26. "Italian single certifications – Mumford & Sons – The Cave" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved 6 November 2017.
27. "British single certifications – Mumford & Sons – The Cave". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 30 June 2023.
28. "American single certifications – Mumford & Sons – The Cave". Recording Industry Association of America.
29. "'The Cave' by Mumford & Sons gets a MTV VMAs 2011 nomination". soundpad. 26 September 2011. Archived from the original on 21 February 2012. Retrieved 29 February 2012.
30. "The Cave - Single by Mumford & Sons". iTunes. January 2010.