Guiding Light (song)

"Guiding Light" is a song by English rock band Mumford & Sons. It was released as the lead single from their fourth studio album, Delta, on 20 September 2018.[1] The song has peaked at number 40 on the UK Singles Chart.

This article is about the Mumford & Sons song. For the Muse song, see The Resistance (album). For The Veils song, see The Runaway Found.
"Guiding Light"
Single by Mumford & Sons
from the album Delta
Released20 September 2018
Recorded2017
Genre
Length3:37
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Paul Epworth
Mumford & Sons singles chronology
"Wona"
(2016)		 "Guiding Light"
(2018)		 "Beloved"
(2019)

Background

The song was first played live at Sziget Festival 2018, as one of three new songs the band played. On 19 September 2018, an audio snippet from the song was released on the band's Twitter page. Guiding Light premiered on 20 September 2018 on BBC Radio 1. Speaking to Annie Mac on Radio 1 about the single, Marcus Mumford said: "It was a bit of a beast to try and get on record. It was hard work. We kind of tried it in loads of different ways...this one took a while. We wrote it like a year ago, but it’s taken a while to just get it to that point and now we're happy with it."[2] A lyric video was released simultaneously with the premiere of the track. The song made its television debut on the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, and was later played on The Graham Norton Show, Saturday Night Live, and BBC Live Lounge, with acoustic performances at Radio.com and Sirius XM.

Composition

Elizabeth Aubrey of NME described "Guiding Light" as a "dizzying folk-rock song that builds, builds, explodes and then explodes again".[2] Joshua Copperman of Spin dubbed it a "solid folk-pop song".[3] Jon Dolan of Rolling Stone described the song as having "angelic electronics" and instrumentation that recalls "West African guitar blues".[4]

Music video

The official video premiered on 17 October 2018; it uses footage from the band's mini-concert, originally filmed outside the Tate Modern in London on 21 September 2018.

Track listing
Digital download
No.TitleLength
1."Guiding Light"3:37

Charts

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[26] Gold 40,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[27] Silver 200,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history
Region Date Format Label
United Kingdom 20 September 2018 Digital download

References
  1. "Mumford & Sons Return With New Song 'Guiding Light' From Upcoming Album 'Delta'". Billboard. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
  2. Aubrey, Elizabeth (20 September 2018). "Mumford & Sons return with 'Guiding Light' and announce details of new album". NME. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
  3. Copperman, Joshua (November 14, 2018). "Mumford & Sons' New Album Delta Is Doing Too Much Of Everything". Spin. Retrieved February 7, 2023. Even lead single "Guiding Light" doesn't need lavish orchestrations or a huge finale to be a solid folk-pop song.
  4. Dolan, Jon (November 16, 2018). "Review: Mumford and Sons' Epic Bummer 'Delta'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved February 7, 2023. …and the single "Guiding Light" spritzes their signature barrel-chested group vocals and manly strumming with angelic electronics. Elsewhere, Epworth uses tricks to give string-band instrumentation a hypnotic feel that can recall West African guitar blues.
  5. "Mumford & Sons – Guiding Light" (in Dutch). Ultratip. Retrieved 24 November 2018.
  6. "Mumford & Sons – Guiding Light" (in French). Ultratip. Retrieved 20 October 2018.
  7. "Mumford & Sons Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 3 October 2018.
  8. "Mumford & Sons Chart History (Canada Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved November 5, 2021.
  9. "Mumford & Sons: Guiding Light" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
  10. "Vika 47 – 2018". Plötutíðindi (in Icelandic). Archived from the original on 29 November 2018. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
  11. "IRMA – Irish Charts". Irish Recorded Music Association. Retrieved 3 October 2018.
  12. "Netherlands Single Tip Chart – 29/09/2018". MegaCharts. Retrieved 3 October 2018.
  13. "NZ Hot Singles Chart". Recorded Music NZ. 1 October 2018. Retrieved 3 October 2018.
  14. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
  15. "Sverigetopplistan – Sveriges Officiella Topplista". Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 24 November 2018.
  16. "Mumford & Sons – Guiding Light". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
  17. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
  18. "Mumford & Sons Chart History (Bubbling Under Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 3 October 2018.
  19. "Mumford & Sons Chart History (Adult Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 26 February 2019.
  20. "Mumford & Sons Chart History (Hot Rock & Alternative Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 7 January 2019.
  21. "Mumford & Sons Chart History (Rock Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved 7 January 2019.
  22. "Hot Rock Songs – Year-End 2018". Billboard. Retrieved April 3, 2020.
  23. "Hot Rock Songs – Year-End 2019". Billboard. Retrieved December 12, 2019.
  24. "Rock Airplay Songs – Year-End 2019". Billboard. Retrieved December 12, 2019.
  25. "Greatest of All Time Adult Alternative Songs". Billboard. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
  26. "Canadian single certifications – Mumford & Sons – Guiding Light". Music Canada. Retrieved 21 January 2023.
  27. "British single certifications – Mumford & Sons – Guiding Light". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 21 January 2023.
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