The Cave (song)

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"The Cave"
Thecavecd.jpg
Single by Mumford & Sons
from the album Sigh No More
Released26 February 2010
Recorded2009
Genre
Length3:37
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)

"The Cave" is a song by London folk rock quartet Mumford & Sons, from their debut album Sigh No More (2009). It was released in the UK as the third single from the album on 26 February 2010. It placed No. 81 in Triple J's Hottest 100 of 2009 before the single had been released. It was the second single in the US after "Little Lion Man", and had 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]

Contents

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.[ citation needed ]

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 number 10.[ citation needed ]

The song was also featured on VH1's top 40 videos of 2011.[ citation needed ]

"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 number 31.[ citation needed ]

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

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 .[ citation needed ]

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".[ citation needed ]

Award nominations

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.

YearOrganizationAwardResult
2011 Billboard Music Award Top Alternative SongNominated
MTV Video Music Award Best Rock VideoNominated
2012 Grammy Award Record of the YearNominated
Song of the YearNominated
Best Rock PerformanceNominated
Best Rock SongNominated
Billboard Music Award Top Alternative SongNominated

Charts

Certifications

Certifications for "The Cave"
RegionCertification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA) [21] Platinum70,000^
Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil) [22] Gold30,000
Canada (Music Canada) [23] 2× Platinum160,000*
Denmark (IFPI Danmark) [24] Gold45,000
Germany (BVMI) [25] Gold150,000
Italy (FIMI) [26] Gold25,000
New Zealand (RMNZ) [27] Platinum30,000
United Kingdom (BPI) [28] 2× Platinum1,200,000
United States (RIAA) [29] 2× Platinum1,778,000 [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. [30]

Release history

RegionDateFormatLabel
United Kingdom26 February 2010 [31] Digital download Island
2 March 2010 CD single
United States26 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. 1 2 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. "New Zealand single certifications – Mumford and Sons – The Cave". Radioscope. Retrieved 7 June 2025.Type The Cave in the "Search:" field.
  28. "British single certifications – Mumford & Sons – The Cave". British Phonographic Industry . Retrieved 30 June 2023.
  29. "American single certifications – Mumford & Sons – The Cave". Recording Industry Association of America.
  30. "'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.
  31. "The Cave - Single by Mumford & Sons". iTunes . January 2010.