‘Icarus’ by Mumford & Sons and Gigi Perez - Lyrics & Meaning

Mumford & Sons’ 2026 studio album - their second in as many years, after 2025's RUSHMERE - features a star-studded cast of guests, such as prolific chart-toppers and genre-blurring mavericks, Chris Stapleton, Hozier and Gracie Abrams.

However, despite not yet possessing the expansive catalogues of her fellow Prizefighter guests, one of the most keenly anticipated collaborations for us on this project was undoubtedly ‘Icarus’ with ‘Sailor Song’ hitmaker and folk prodigy, Gigi Perez.

Perez has cemented herself as one of the most exciting new voices in the space, opening up for veterans such as Hozier and Noah Kahan, and Mumford & Sons’ decision to include Perez on Prizefighter consolidates her as the genre's next big star.

Compared to the pared-down ambience of the lead singles, ‘Rubber Band’ and ‘The Banjo Song’, ‘Icarus’ features a much more angsty and turbulent composition, reflecting the burning passion that permeates the narrative. Marcus Mumford's charismatic vocals kick things off, with Perez's enchanting delivery combining powerfully with the Mumford trio's trademark harmonies for the rousing chorus.

‘Icarus’ pivots around a fiery, raging guitar riff, a dramatic drum pattern and a gang vocal that almost feels choral. It lands neatly in the midst of the transition from the more peaceful, stripped-back offerings of the first portion of the album, with gentle odes like ‘Here’ and ‘Rubber Band Man’, to the turbulence of ‘Begin Again’ and ‘Stay’.

Nestled in the middle of the album, ‘Icarus’ finds our protagonist at his most frustrated and distressed, with the narrator looking back at an old relationship that seemed idyllic at the time. But ultimately, it was too good to be true, and he ended up flying too close to the sun, only to end up “burned” by the time morning came.

The metaphor of Icarus feels apt, with the famous Greek myth revolving around a boy whose father, Daedalus, builds a beautiful set of wings for him, but he ends up flying too near to the sun. As a result of his arrogance and refusal to listen to the advice of his father, the wax in his wings melts and he plummets tragically to his death.

Here, it symbolises how our narrator felt like he was flying high and would never come down after falling for a girl in his youth. However, he refused to notice all the signs that the romance would only be fleeting, and he ultimately got his heart broken.

“See through the smoke

Just a card in play

That you wrote my name on

Breathing in the cold

How could she throw me away

At least wait till I have wings on

-

You know I kissed her once

And she smiled

She’ll never see

The boy falling out of the sky

-

It took me all I had

To turn away from this one

Thought I’d take my chances

I was blinded, I was young

But then all at once

I was back to where I begun

I was burned by morning

I got too close to the sun

-

She said, ”Your feathers fit just right

You’re a fool, you’re a climber

You shoulda called it a night”

-

Well it turns out

I turned out fine

So better luck next time

I’m Icarus ascending

-

You know I kissed her once

And she smiled

She’ll never see

The boy falling out of the sky

-

It took me all I had

To turn away from this one

Thought I’d take my chances

I was blinded, I was young

But then all at once

I was back to where I begun

I was burned by the morning

I got too close to the sun

-

She’ll never know

I was falling, falling

-

I got too close to the sun

-

It took me all I had

To turn away from this one

Thought I’d take my chances

I was blinded, I was in love

But then all at once

I was back to where I begun

I was burned by morning

I got too close to the sun

-

I got too close to the sun”

For more on Mumford & Sons, see below:

Mumford & Sons

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Gigi Perez

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