Mountain At My Gates

Album: What Went Down (2015)
Charted: 87
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Foals frontman Yannis Philippakis told NME the story of this song: "I'd recorded the beginning riff on my phone ages ago," he said. "At the beginning it had a baggy feel, but became less so with more work."

    "The central image - 'I see a mountain at my gates' was from me getting more interested in seeing what would come out lyrically where there wasn't a pre-conceived idea," Philippakis added. "Normally I write voraciously in books and journals, then harvest a lot of that for the record. This, though, came out instantaneously in the room."
  • The video sees Foals perform their song live in a sidewalk alley between mountains while interacting with the viewer. The clip was directed by Nabil (Frank Ocean, Kanye West, Alt-J) with whom the band worked with on previous visuals for "Bad Habit" and "Late Night." It was filmed using GoPro cameras, using their spherical Virtual Reality technology. This enables viewers using Chrome or the YouTube app to interact with the visual.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Sam Phillips

Sam PhillipsSongwriter Interviews

Collaborating with T Bone Burnett, Leslie Phillips changed her name and left her Christian label behind - Robert Plant, who recorded one of her songs on Raising Sand, is a fan.

Macabre Mother Goose: The Dark Side of Children's Songs

Macabre Mother Goose: The Dark Side of Children's SongsSong Writing

"London Bridge," "Ring Around the Rosie" and "It's Raining, It's Pouring" are just a few examples of shockingly morbid children's songs.

Dennis DeYoung

Dennis DeYoungSongwriter Interviews

Dennis DeYoung explains why "Mr. Roboto" is the defining Styx song, and what the "gathering of angels" represents in "Come Sail Away."

Goodbye, Hello: Ten Farewell Tour Fake-Outs

Goodbye, Hello: Ten Farewell Tour Fake-OutsSong Writing

The 10 biggest "retirement tours" that didn't take.

Randy Newman

Randy NewmanSongwriting Legends

Newman makes it look easy these days, but in this 1974 interview, he reveals the paranoia and pressures that made him yearn for his old 9-5 job.

Paul Williams

Paul WilliamsSongwriter Interviews

He's a singer and an actor, but as a songwriter Paul helped make Kermit a cultured frog, turned a bank commercial into a huge hit and made love both "exciting and new" and "soft as an easy chair."