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

Part of Their World: The Stories and Songs of 13 Disney Princesses

Part of Their World: The Stories and Songs of 13 Disney PrincessesSong Writing

From "Some Day My Prince Will Come" to "Let It Go" - how Disney princess songs (and the women who sing them) have evolved.

Intentionally Atrocious

Intentionally AtrociousSong Writing

A selection of songs made to be terrible - some clearly achieved that goal.

Bob Dylan Lyric Quiz

Bob Dylan Lyric QuizMusic Quiz

Think you know your Bob Dylan lyrics? Take this quiz to find out.

Lip-Synch Rebels

Lip-Synch RebelsSong Writing

What happens when Kurt Cobain, Iron Maiden and Johnny Lydon are told to lip-synch? Some hilarious "performances."

Judas Priest

Judas PriestSongwriter Interviews

Rob Halford, Richie Faulkner and Glenn Tipton talk twin guitar harmonies and explain how they create songs in Judas Priest.

Rock Revenge Songs

Rock Revenge SongsMusic Quiz

John Lennon, Paul Simon and Lynyrd Skynyrd are some of the artists who have written revenge songs. Do you know who they wrote them about?