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Everything you need to know about this clash of two folk titans, released in October 2025.
- Song ‘Rubber Band Man’
- Lyrics“When you can’t win
For losing
And the beggars start choosing the chaos in your head
Calls the cracks to start showing
All knowing all glowing with the light of the... - Artist(s) Mumford & Sons, Hozier
- Released October 24, 2025
- Label Island Records
- Songwriter(s) Mumford & Sons, Aaron Dessner
- Producer(s) Mumford & Sons, Aaron Dessner
The Background
First teased towards the end of September 2025, ‘Rubber Band Man’ is a clash of two folk titans, with this marking the long-awaited first collaboration between Mumford & Sons and Hozier. They've teamed up on-stage a number of times, but it's electrifying to finally be able to hear these folk trailblazers together on wax.
It's a visceral, yearning offering that's lit up by Mumford & Sons’ signature, heart-rending harmonies and Hozier's enchantingly ethereal vocals. ‘Rubber Band Man’ serves as a standalone single, and follows the Mumford trio's lauded RUSHMERE studio album, which arrived around six months earlier in March 2025.
The Sound
‘Rubber Band Man’ is a masterclass in the art of building a song's intensity over the course of three or so minutes, before eventually reaching a vibrant, euphoric crescendo.
The curtain opens on a noodling, undulating guitar riff, with the composition being expanded in tandem with the hook, before they strip it all back to that same initial, gentle instrumentation at the end, creating a wonderfully satisfying full-circle feel.
The Mumford & Sons trio have become synonymous with their sleek, galvanising harmonies, and ‘Rubber Band Man’ is a prime example of this. Hozier keeps it relatively low-key and pared-down for his verse, but this only makes the roar of the hook all the more rousing and compelling. We're all familiar with the now-iconic Hozier yell from ‘Northern Attitude’ with Noah Kahan, and the anthemic ‘Rubber Band Man’ hook feels like it's underpinned by a similarly raw spirit.
The Meaning
“When you can’t win
For losing
And the beggars start choosing the chaos in your head
Calls the cracks to start showing
All knowing all glowing with the light of the
Dying to raise the dead, oh”
The ‘Rubber Band Man’ is a concept related to male intimacy, where the man repeatedly flits between pulling away from their lover and drawing close to them. It conjures up a man made of rubber bands, who snaps back as soon as they pull too far.
It seems the person Mumford and Hozier are singing to is embodying this cycle, with the narrator describing the tumultuous thoughts and emotions the man is experiencing, which leads them to be emotionally unreliable in their relationship.
“You’re a world away
But you’re still the same
I know you by your heart
And I will call you by your name”
It’s a long way
From the crack to the break
You know that I remember everything”
The protagonist laments how the man feels “a world away”, before underlining that they know the person they love is still concealed beneath this seemingly frosty exterior. There's a running theme of ‘cracks’ and ‘breaks’, with the narrator suggesting the man is slightly damaged and that he has his faults, but this doesn't mean he has to fully break. He conveys this through the powerful metaphor of a crack not necessarily leading to a break, as long as they fix it soon enough.
“Steady yourself
And your tumbleweed words
Be a street corner preacher
Or just feed the birds
But don’t hold to yourself
With hard mortar and stone
Be a rubber band man
Make the water your bones
Dying just to live
Now”
As Hozier takes the microphone, he echoes the sentiments of the first verse, but introduces an array of colourful imagery to emphasise his point. He describes the man's “tumbleweed words”, suggesting his words spill out without much thought - as well as implying there's nobody around to hear him. A tumbleweed rolls across the desert in old cowboy movies to indicate it's a barren landscape.
He warns the man against relying on himself too much and treating his own company as being as dependable as “hard mortar and stone”. Instead, he encourages the man to be more malleable and as fluid as if he had water instead of bones. This aligns with the idea of becoming a rubber band man, who eagerly returns to his lover's arms once he has found himself pulling away for too long.
“When I said forever
You said get back in the car
Nothing lasts forever babe
You know it breaks my heart
And I’ll call you anything that you like
And I am free and I’m able
To call you the second that you die
Just to live
Now”
We again get a sense that our protagonist is the one who's really putting in the effort to keep this relationship alive. The narrator underlines they are willing to spend “forever” with them, but they simply respond by telling them to get back in the car.
The line about calling them “the second that you die” is a little enigmatic, but seems to be a declaration of love that lasts beyond the grave. Alternatively, it could suggest that, once the man is willing to “kill” his ego and the part of him that keeps pulling away from the protagonist, then they will be able to be together forever.
“New ink on your skin
Red lips in the dark
Nothing lasts forever babe
You know it breaks my heart
Put a shiver on your skin
Do your hair in the car
If nothing lasts forever babe
Then can we make a start?”
He describes a couple of more physical elements relating to the man, such as a tattoo and red lips, implying some kind of impassioned night spent with a lover. The track ends on a hopeful note, with our lovestruck protagonist accepting that the partner's supposition that “nothing lasts forever” may be true, but that doesn't mean they can't still make the most of the time they have left together on this planet.
For the full lyrics to ‘Rubber Band Man’ by Mumford & Sons and Hozier, see below:
“When you can’t win
For losing
And the beggars start choosing the chaos in your head
-
Calls the cracks to start showing
All knowing all glowing with the light of the
Dying to raise the dead, oh
-
You’re a world away
But you’re still the same
I know you by your heart
And I will call you by your name
-
It’s a long way
From the crack to the break
-
You know that I remember everything
-
Steady yourself
And your tumbleweed words
-
Be a street corner preacher
Or just feed the birds
-
But don’t hold to yourself
With hard mortar and stone
-
Be a rubber band man
Make the water your bones
-
Dying just to live
Now
-
You’re a world away
But you’re still the same
-
I know you by your heart
And I will call you by your name
-
And it’s a long way
From the crack to the break
-
You know that I remember everything
-
When I said forever
-
You said get back in the car
Nothing lasts forever babe
You know it breaks my heart
-
And I’ll call you anything that you like
-
And I am free and I’m able
To call you the second that you die
Just to live
Now
-
You’re a world away
But you’re still the same
-
I know you by your heart
And I will call you by your name
-
And it’s a long way
From the crack to the break
-
You know that I remember everything
-
When I said forever
You said get back in the car
Nothing lasts forever babe
You know it breaks my heart
-
You’re a world away
But you’re still the same
-
You know that I remember everything
-
New ink on your skin
Red lips in the dark
-
Nothing lasts forever babe
You know it breaks my heart
-
Put a shiver on your skin
Do your hair in the car
-
If nothing lasts forever babe
Then can we make a start?”
For more on Mumford & Sons, see below:
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