Mustang

Album: Can We Please Have Fun (2024)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Over an insistent, thrumming bass line, Kings of Leon singer Caleb Followill evokes a sense of adventure and desire on "Mustang." Throughout the song, there's a mix of curiosity, longing, and a touch of mystery.

    Followill's children inspired the song.

    "My son was wearing a shirt that said Mustang, while my daughter was watching YouTube videos of cats - that's where the line 'Are you a Mustang or a kitty' comes from," he told the UK newspaper The Sun.

    "My son hadn't really reacted to our music before, so I put 'Mustang' in the song to make him flip his s--t. Now friends' kids always say, 'Play the Mustang song,' so if nothing else, kids love it."
  • The mustang is a free-roaming horse of the Western United States. They are descendants of domestic horses brought to the Americas by Spanish explorers and settlers in the 15th and 16th centuries. Over time, these horses escaped or were released, leading to the establishment of wild, free-roaming populations.

    Well, there's a mustang in the city
    And it's calling me out
    Are you a mustang or a kitty?
    What are you all about?


    In this song, the "mustang" represents a wild and free spirit, while the "kitty" symbolizes someone more fragile and domesticated.
  • Kings of Leon first teased "Mustang" at their concert at Velaria de la Feria, León, Mexico on January 25, 2024. Near the end of their set, Caleb Followill told the crowd that fans should prepare themselves "for the Mustang." They officially released the song on February 22, 2024.
  • The song is the lead single from Can We Please Have Fun. Kings of Leon recorded the album at Dark Horse studio in Nashville with producer Kid Harpoon (Harry Styles, Florence + the Machine).

    Directed by Brook Linder, the video captures the essence of the song's lyrics. It showcases scenes of water, fire, and enigmatic moments while the band performs the song on rooftops and bridges. Brook Linder's other credits include Beck's "Fix Me," Nine Inch Nails' "Less Than" and Arctic Monkeys' "Body Paint."
  • Kings Of Leon gave the song its live TV debut when they performed it on the February 26, 2024, episode of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Donny Osmond

Donny OsmondSongwriter Interviews

Donny Osmond talks about his biggest hits, his Vegas show, and the fan who taught him to take "Puppy Love" seriously.

Mike Love of The Beach Boys

Mike Love of The Beach BoysSongwriter Interviews

The lead singer/lyricist of The Beach Boys talks about coming up with the words for "Good Vibrations," "Fun, Fun, Fun," "Kokomo" and other classic songs.

Emilio Castillo from Tower of Power

Emilio Castillo from Tower of PowerSongwriter Interviews

Emilio talks about what it's like to write and perform with the Tower of Power horns, and why every struggling band should have a friend like Huey Lewis.

How "A Rolling Stone Gathers No Moss" Became Rock's Top Proverb

How "A Rolling Stone Gathers No Moss" Became Rock's Top ProverbSong Writing

How a country weeper and a blues number made "rolling stone" the most popular phrase in rock.

Bill Withers

Bill WithersSongwriter Interviews

Soul music legend Bill Withers on how life experience and the company you keep leads to classic songs like "Lean On Me."

Lou Gramm - "Waiting For A Girl Like You"

Lou Gramm - "Waiting For A Girl Like You"They're Playing My Song

Gramm co-wrote this gorgeous ballad and delivered an inspired vocal, but the song was the beginning of the end of his time with Foreigner.