Songfacts®:

• This orchestral reflection on birth and death was inspired by the ups and downs of life outside of music.
  
  We saw birth and death
  Can't we be still
  What makes you kind
  From where comes your sparkling mind
  
  In the years between Mumford & Sons 2015 Wilder Mind album and the release of Delta, frontman Marcus Mumford and his wife, actress Carey Mulligan, welcomed two children. Mumford was also present at his grandmother's bedside as she died and witnessed from the window of his apartment Grenfell Tower block fire in London.
• The song features an orchestral arrangement by British film score composer Sally Herbert, who also collaborated with Mumford & Sons on another Delta track "If I Say." Marcus Mumford said in a video track by track:
  
  "'The Wild' was an opportunity for us to stretch our legs a little bit sonically when it comes to including orchestration, and with the help of the wonderful Sally Herbert, we brought the song to life, we feel."