Some songs entertain. Others make you think. But Corb Lund’s “Gettin’ Down on the Mountain” might actually warn you.
Released as part of the 2012 album Cabin Fever, this track feels eerily relevant more than a decade later. It doesn’t talk about rodeos or whiskey shots — instead, it paints a striking picture of what happens when society falls apart.
“When the gas runs out, and the stores go dry…”
Right from the first verse, Lund sketches a post-collapse world: empty shelves, panicked cities, people scrambling for food. No zombies. No nukes. Just pure societal fragility.
Then comes his plan: “I’m gettin’ down on the mountain.”
He’ll retreat to the mountains, where he can live off the land — far from the chaos of cities. This mentality reflects a very real cultural current in North America, especially among rural communities who have long distrusted dependence on urban supply chains.
Personal or prophetic?
Corb Lund was raised on a ranch in Alberta, Canada. He’s a former philosophy major with deep ties to cowboy culture and the values of self-reliance. In this song, his voice channels those fears — of over-industrialization, economic collapse, or environmental disaster.
After the COVID-19 pandemic, “Gettin’ Down on the Mountain” saw a surge in listeners. Many commented on how eerily accurate it now felt — as if Lund had seen it all coming.
Connected to Lund’s broader themes
Corb’s music is grounded in realism. His 2015 album Things That Can’t Be Undone expanded on themes of human struggle and disenchantment with modern systems. Tracks like “Sadr City” and “Washed-Up Rock Star Factory Blues” painted portraits of dysfunction and economic desperation.
What ties them all together is the sense that the veneer of modern life is thin — and easily shattered.
More than music — a warning?
“Gettin’ Down on the Mountain” doesn’t try to incite fear. It asks the question: What would you do if it all broke down? Could you feed yourself? Could you survive?
It’s a reminder that maybe — just maybe — we’ve become too comfortable.