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There I was with the old man
Stranded again so off I'd ran
A young world crashing around me
No possibilities of getting what I need
He looked at me and smiled
Said no, no, no, no, no child
See the dog and butterfly
Up in the air he likes to fly
Dog and butterfly
Below she had to try
She roll back down to the warm soft ground, laughing
She don't know why, she don't know why
Dog and butterfly
Well I stumbled upon your secret place
Safe in the trees you had tears on your face
Wrestling with your desires frozen strangers
Stealing your fires, the message hit my mind
Only words that I could find
See the dog and butterfly
Up in the air he like to fly
Dog and butterfly below she had to try
She roll back down to the warm soft ground
Laughing to the sky, up to the sky
Dog and butterfly
We're getting older the world's getting colder
For the life of me I don't know the reason why
Maybe it's livin' making us give in
Hearts rolling in taken back on the tide
We're balanced together ocean upon the sky
Another night in this strange town
Moonlight holding me light as down
Voice of confusion inside of me
Just begging to go back where I'm free
Feels like I'm through
Then the old man's words are true
See the dog and butterfly
Up in the air he like to fly
Dog and butterfly, below she had to try
She roll back down to the warm soft ground
With a little tear in her eye
She had to try, she had to try
Dog and butterfly, yeah
Up in the air he like to fly
The dog and butterfly, below she had to try
She roll back down to the warm soft ground, laughing
She don't know why
But she had to try, she had to try
Dog and butterfly
Stranded again so off I'd ran
A young world crashing around me
No possibilities of getting what I need
He looked at me and smiled
Said no, no, no, no, no child
See the dog and butterfly
Up in the air he likes to fly
Dog and butterfly
Below she had to try
She roll back down to the warm soft ground, laughing
She don't know why, she don't know why
Dog and butterfly
Well I stumbled upon your secret place
Safe in the trees you had tears on your face
Wrestling with your desires frozen strangers
Stealing your fires, the message hit my mind
Only words that I could find
See the dog and butterfly
Up in the air he like to fly
Dog and butterfly below she had to try
She roll back down to the warm soft ground
Laughing to the sky, up to the sky
Dog and butterfly
We're getting older the world's getting colder
For the life of me I don't know the reason why
Maybe it's livin' making us give in
Hearts rolling in taken back on the tide
We're balanced together ocean upon the sky
Another night in this strange town
Moonlight holding me light as down
Voice of confusion inside of me
Just begging to go back where I'm free
Feels like I'm through
Then the old man's words are true
See the dog and butterfly
Up in the air he like to fly
Dog and butterfly, below she had to try
She roll back down to the warm soft ground
With a little tear in her eye
She had to try, she had to try
Dog and butterfly, yeah
Up in the air he like to fly
The dog and butterfly, below she had to try
She roll back down to the warm soft ground, laughing
She don't know why
But she had to try, she had to try
Dog and butterfly
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Found this on internet!
HEART's love for dogs has even influenced their music. Ann penned the words to "Dog and Butterfly" but it was her Sheepdog that inspired the lyrics. Ann watched intently from her bedroom window as her Sheepdog chased a butterfly around the yard. "As Ann watched her dog it struck her as symbolic as to how life can be," explains Nancy. "When you're an earthbound creature we're always jumping and reaching for things we can never really catch, but you try anyway. And that's the point of the song, we're always trying to grab at something higher."
I agree that it's about chasing dreams. I feel like the old man was trying to keep dog's "head out of the clouds" so to speak, by telling her "no, no, no" and in essense, telling her to stop dreaming of such lofty things as catching a butterfly. I keep rooting for the dog to keep trying lol