The song 'Fortnight' by Taylor Swift and Post Malone tells a story about strong feelings, complicated relationships, and secret wishes. It talks about love, betrayal, and wanting someone who doesn't feel the same. The word 'fortnight' shows short-lived happiness and guilty pleasures, leading to sadness. It shows how messy relationships can be and the results of hiding emotions. “I was supposed to be sent away / But they forgot to come and get me,” she kickstarts the song in the first verse with lines suggesting an admission to a hospital for people with mental illnesses. She goes in the verse admitting her lover is the reason why she is like this. In the chorus, she sings about their time in love and reflects on how he has now settled with someone else. “I took the miracle move-on drug, the effects were temporary / And I love you, it’s ruining my life,” on the second verse she details her struggles to forget about him and the negative effects of her failure. “Thought of callin’ ya, but you won’t pick up / ‘Nother fortnight lost in America,” Post Malone sings in the outro.
On the first part of the journey
I was looking at all the life
There were plants and birds and rocks and things
There was sand and hills and rings
The first thing I met was a fly with a buzz
And the sky with no clouds
The heat was hot and the ground was dry
But the air was full of sound
I've been through the desert on a horse with no name
It felt good to be out of the rain
In the desert you can remember your name
'Cause there ain't no one for to give you no pain
After two days in the desert sun
My skin began to turn red
And after three days in the desert fun
I was looking at a river bed
And the story it told of a river that flowed
Made me sad to think it was dead
You see I've been through the desert on a horse with no name
It felt good to be out of the rain
In the desert you can remember your name
'Cause there ain't no one for to give you no pain
After nine days I let the horse run free
'Cause the desert had turned to sea
There were plants and birds and rocks and things
There was sand and hills and rings
The ocean is a desert with it's life underground
And a perfect disguise above
Under the cities lies a heart made of ground
But the humans will give no love
You see I've been through the desert on a horse with no name
It felt good to be out of the rain
In the desert you can remember your name
'Cause there ain't no one for to give you no pain
I was looking at all the life
There were plants and birds and rocks and things
There was sand and hills and rings
The first thing I met was a fly with a buzz
And the sky with no clouds
The heat was hot and the ground was dry
But the air was full of sound
I've been through the desert on a horse with no name
It felt good to be out of the rain
In the desert you can remember your name
'Cause there ain't no one for to give you no pain
After two days in the desert sun
My skin began to turn red
And after three days in the desert fun
I was looking at a river bed
And the story it told of a river that flowed
Made me sad to think it was dead
You see I've been through the desert on a horse with no name
It felt good to be out of the rain
In the desert you can remember your name
'Cause there ain't no one for to give you no pain
After nine days I let the horse run free
'Cause the desert had turned to sea
There were plants and birds and rocks and things
There was sand and hills and rings
The ocean is a desert with it's life underground
And a perfect disguise above
Under the cities lies a heart made of ground
But the humans will give no love
You see I've been through the desert on a horse with no name
It felt good to be out of the rain
In the desert you can remember your name
'Cause there ain't no one for to give you no pain
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Fortnight
Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift
Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction vocalist Perry Farrell gives Adam Reader some heartfelt insight into Jane’s Addiction's hard rock manifesto "Mountain Song", which was the second single from their revolutionary album Nothing's Shocking. Mountain song was first recorded in 1986 and appeared on the soundtrack to the film Dudes starring Jon Cryer. The version on Nothing's Shocking was re-recorded in 1988.
"'Mountain Song' was actually about... I hate to say it but... drugs. Climbing this mountain and getting as high as you can, and then coming down that mountain," reveals Farrell. "What it feels to descend from the mountain top... not easy at all. The ascension is tough but exhilarating. Getting down is... it's a real bummer. Drugs is not for everybody obviously. For me, I wanted to experience the heights, and the lows come along with it."
"There's a part - 'Cash in now honey, cash in Miss Smith.' Miss Smith is my Mother; our last name was Smith. Cashing in when she cashed in her life. So... she decided that, to her... at that time, she was desperate. Life wasn't worth it for her, that was her opinion. Some people think, never take your life, and some people find that their life isn't worth living. She was in love with my Dad, and my Dad was not faithful to her, and it broke her heart. She was very desperate and she did something that I know she regrets."
Gentle Hour
Yo La Tengo
Yo La Tengo
This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version.
Great version of a great song,
Magical
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
How would you describe the feeling of being in love? For Ed Sheeran, the word is “Magical.” in HIS three-minute album opener, he makes an attempt to capture the beauty and delicacy of true love with words. He describes the magic of it all over a bright Pop song produced by Aaron Dessner.
Head > Heels
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Head > Heels” is a track that aims to capture what it feels like to experience romance that exceeds expectations. Ed Sheeran dedicates his album outro to a lover who has blessed him with a unique experience that he seeks to describe through the song’s nuanced lyrics.
The song is NOT about Heroin!! I mean, seriously!! Does the band Godsmack's name refer to a deity on heroin?!?!?!
The America album was released in Britain to moderate response. Though "I Need You" was discussed as an initial single, Warner Bros. asked the band to come up with another song that would break them on the radio. So, five months after the album came out, they went into a small London studio and demoed four new tunes. Among them was an enigmatic Bunnell number with a catchy rhythm that was initially called "Desert Song." Much to the band's surprise, that was the song that Warners chose to release.
The band went into Morgan Sound Studios (where Beckley had played bass on demo sessions a few years before) to record the song, with Samwell producing and Kim Haworth brought in on drums. At Samwell's suggestion, "Desert Song" was retitled "A Horse With No Name."
A tune as famous as this one deserves a detailed explanation, though Bunnell suggests that its meaning has evolved over time: "I was messing around with some open tunings--I tuned the A string way down to an E, and I found this little chord, and I just moved my two fingers back and forth, and the entire song came from basically three chords. I wanted to capture the imagery of the desert, because I was sitting in this room in England, and it was rainy. The rain was starting to get to us, and I wanted to capture the desert and the heat and the dryness."
The imagery came from Dewey's childhood: "I had spent a good deal of time poking around in the high desert with my brother when we lived at Vandenberg Air Force Base [in California]. And we'd drive through Arizona and New Mexico. I loved the cactus and the heat. I was trying to capture the sights and sounds of the desert, and there was an environmental message at the end. But it's grown to mean more for me. I see now that this anonymous horse was a vehicle to get me away from all the confusion and chaos of life to a peaceful, quiet place."
Bunnell adds an aside about his choice of language in the song: "I have taken a lot of poetic license in my use of grammar, and I always cringe a little bit at my use of 'aint's,' like 'ain't no one for to give you no pain' in "Horse." I've never actually spoken that way, but I think it conveys a certain honesty when you're not picking and choosing your words, and you use that kind of colloquialism."
Actually....In reference to that oh so bold comment about Godsmack...No, it doesn't refer to a deity on heroin, but "God's name is Smack to some." The quoted line is a line from the song Godsmack by Alice in Chains. It is the song that Godsmack got their name from. And that line means that Heroin is like God to some people. If you ever have done Heroin, you that would make so much sense.
It's good to read a post like SoundandFury101's, which lays out and explains the history of the song, rather than positing his own interpretation as fact, with little to no evidence. Not that authorial intent is sacred, but far too many are willing to promote their private interpretation as canon.<br /> <br /> To sum up - the 'meaning' of this song is simple as all hell, obvious and literal, but that doesn't change the fact that it's about the deep and sacred experience of the Desert.
I saw this song as a tune about someone who tries to escape their life, but through his journies realizes everywhere he goes, his problems follow him, everywhere is the same.
-On the first part of the journey I was looking at all the life There were plants and birds and rocks and things-
Our hero starts out on a journey, and notices how much life there is. It's odd, to find such life in the desert.
-I've been through the desert on a horse with no name It felt good to be out of the rain In the desert you can remember your name 'Cause there ain't no one for to give you no pain-
The rain is where he started from- the rain is all his problems, so he goes to the desert, where you wouldn't expect all this rain (problems) to follow. I interpret this as his time of solitude, of finding himself. He sort of shuts off from life and looks introspectively, because out in the desert, there's only him and the horse with no name. The horse could be many things, I haven't decided what it means to me. However, one thought is it's his own desire to flee- the 'horse' is carrying him off to the desert.
-After two days in the desert sun My skin began to turn red -
As he's looking inwardly, he's finding a lot of crap he doesn't want to deal with. The solitude is getting to him. He can't live alone with his thoughts.
-After three days in the desert fun I was looking at a river bed And the story it told of a river that flowed Made me sad to think it was dead-
I think this refers to some sort of a relationship- when he left, he broke this relationship, and now it's dead. It could also be some character trait of himself (good sense of humour, positive outlook, ect) that was taken away when he was in the rain.
-After nine days I let the horse run free 'Cause the desert had turned to sea-
Finally, he can't take the solitude, so he goes back into the world again. But he doesn't go back to whereever he came from, he moves to somewhere else.
-There were plants and birds and rocks and things there was sand and hills and rings The ocean is a desert with it's life underground And a perfect disguise above-
So, he settles down into this new life, expecting it to be perfect. But he finds it isn't. Like where he came from, the water (problems) are still there. Also, there are the parts of the desert- he's still being introspective.
-Under the cities lies a heart made of ground But the humans will give no love-
People are shallow and messed up, no matter where he goes.
However, I really like Tack's understanding of the song- very well put.
i really like your interpretation. i believe really good songwriters feel good when people attribute a meaning to a song, even if its not their intended meaning exactly because this means the lyrics have provoked thought, so everyone's interpretations are right! (this one's great though hehe)
I actually hung out with Dewey, the lead singer of America, last year and we asked him what the song meant. He said he wrote the song in while he was in Europe, on tour I believe. He said it was so rainy and dark all the time and he was just sick of being there. The song is basically his fantisy of being out of rainy Europe where everyone knew who he was. He went to a sunny place where nobody knew him.
i'm so afraid you won't read this response since its been so long since you posted, but hopefully you do. i am a writer and illustrator. i am currently working on adapting the song horse with no name into a children's book. although i am working on the project, i would of course never attempt to publish or distribute my finished product without consent to do so from the artists. i haven't really attempted to find contact info for dewey bunnell yet, stumbled upon this site while studying people's concepts of the song. but if you knew how i could reach him man that would be SUH WEET! my email address is indigosunrise21@yahoo.com if you have any advice for me! thanks :0) great comment.
I'll refrain from my feelings about people discarding all the imagery in this song just to try and sound like experts when they say "DOOD ITS HEROIN HORSE MEANS HEROIN! YAY! IM SO SMART AND COOL LOLZ!"
Basically, if the only word you can come up with for this song is heroin, how do you explain the last lyrics "Under the cities lies a heart made of ground, but the humans will give no love"?
There are many different possible meanings for this song, the way I see it, but I believe it's about individuality: The narrator discovers his individuality while he's alone (the desert). Soon, however, he realizes the toll society (the rain) has taken on him, and its impact. Eventually, he has to return to society, and mask his true identity, although on the inside, he is still the same person (The ocean is a desert with its life underground.)
As for the last line, I believe it's a statement about how people only look skin-deep, and don't treasure what makes a person individual.
I love how people assume that a song is about a drug based on the time period and possibly the musicians. Oh, ok. So one of America's most well-known songs is about heroin? Lobotomize yourself.
There's been some awesome interpretations here, though.
I always thought of it as writing about an escape from civilization and mankind. The verses, especially the last, suggest that a desert contains just as much diversity and wonder as mankind has created. Whether or not the writers were on substances is besides the point. I dont think the drug heroine itself is a desert and oceans and flies and stuff that anyone would automatically pluck out and say "oh yeah that reminds me of heroin!"
This song IS about Heroin to me. I am not just assuming. And like a few others have said before, it may be about something comletely different to you.<br /> <br /> Also, the fact that I think it is about Heroin has nothing to do with the time period or musicians. As a recovering Heroin addict, this song just feels like Heroin to me. Perhaps you disagree, but don't patronize me or imply that I am an idiot because of the way this song hits me.
"Lobotomize yourself." Can we be best friends?
I've been in the desert for all my life, funny how ppl don't get this. The song has nothing to do with drugs. The desert can be a near mystical/impersonal place, especially if you are close to heat-stroke, lol. I think it's mostly about a person who died in the desert:
After nine days I let the horse run free Cause the desert had turned to sea
That'll happen after 9 daze, probably much sooner.
The whole "Horse = Heroin" thing really springs from a whole different equation...the one that says "the 1960's and 70's = drugs; musicians do drugs; people on drugs write things that sound strange; therefore, all 1960's and 70's songs with strange lyrics = songs about drugs! Q.E.D." (Q.E.D., in this case, meaning "Quoting Endless Dumbsh!t.")
However...there's another metaphorical horse that fits the lyrics of this song even better than the creaky old drug interpretation: the shaman's horse, which is another name for the sound of the drumbeat that carries the shaman into a trance state, into the otherworld on a visionary experience. Such a horse has no name because it isn't flesh and blood, it's a spirit horse made of sound.
To me the song is about a kind of vision quest in the desert...or else a mundane trip that (due to a little too much sunlight or too little water) became a visionary experience to the traveler, and caused a spiritual awakening.
I really disagree with the song referring to drugs...the singer finds himself in a desert, and slowly descends into madnesss that was probably caused by dehydration, and then he most likely died 9 days later. A prime example of how isolating yourself can be deadly.
There are people who think about a song for 60 seconds, and the first thing that comes to their mind, they are forever after sure the song is about. And then it's always drugs, death, or some wildly implausible scenario.
The guy's in the desert to think. He's spending quite some time out there. He's thinking. He does not die. The horse is not a metaphor. End of story. Even if the songwriter wasn't on record saying this, it's obvious from the lyrics themselves.
I love how these posters are bent on this song being about Heroin.