1
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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I once met a guy who had been involved in the rock scene in L.A. in the early 70s. He claimed he got royalties for this song because he helped write the chorus. This was his story:
He and some friends, including a guy who'd later be part of America, partied an entire weekend at someone's home, which one of his friends was house sitting. They ended up in the empty pool playing guitar for hours. The guy claimed he was just getting into Crystal Meth at the time. He was IV shooting up Crystal Meth the entire weekend and he and some others started jamming.
The lyrics, "I've been through the desert on a horse with no name," referred to being out in the South California desert in the dry pool at this house shooting up Crystal Meth, which he said is what "a horse with no name" meant.
He then claimed that later the guy from America developed the song writing the verses, using it to mean a real horse traveling through a desert rather than being in a dry pool in a house in the desert of L.A.
If his story is true this song never was about Heroin, nor withdrawal from drugs. It was about a weekend long binge on Crystal Meth. But it also has all the alternative non-drug meaning many here argue for. It would be about both.
But was this guy telling the truth? I don't know.
My vote is he was.