| Mandolin Orange – Cavalry Lyrics | 4 years ago |
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The song appears to be literally from the perspective of a horse reflecting on its historical role in combat. Its role in life was to serve as a tool for violence. But now that "war machines" have been put in place, the horse has become obsolete/useless. This aspect of the song ties in nicely with the themes of the ancient Daoist text, the Zhuangzi, where uselessness is regarded as a desirable trait for a variety of reasons, one of which is that the useless cannot be exploited or manipulated. The Zhuangzi also makes use of the imagery of horses: "When horses live on the plain, they eat grass and drink from the streams. Pleased, they twine their necks together and rub; angry, they turn back to back and kick. This all horses know how to do. But if you pile poles and yokes on them and line them up in crossbars and shafts, then they will learn to snap the crossbars break the yoke, rip the carriage top, champ the bit, and chew the reins. Thus horses learn how to commit the worst kinds of mischief. This is the crime of Bo Luo [someone good at handling horses]” (Zhuangzi, 67). This song seems to be making similar use of the metaphor of the horse, but instead of focusing on the initial exploitation of the horse and the corruption of the animal's inner nature, this song seems to focus on the return to that uncorrupted, simple and benign nature upon becoming obsolete or useless. There is a lingering sentiment that, despite the horse becoming obsolete, its prior use as a weapon has lasting effects on its perspective."Saving my strength for running" may refer to some propensity for an adament rejection of conformity, exploitation, usefulness, or cooperation with the same institutions that once used it as a tool for violence. |
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