Another Horsedreamer's Blues

I always saw it as a girl who was alone, or mostly alone in her world. She's kind of trapped in her world, struggling with a normal life, friends, family, anything. "Money is the matter that's been on her mind" She bets on horses to escape, "Time ticks by her one race at a time". She tries to be perfect, keep up, "Trying to be a good girl and give them what they want", but she's scared of being alone, of waking up lonely... I suspect abuse too, "drunken fathers and stupid mothers and boys who can't tell one girl from another". "One of these days she's gonna throw the whole bottle down", she can't deal with it all. She dreams of horses, dreams of freedom. I mean, if you think of horses, don't you immediately imagine a free horse running wild through green grass? So she dreams of freedom, even if the only means of doing so is by suicide. This is only my opinion, it's my favorite song. I love it all the same, however.

This is one of my favorite Counting Crows songs. It has a powerful effect on me when I listen to it that is hard to describe. Its interesting that someone thought it was about a prostitute who was trying to escape and was stuggling to begin a normal life, and that makes sense the more I think about it. However I've always thought that is was about a women who had a very rough childhood where she was abused or neglected by her parents and no one really cared about her. She has become an outcast and this has followed her into adulthood, and she's so afraid of being alone and facing her past that she gambles excessively and tries hard to please people who just want to use her, as she thinks that they are her friends. She probably lives in a dirty, run-down house or apartment that is littered with fast food wrappers, TV dinner trys, and soda cans and takes an anti-depressant every night to take to edge off, but contemplates overdosing and committing suicide. I really feel sorry for anyone who lives this life in reality.

Could it be that the song isn't about a prostitute as much as about a woman who has been raised with a pretty depreciative view of herself?

The horses seemed to symbolize every girl's dream. You know, "I want a pony."

A prostitute? Huh?

I think it's just about a girl with a rotten home life who finds her escape in betting on horse races and taking pills. It may also be Counting Crows's most underrated song.

I mean, "trying to be a good girl, give them what they want", and the part "Boys who can't tell one girl from another". I don't really know anymore, people don't seem to share my view. I was listening to it on my minidisc late at night, and the thought just popped right into my head. I'm probably wrong.

i thought this song was about a prostitute who is trying to get herself out of it, but she needs money, so she bets on horses hoping to hit the big one, and not have to work like that anymore.

well songs mean different things to different people, which makes them all the more amazing. but i am kinda seeing eye to eye with viahavta and cleverhandle on this mostly bcos i can personally relate to the lyrics. i don't have a horse, nor do i bet on them or want one, nor am i a prostitute!! but just symbolically what he is saying, it's almost like he is writing about me. it's amazing how he can capture someone elses precise emotion....like he knows exactly how i feel. strange. but amazing song by an amazing band!

i can see what u all are saying...the prostitute thing makes sense, as well as the betting on horses part...man the Wurlitzer solo in this song rocks my socks off! If you're looking for adams personal views on any of his songs, check out www.anna-begins.com or maybe its www.annabegins.com i forget...

but this is definitely one of my favorite songs off RTS...along with Monkey, Millers Angels, Daylight fading.....hell, i really like the whole album!

This song is based on the play "Geography of a Horsedreamer" by Sam Shepard in which a girl is used and manipulated by people because of her ability to predict horse races. I've personally never read it, it's in the book "Fool for Love and Other Plays."

I always interpreted this one about a really confused girl, not necessarily a prostitute, but a pretty slutty girl none the less. I see the horses as symbols the same way Jakob Dylan sees them in Invisible City: "All of these horses that you chase around, in the end they are the ones that always bring you down." It fits, she can't find love sleeping with stallions and eventually she turns to drugs.

I also heard once that this was a sequel to Anna Begins. Anyway, I've always liked this song, and the whole album for that matter.