Counting Crows – Another Horsedreamer's Blues

Margery's dreaming of the middle of the day
Tiyuri to win
Perfect Dozen to place
money is the matter that's been on her mind
time ticks by her one race at a time

She's tryin' to be a good girl
And give 'em what they want
But Margery's dreaming of horses

Lookin' at a green sky
Sun like a red eye
Bright blue horses are the fortune she lives by
She's tired and lonely
Scared and depressed
Her visions of one day go racing the next

She's trying to be a good girl
And give 'em what they want
But Margery's dreaming of horses

Margie doesn't say anything all the way home
So afraid she'll awake to find she's all alone

Margery's wingspan's all feathers and coke cans, and
TV dinners and letters she won't send, and
Every race night is shot through with sunlight
Trying to hit the big one one last time tonight for...

Drunken fathers and stupid mothers and
Boys who can't tell one girl from another
So she takes her pills
Careful and round
One of these days she's gonna throw the whole bottle down

But she's trying to be a good girl
And give 'em what they want
But Margery's dreaming of...

Trying to be a good girl
And give 'em what they want
But Margery's dreaming of horses


Lyrics submitted by 3ssence

"Another Horsedreamer's Blues" as written by Adam Fredric Duritz David Lynn Bryson

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group

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Another Horsedreamer's Blues song meanings
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31 Comments

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  • +1
    My InterpretationI 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.
    angelcat2828on January 12, 2012   Link
  • 0
    General CommentCould 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."
    viahavtaon June 07, 2002   Link
  • 0
    General CommentA 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.
    cleverhandleon June 15, 2002   Link
  • 0
    General CommentI 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.
    mandaloron June 20, 2002   Link
  • 0
    General Commenti 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.
    fishmarketon July 08, 2002   Link
  • 0
    General Commentwell 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!
    trastaon July 09, 2002   Link
  • 0
    General Commenti 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 anna-begins.com or maybe its 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!
    frmrpreztafton July 24, 2002   Link
  • 0
    General CommentThis 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."
    ALngDcmbron August 28, 2002   Link
  • 0
    General CommentI 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.
    davidecoyoteon September 09, 2002   Link
  • 0
    General Commenti think that this song could mean almost anything however you interpert it. the thing with counting crows is that they seem to base their songs around a particular incident or person, and unless you really know, they're only expressing an idea, so you can't always pinpoint a story to every song
    duckadoozon June 15, 2004   Link

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