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He Lays in the Reins Lyrics
One more drink tonight as your gray stallion rests
Where he lays in the reins
For all of the speed and the strength he gave
One more kiss tonight from some tall stable girl
She's like grace from the earth
When you're all tuckered out and tame
One more tired thing the gray moon on the rise
When your want from the day
Makes you to curse in your sleep at night
One more gift to bring we may well find you laid
Like your steed in his reins
Tangled too tight and too long to fight
Where he lays in the reins
For all of the speed and the strength he gave
She's like grace from the earth
When you're all tuckered out and tame
When your want from the day
Makes you to curse in your sleep at night
Like your steed in his reins
Tangled too tight and too long to fight
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the spanish part is such a sharp contrast from the normal lullaby iron and wine i'm used to
it kind of offsets the whole mood, but whatever.
I have no idea when this song was written, but after reading & seeing Brokeback Mountain, I can't help but have a different idea about what this song is about than before. "We may well find you laid like your steed in his reins"...? hm. The album came out before the movie, but the Annie Proulx story was published a few years before that.
but more likely, the last stanza is about death of this cowboy. we are bringing him gifts one last time, he's laid out for the funeral. and "in his reins" refers to God. like your steed in god's reins, tangled too tight and too long to fight. wow, what an amazing song.
but still, post-brokeback, it acquires another great meaning.
Can anyone translate the Spanish? In the liner notes, it's written: "Nunca pense que jamás Tener la oportunidad de reencontrar el camino de nuevo Para formar un mundo mejor"
my weak spanish skillz say something like: "never think it's too late to take the opportunity to meet again the road to make a better world."
its actually: "i thought that id never get the chance to find the road again to make a better world"
its actually: "i thought that id never get the chance to find the road again to make a better world"
@roglewis @roglewis reins are apart of the bridle setup, so I wonder if like maybe he road the strength out of his stallion, he followed the demise with drinking to cope with his tough rancher lifestyle and his reins represent the ribs he restricted himself with through coping with his conflict? I wonder if he rode the horse in a drunken state until he fell and got tangled in his reins in the fall and died there? Like in Black Beauty?
@roglewis @roglewis reins are apart of the bridle setup, so I wonder if like maybe he road the strength out of his stallion, he followed the demise with drinking to cope with his tough rancher lifestyle and his reins represent the ribs he restricted himself with through coping with his conflict? I wonder if he rode the horse in a drunken state until he fell and got tangled in his reins in the fall and died there? Like in Black Beauty?
I have no idea but I ride and that is what I thought about before deciding to check out...
I have no idea but I ride and that is what I thought about before deciding to check out others' opinions.
this song is a great new direction for iron and wine. it is a bit different from the norm, but it's still just as beautiful, at first i didn't like the spanish opera sound, but now i can't stop listening to this.
i can't really put into words what this song means to me. it's almost like someone who is tired out from life and even though they want, they can't keep fighting, they have been too tangled for too long
beautiful song. not so sure about the Brokeback Mountain background though I see the point you make, think it's more general Cormack McCarthy territory - the plains are bleak and a cowboy's life is nasty, brutish and short
I believe the spanish in this song is translated as
"I never thought I would Have a chance to find the road again To make a better world "
I'm not 100% sure though.
Gorgeous. Amazing band. Rogue Wave/Iron & Wine/The Shins... in perfect relation. If you don't know any one of those bands, you must! lol. oh, also Sufjan Stevens.. need I say more? Indie rules.
just listen to the goddam record without bearing anything in mind
he laYS in the reins
great song, the spanish part is great too
beautiful :)
this song is moving