A Horse Is Not a Home

i agree with everone basically (except that doctor kid..)

I actually think that hes heart broken and the yellow horse is kind of his dignity. He's expected or forced to ride with what dignity he has left from rejection with a "hole in his heart" and the "morning traffic" part is just the struggle of what what he has to live through with little pride left. and hes wondering how long it will last because you cant live the rest of your life with regret and depression from relationship problems ("a horse is not a home") but idk. i might just be looking too much into it lol i mean, i was basically sitting there thinking about the song and this explanation made so much sense to me :D

A one night stand is not like a real loving relationship.

The song is about meaningless bar hookups after a meaningful relationship breakup. The "horse" is a "ride", literally sex (cowboy position). While the yellow horse is the cab ride.

The part about being "forced to ride, in morning traffic, with a golden hand by your fortress side, but without magic" is being on a taxi very late at night (early morning) with a one night stand (golden hand) and driving by the ex' house (fortress side).

"Sometimes I swim with you in a room that's ocean sized" refers to him daydreaming about the ex, both being alone where nobody else matters. The part about "only breathing smoke" refers to after-sex smoke and smoke-filled bars where hookups take place

It generally talks about the superficial and fake stance one keeps when hooking up, how it can be both nice yet unfulfilling, since we all crave real love, especially after loosing someone special.

There are definitely some words missing on this page, from the beginning of the song :(

sounds like he's at a bar and hes quite intoxicated, still drinking even though hes feeling sick

the yellow horse is a yellow taxi cab, one is waiting outside (like taxis wait outside bars)

he rides home feeling heartbroken and sick, hoping it will be over soon.

hes remembering the night before he was drunk, possibly gate crashing a party and before he had messed his shirt and possibly remembering a girl he has just broken up with, remembering being home with her in bed and not in a smoky bar.

The lyrics to this song, as with so many rock/pop lyrics, is completely and utterly meaningless. It's merely a string of evocative sounding phrases. Not that there's anything necessarily wrong with that, but it's foolish to look deeply into it for meaning.

Capturing perfectly the heart wrenching feeling of rejection and hopelessness felt after the loss of a relationship and just wanting to get home to be alone the yellow horse is a yellow taxi cab. Very clever play on words..

I get this song like this. Always on the run like old day cowboys. You are not in a hom,e if you are always on your horse riding away. which modernly translates yellow horse into a taxi. But hes trying to make since and move on to finding a home. life goes by too fast.

Great interpretation of the lyrics, the song makes perfect sense to me now. Although the groups entire debut album is exceptional, I find this song to be the one I find myself listening to most often due to the emotions that the lyrics, without any understanding on my part, along with the music evoke in me. I am still curious about the meaning of "with a golden hand by your fortress side, but without magic".

P.S. I love their take on the "jack-a-lope". The image they currently use on their .myspace page is super cRunChY.

Amazing how people interpret songs based on their own lives. I listen to music every day on my half-hour bike commute, and honestly thought this song was literally about "ride[ing] in morning traffic."

"By your fortress side / without magic" -Motorists look at their vehicles as private fortresses in the public roadway, "wheel-houses," if you will, and we ride our bikes "by your fortress side". And unlike those with metal shells to protect them, we are vulnerable to these rolling fortresses, "without magic".

"in a room that is ocean-sized and clear not here / where all I breathe is smoke." -The streets in NYC are pretty large area-wise, but due to the way the space is rationed, it's not clear, and we all have to breathe smoke/exhaust.

"A horse is not a home." -See #1!

So I guess the lesson is that if you have recently felt rejection or whatever, then that's how you interpret it. Or if you happen to be upon a bicycle while thinking about what it means, then, well, there ya go!

i agree that the yellow horse is linked to cabs and i think it's a metaphor for casual hook-ups.

"and our drinks were just poured/Look outside someone's waiting/with a yellow horse" he and his encounter are about to leave

"With a golden hand by your fortress side/but without magic" well golden hand, i don't maybe this refers to satisfaction? because the touches are golden, meaning satisfying..or maybe it's just my pervy mind. without magic means that it's no real love.

"Somebody tell me it won't be long/'cause a horse is not a home" he's tired of constantly having short affairs because they only represent the journey (=horse ride) while true love feels like home, having arrived and being able to rest.

"Uninvited to the play/where language doesn't hurt/with nothing on my shirt" the play should be clear, where language doesn't hurt means he and the other person only talk about superficial things since there are no strings attached. having nothing on your shirt means that you're difficult to be identified, he'd get lost in the shuffle which means that he's just anybody to this person, he will easily be forgotten.