Zebra

I always associated this song with my best friend whom I was in love with for much of my childhood/teen years. To me, the person who know him best (Don't I know you better than the rest?), he was unique and incredibly talented. But he tried so hard to fit in with people he had little in common with; he essentially "deceived" them (All deception, all deception from you). Of all my friends I believed he was the one with the brightest future, and no matter how much he tried to blend in, he was leaps and bounds ahead of the rest of us (Any way you run, you run before us). He never believed in himself, but I always did (You know you're gold, you don't gotta worry none). We were all horses - we were all the same - and he was a zebra - unique, not "domesticated" as we were - who was trying to disguise himself as a horse - or as domesticated, someone who had been broken in by society (Black and white horse, arching among us).

It seems to be about that person you watch from the corner of your eye. Perhaps you don't know them, but you've always been intrigued. They seem melancholy or untouchable or altogether alien to you. But there's also this elusive beauty in them. Achingly so. Perhaps they aren't even aware of it themselves, and are deceiving themselves as seeing themselves as ordinary.

In admiring said person's beauty, you in turn see yourself as an ordinary horse while this exotic creature arches before you. Unaware, you are the zebra the same as they are the zebra. The tragedy is that we can't see the exquisite qualities we possess without comparing their worth or unworthiness in relation to others.

That's what it is for me.

I'm pretty sure the song is about a zebra.

this song might be the most peaceful, and yet most haunting, song I've ever heard. if you're angry, it makes you calm, if you're sad, it tells you everythings going to be ok, if youre happy, it makes you more happy without being irritating. what a great band.

this song is incredible, but i have to say, LITERALLY the musical part during "arching before us" makes me choke up. it's such a pretty progression!

the lyrics up there are from the CD booklet.

my take is that it's someone that she knows very well who is obsessed with his/her image and she pities and understands him/her for his/her self-consciousness. think about it- a zebra looks like a regular horse except for its pattern. she probably knows this person 'beneath his/her stripes.' she is trying to comfort him/her and let that person know it's ok to be yourself (you know you're golden, you don't gotta worry none." however, it's likely that i am wrong. the lyrics are so vague it's difficult to say.

I have the lyrics from the album, here it is:

You know you're gold You dont got to worry none Oasis child born and so wild Dont I know you Better than the rest All deception from you

Your love is stag In the white sand Wilderness for miles Eyes so mild and wise Dont I know you Better than the rest All deception from you

Anyway you run You run before us Black and white horse Arching among us

Your love is stag In the white sand Oasis child born into a man Dont I know Better than the rest All deception from you

Wilderness for miles Eyes so mild and wise Oasis child born and so wild

Dont I know you Better than the rest All deception from you

This song seems to talk about image and deception. Maybe this person is an object of intrigue and is magnetic. Might not be accurate.

To me the song appears to be about a man that the narrator has known since he was were a boy. The description: "You know you're gold / You don't got to worry none / Oasis child born and so wild" I interpret as the man's cushy situation in life due to very successful parents; when the line "Oasis child" hits it makes me think that he is an only child, long yearned for and adored. But at the same time, he is isolated in many ways -- an oasis, despite its lushness, is still surrounded by desert. The isolation, resources available, and parent's spoiling enable the boy to be wild both in personality and action.

When the narrator says they know the man better than the rest, a sense of history and real knowledge of the person is shown, and later, with the line, "Oasis child born into a man" this seems to imply it's a lifelong relationship of watching the man grow up.

I'm less sure about the next verse: "Your love is stag / In the white sand / Wilderness for miles / Eyes so mild and wise". However, my guess is that the narrator is describing that oasis isolation, this time in terms of lovers and emotions. "Stag" in this context means alone but I also feel like it has several connotations (as most of the lines and words in this song do). I get a vision of this man standing in the sand looking out on all of the wilderness around him and feeling calm and satisfied like it's all his for the taking -- not that he is literally standing in an oasis looking out, but as a metaphor for how he interacts with the world, "the wilderness", which I believe to include potential lovers. This gives an underlining meaning to the phrase "Your love is stag" in the sense that he does not commit to any one person but gives his love in solo, fleeting connections. He is confident in his abilities to obtain what he wants and is skillful as a social manipulator and lover, but ultimately he is always alone and stays true to only himself.

The chorus is where the lyrics really become brilliant: "All deception from you/ Anyway you run / You run before us / Black and white horse / Arching among us".

When the narrator calls him a black and white horse, I think it's a clever way of saying that the man is two-faced. He is both black and white at the same time, all deception, never showing his real self. Saying that any way that he runs, he runs before them implies that he is both popular and constantly trying to stay one step ahead of everyone, weaving his lies and covering his deceptions. The chorus seems to be the perspective of the narrator on the man's behavior in their circle of friends -- this master manipulator, lying and charming (and probably buying) his way along from person to person. But the narrator knows him and his tricks. They watched him grow up, they know about his oasis and his black and white character.

hey beach house, you keep sneaking up on me. i've developed a secret allegiance to your mellow/haunting yet consistently catchy evening.