Cavalry

I saw Mandolin Orange live and Andrew said this is a song "about a horse". I take it as an ode to the Warhorse throughout the history of man. It's a beautiful song.

As a small side note: I read an interview where Andrew credited the Lord of the Rings as his inspiration for the lyrics.

I've always thought about this song about an ening relationship.

"Well, I've carried the world on my back with no more to obtain The fire in the sky-- a dim light in my eye that's long faded And I've stood where heroes have fallen their names turned to stone Yet I remain nameless, the best friend the hero has known" The guy or girl always carried the relationship, but never got anything from the other, he or she was in the place of the other persons ex-lover, but that same person doesn't take that in mind.

"Now I'm saving my strength for running These days I'm saving my strength for running" Now, he or she doesn't have the energy to fight anymore, just run away from that person

"From the age of kings when pride decided all fate Long before war machines took charge and I was still 'wake It was blind hope and blinders, with young men to carry between All the death and the glory; believin' they're one and the same" That persons significant other was the one that decided everything, but there was always a false hope that it would change, and that same person thinks that what his or her boy/girlfriend is doing is fine

"Yes I've carried the world on my back with no more to obtain The sword and the shield perched upon saddles and reins But the stampedes of thunder, the cavalry's charge leaves me now Your last war will come but I can not follow you there" The love is gone from her or him, and his or her "last war" is a new relationship, and she obviously can't follow her or him.

The song appears to be literally from the perspective of a horse reflecting on its historical role in combat. Its role in life was to serve as a tool for violence. But now that "war machines" have been put in place, the horse has become obsolete/useless.

This aspect of the song ties in nicely with the themes of the ancient Daoist text, the Zhuangzi, where uselessness is regarded as a desirable trait for a variety of reasons, one of which is that the useless cannot be exploited or manipulated. The Zhuangzi also makes use of the imagery of horses: "When horses live on the plain, they eat grass and drink from the streams. Pleased, they twine their necks together and rub; angry, they turn back to back and kick. This all horses know how to do. But if you pile poles and yokes on them and line them up in crossbars and shafts, then they will learn to snap the crossbars break the yoke, rip the carriage top, champ the bit, and chew the reins. Thus horses learn how to commit the worst kinds of mischief. This is the crime of Bo Luo [someone good at handling horses]” (Zhuangzi, 67). This song seems to be making similar use of the metaphor of the horse, but instead of focusing on the initial exploitation of the horse and the corruption of the animal's inner nature, this song seems to focus on the return to that uncorrupted, simple and benign nature upon becoming obsolete or useless.

There is a lingering sentiment that, despite the horse becoming obsolete, its prior use as a weapon has lasting effects on its perspective."Saving my strength for running" may refer to some propensity for an adament rejection of conformity, exploitation, usefulness, or cooperation with the same institutions that once used it as a tool for violence.