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I Break Horses Lyrics
Well I rode out to the ocean
And the water looked like tarnished gold
I rode out on a broken horse
Who told me she'd never felt so old
She asked me if I'd feed her
And ride her now and then
No no no, no no no, no no no,
I break horses
I don't tend to them
I break horses
They seem to come to me
Asking to be broken
They seem to run to me
I break horses
Doesn't take me long
Just a few well-placed words
And their wandering hearts are gone
At first her warmth felt good between my legs
Living breathing heart-beating flesh
But soon that warmth turned to an itch
Turned to a scratch
Turned to a gash
I break horses
I don't tend to them
Tonight I'm swimming to my favorite island
And I don't want to see you swimming behind
Tonight I'm swimming to my favorite island
And I don't want to see you swimming behind
No I break horses
I don't tend to them
And the water looked like tarnished gold
I rode out on a broken horse
Who told me she'd never felt so old
She asked me if I'd feed her
And ride her now and then
I break horses
I don't tend to them
I break horses
They seem to come to me
Asking to be broken
They seem to run to me
I break horses
Doesn't take me long
Just a few well-placed words
And their wandering hearts are gone
Living breathing heart-beating flesh
But soon that warmth turned to an itch
Turned to a scratch
Turned to a gash
I break horses
I don't tend to them
And I don't want to see you swimming behind
Tonight I'm swimming to my favorite island
And I don't want to see you swimming behind
No I break horses
I don't tend to them
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"'I Break Horses' has often been misconstrued. Some people tell me, "Ah, I get it-- we are all murderers under the skin!" That's not it. I don't give a shit about people's dark sides. I wrote that song to help a friend try to understand how a guy she had a one-night stand with could possibly not return her phone calls the next day or ever again. There is also a lot more going on with that song, but that was the impetus. It is rooted in Good." - bill callahan interview on pitchfork http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/feature/43152-interview-bill-callahan
Thanks for copy and pasting the paragraph. The article can "no longer be found." And if someone's reading.. I don't "break horses." I've just not been ready to "tend" and it's more complicated than that. We were flirting right? :) Some things happened and I took a long break from that site ;)
Thanks for copy and pasting the paragraph. The article can "no longer be found." And if someone's reading.. I don't "break horses." I've just not been ready to "tend" and it's more complicated than that. We were flirting right? :) Some things happened and I took a long break from that site ;)
this one relates directly with cold discovery.
'enjoy the despair i have tenderly designated to you' 'you know i can only bring you pain, but you still want to be around me'
maybe his songs have disturbed me more.
This song is quite obviously about his relationships with women and how he's not good at/has no interest in maintaining them. I like the lines: At first her warmth felt good between my legs Living breathing heart-beating flesh But soon that warmth turned to an itch Turned to a scratch Turned to a gash I break horses I don't tend to them At first, he enjoys being with this woman, she is lively, fresh, but then as time went on, their relationship, or just she, became an irritation to him and to her, it festered into a wound (emotional hurt) and it became worse until she was "broken"
Tonight I'm swimming to my favorite island And I don't want to see you swimming behind Tonight I'm swimming to my favorite island And I don't want to see you swimming behind No I break horses I don't tend to them I think this is basically about him venturing to be by himself so that he doesn't have anyone else depending on him in any way (ie, so that he doesn't have to tend to them). He wants to be by himself and doesn't need a "horse" (woman) to be his beast of burden becasue he can carry his own personal burdens and has no need/desire to carry hers
Good song though, I really like his voice :)
Its important to start with the title. To break a horse is to teach it to take a passenger. To break can also be taken as to soil or dirty something so in male/female relationship it could be taken as degrading through sex. I realise there are suggestions about the meaning-friend getting beefed and dumped bla bla- but reader response is what matters. To break a horse suggests, for a while, a certain level of commitment and thus a more apparent loss. Sounds very much like a serial monogamist.
Its important to start with the title. To break a horse is to teach it to take a passenger. To break can also be taken as to soil or dirty something so in male/female relationship it could be taken as degrading through sex. I realise there are suggestions about the meaning-friend getting beefed and dumped bla bla- but reader response is what matters. To break a horse suggests, for a while, a certain level of commitment and thus a more apparent loss. Sounds very much like a serial monogamist.
This is a very good song and continues his obsession with horses-here used as a metaphor for breaking free.
He feels as though every women that comes his way gets broken. He doesn't want to deal with the relationship, he just wants to be alone. At first a girl might seem attractive, but as he gets further into the relationship he just gets more and more disillusioned.
The island is isolation.
I can relate to this song very well.
hes quite good at seducing women,
the women he tames are ready to settle down,
but he doesnt really love the women he breaks, hes in it for the act of taming them.
brilliant song, maybe his best. i dunno.
I am just recently discovering Smog's music and am hooked, Callahan is a beautiful songwriter and this song in particular makes me cry. I have rode and loved horses probably since the day I was born and with a long and bitter history of romantic heartache this song has a special meaning to me.