The song lyrics were written by the band Van Halen, as they were asked to write a song for the 1979 movie "Over the Edge" starring Matt Dillon. The movie (and the lyrics, although more obliquely) are about bored, rebellious youth with nothing better to do than get into trouble. If you see the movie, these lyrics will make more sense. It's a great movie if you grew up in the 70s/80s you'll definitely remember some of these characters from your own life. Fun fact, after writing the song, Van Halen decided not to let the movie use it.
She comes down from Yellow Mountain
On a dark, flat land she rides
On a pony she named Wildfire
With a whirlwind by her side
On a cold Nebraska night
Oh, they say she died one winter
When there came a killing frost
And the pony she named Wildfire
Busted down its stall
In a blizzard, he was lost
She ran calling Wildfire
She ran calling Wildfire
She ran calling Wildfire
By the dark of the moon, I planted
But there came an early snow
Been a hoot-owl howling outside my window now
'Bout six nights in a row
She's coming for me, I know
And on Wildfire we're both gonna go
We'll be ridin' Wildfire
We'll be ridin' Wildfire
We'll be ridin' Wildfire
On Wildfire we're gonna ride
We're gonna leave sodbustin' behind
Get these hard times right on out of our minds
Riding Wildfire
On a dark, flat land she rides
On a pony she named Wildfire
With a whirlwind by her side
On a cold Nebraska night
Oh, they say she died one winter
When there came a killing frost
And the pony she named Wildfire
Busted down its stall
In a blizzard, he was lost
She ran calling Wildfire
She ran calling Wildfire
She ran calling Wildfire
By the dark of the moon, I planted
But there came an early snow
Been a hoot-owl howling outside my window now
'Bout six nights in a row
She's coming for me, I know
And on Wildfire we're both gonna go
We'll be ridin' Wildfire
We'll be ridin' Wildfire
We'll be ridin' Wildfire
On Wildfire we're gonna ride
We're gonna leave sodbustin' behind
Get these hard times right on out of our minds
Riding Wildfire
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This is one of the best songs ever written... Wildfire is both a story and a metaphor.
The story is from the 19th Century, when Nebraska was still the wild, wild west, the settlers lived in homes made of sod, and life was hard.
She is either the daughter, the wife or the fiance of the singer. He loved watching her ride her pony Wildfire, she was a vision of raging life, and love.
She died during a 'killing frost' of the kind that blanketed the midwest in the winter of 2007-2008. The horse ran off, being spooked by something, and was never seen again.
By the dark of the moon refers to the time when the moon is full to when it is new again, and is the time that you plant crops that grow below ground, such as potatoes, beets, turnips, etc. The singer was following the old farmers almanac, but his crops were destroyed by an early snow before he could harvest.
He lay there in his cold, empty sod house, knowing he would die of starvation that winter, as promised by the hoot owl outside his window, which in native american lore meant death was coming.
So he waited for her and Wildfire...
Wildfire is a metaphor for something that takes you away from hard times. The song pays tribute to the bravery and hardships faced by our ancestors.
It's a masterpiece.
I can buy most of your interpretation, but the relationship of 'she' to the singer that you suggest doesn't fit. "Oh, they say died one winter" suggests to me he only knows of her from stories. She's somewhat of a fantasy figure to him, a legend or myth.<br /> <br /> If the rest of your explanation is correct, I imagine the owl is there for the sixth night because the singer is already starved to the point of imminent death, and he's hoping this fantasy of woman and horse is coming to take him from his lonely life of toil and now famine. She is his preferred version of an angel.<br /> <br /> Thoughts?
Well, 'They say she died one winter' could also mean she died and the man didn't know what happened.<br /> <br /> Otherwise, very touching.
jwramc I like your interpretation. I think she was a fantasy figure to him as well. My question is did she die chasing after the horse when he busted out of his stall? I've never been clear on that part of the song.
Jwramc, I like your interpretation as well. When I heard it, though, I really felt he knew this woman, and she was very important to him.<br /> <br /> When he says "They say she died one winter" I get the feeling he feels she's not really dead, because he sees her still.<br /> <br /> But that's just my interpretation. Michael Murphy doesn't even know.
I've also read that Michael Murphey doesn't know for certain all of his meaning. However, I agree that this is a song about death. In particular, it is about the songwriter's own death. The imagery around the hoot owl is striking and consistent as is the use of echo in the orchestration. The words:<br /> <br /> "There's been a hoot owl howlin' by my window now<br /> For six nights in a row<br /> She's coming for me I know<br /> And on Wildfire we're both gonna go"<br /> <br /> could not be clearer.<br /> <br /> The introduction is elaborate because, whether he knew it or not, Murphey was setting the scene for us of another world. One none of us has ever visited. That's why the recording it has both a dream-like and haunting character.
The explaination of the woman is quite simple. She is a more romantic Grim Reaper. She is probably some kind of folklore legend. She was a settler that died one winter and her horse was so grief stricken that it ran away a died also. Now both her and her horse are charged with taking dead settlers' spirits to the other side. <br /> <br /> With that being said, the song lays out like so. First verse he describes what he is waiting for. Second verse describes how what he is waiting for came to be. Third verse he describes how he got into the situation he is in to be waiting for the "Spectre of Death".
@Cache Kid <br /> <br /> Thoughtful interpretation by Cache Kid. Historically correct and feels exactly right; consistent with the mood and music. Thanks!
@Stoneformpally<br /> Except that the song specifically says that she went chasing after the horse. First he breaks out of his stall and runs off into the blizzard, and she runs after, calling for him. Both are presumed dead, but neither was ever found. I don't think she and the pony are "general" grim reapers. I don't see her as ferrying just any souls to the other side. I think that it's personal. The singer is someone she was close to, and in grace and love, it will be she and the pony (so he expects) sent to collect his soul and bring him to heaven, away from all the pain and toil of the mortal world. He's sure she's already on the way.
@Cache Kid I do appreciate your interpretation. The narrator could even have been her father. I've known Murph for a long time and even rode 500 miles of the Colorado Trail with him over 5 summers about 20 years ago. Even he isn't certain about who the "narrator" is and has often related how the song came to him in a dream. He feels that many interpretations of the lyrics are valid and is/has not been willing to place a "post facto" interpretation. The simple, lovely, haunting story stands on its own.
Oh how we loved this one growing up! For me, "Wildfire" was about exactly what Michael Martin Murphey is singing it is: it's the story of a young girl, the crush of the young boy protagonist, whose only love is her beloved pony Wildfire. One night during an early, hard winter, Wildfire breaks free from his stall and runs away. The child steals out after it into the night, and an unexpected heavy blizzard rolls into the valley, covering everything under several feet of snow.
She is never found, nor is the pony.
The young boy has grown into a young man and still remembers his lost love, most often when autumn comes and the owl calls outside his window, reminding him winter is soon to come. He has never forgotten the young girl he loved, and still hold a torch for her: "She's coming for me, I know. And on Wildfire, we're both gonna go."
It's a song of desperate longing for a childhood love long dead... about how love never dies and burns forever, eternal, with the memory of the one we cherished.
Without doubt this was one of the most beautiful, just plain emotionally affecting songs of the 1970's. Between this, the Charlie Brown series and Dan Fogelberg's "Another Auld Lang Syne", my childhood was pretty damned moody. How about yours.
Hmmmmm....this song is from 1975 and became a hit. Yes, 1975. And they say babies in the womb aren't humans. Ha :D
I agree with Cache Kid. @smarterthanyou2010....you're an idiot. Wildfire was a dream Michael had about a magic horse. When he awoke, he wrote it down. This is one of the best love songs EVER recorded.
@the1muse The way I see it (knowing it is a dream) he never knew the girl in life but after seeing her spirit probably any number of times while he planted by the dark of the moon; he inquired of people who told him the story( " They say she died one winter...). At some point she has noticed him as well. This is where andh ow they fall in love. Now his crop has failed; he is going to lose his land, his home his livelihood and possibly according to the omen (owl) his life and she knows that and the feeling of the loss of everything(Wildfire) she faced. She calls out and comes for him, that she is here for him with Wildfire. <br />
As an Injun, I agree with the owl comment. My Grandmother always talked of owls as messengers of death, though as in this case, not always sorrow. The singer longs to reunite with his lost love, as did she her pony. She has left him on the cold, lonely prarie, his crops have died, and one could imagine how bad he wants to hear her returning for him. In a way, his believing she is calling for him is a way of surrendering to the elements.
Could the girl and her pony be the protagonist's childhood dreams? He lost those dreams in the hard winters on the prairie? Now, with death approaching, he's looking forward to rejoining his childhood dreams?
Try and think of the song being sung from the perspective of a pedophile serial killer of the young girl.
First verse describes how he watches her ride down from her families farm on "Yellow Mountain" (Assumingly like he has many times before) on "Wildfire" to flatland (maybe the his own property, they may even have neighboring land plots; and her mother would like her to become a good rider by mastering flat land first). It is in Wildfire's existence that he gets his inspiration to use the horse breaking out of its stall; to lure the girl to her death. "They say she died one Winter" first when he sings of her, it seems he may know her, now he diminishes his role to that of a person living in another town at the time of her death (which we know he wasnt). 2nd verse "By the light of the moon I planted, but there came an early snow" Was when he was burying her body, but couldnt finish because of the storm...."Theres been a hoot owl outside my window now for six nights in a row" Speaks to the folklore of an owl being a sort of Angel of Death messenger. Then he waxes poetic as he relives the fantasy of them running away together on Wildfire.
Just a different perspective that always stuck with me .....this is the first time I have shared it.........Sincerely FracturedMind
Ummm a killing frost doesn't kill people.
It kills plants. :/
True.But you can't deny that not only is it a beautiful song but the acoustic is too and the chorus getcha every time. ;)
@kmidafternoon true, but there was also a blizzard, and those DO kill people.<br /> "In a blizzard he [Wildfire] was lost.<br /> She ran, calling 'Wildfire!'<br /> She ran, calling "Wildfire!' . . . "<br /> The pony ran off into the blizzard, and she ran after him, and neither was ever seen again.
kmidaafternoon you may want to check out the Sadie Rose adventure series, its a series of childrens books from the late 80s and early 90s by the famous author Hilda Stahl, she grew up in the Nebraska Sandhills, her ancestors lived in sod houses on the prairie, the book series is based around the good and bad times faced by eleven year old Sadie Rose and her family who live ina sod house, and the first book begins with desciption of how her father died in the killing frost. the books are completely historically accurate of the early 19th century in the Nebraska sandhills and the characters reside in sod houses. so i think it makes complete sense what Cache Kid spoke of as the meaning of this beautiful song that i like to listen too while reading the great book series.
per this youtube video, Michael Martin Murphy states that it was about a dream he had about a magical horse
youtube.com/watch
@debbieann Murphy also ties the horse into Christian prophecy. The Bible depicts Christ as riding to His triumph on a white horse, so Murphy relates the final ride on Wildfire as being away from the trials and tribulations of this fallen world and into the glory of heaven. He had been told the legends of the ghost horse as a child, but the dream he had brought the concepts together in song.
It’s no coincidence that everything in the song is cold - “frost”, “blizzard” - but the horse is called “Wildfire”.
Allmusic’s bio on Murphy says he’d heard stories, as a boy, of a “ghost horse” rescuing people in the desert. While the song may involve the singer dying also, it’s possible he “knows” he’ll be rescued - by the girl on Wildfire. Even the Hoot Owl symbolism doesn’t rule this out - he knows it means certain death, but do people stranded “in the desert” not also expect “certain death”?
I say either explanation works, whichever you like better.