rain goes perfect with a nosdam mixtape
the last streetlights stay on well after dawn
kings fall to pawns he dropped the needle let the song say it
the kind of morgue with a gong to tell you when
but the room's rules will bend and the staff will make you laugh
my dad wore this face in old photographs
calico cats out stare me from behind a junkyard fence
high on khat i let my stare go soft but pretend it's not
when i'm eyed i tounge my bottom teeth
and look at the sidewalk in front of me
and my tennis shoes go in and out of the frame
another sleuth footed empty Y
walking on goose eggs in the mission
swap meet brown 31 fishnet hat cocked to the right
i only played chess once in my life and i lost

looks like a sky for shoeing horses under
looks like a good sky to die under



Lyrics submitted by oh ok

Track duration: 02:29


A Sky for Shoeing Horses Under song meanings
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  • 0
    General Comment:When I first listened to this song, I thought he was saying ".. a sky for shooting horses under", by which I was sure meant shooting heroin. But shoeing? The only definition or meaning I can really give to shoeing is beating, or kicking someone with one's shoes.

    And breakouttheshotguns is right, "khat" is an amphetamine-like stimulant used primarily in middle-eastern countries, whereas "cot" would refer to Oxycontin, a semi-synthetic opioid (narcotic) that is prescribed for chronic pain in the U.S but is used for recreational purposes by some.
    Flag marisa98con July 17, 2012   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I kind of feel like this is a.. "Okay, it was a good run" kind of song. The first line leading down to the chorus makes me feel like he's looking back on his musical career and that if it was to die today, he would be okay with that.. I feel a lot of the inner lyrics get lost somewhere, like I'm not looking into that enough.. But it seems to me he describes some of his life in it..
    Flag Cjasteron June 18, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:It says 'khat' in the lyric booklet, but in the original demo, he says 'pot'.
    Flag RaygunShaunon June 04, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:With so many metaphors to religion, more specifically, the questioning of an existence of a higher power in Yoni's lyrics. The last line in the song "I only played chess once in my life and i lost" could be a reference to the Ingmar Bergman film "The Seventh Seal", In which, a man seeks answers about life, death, and the existence of God as he plays chess against the Grim Reaper for his life.
    Flag travnwson August 11, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I'm from Ohio, and the drug that Yoni refers to is definitely not "Khat" or "Qat". It's "cot", as a slang form for Oxycontin, the pain-relieving prescription drug. Abuse of it is pretty rampant in our area, at least where I'm from.

    That would make the most sense with "my tennis shoes go in an out of the frame". The drug screws with your focus, making your eyes look like little pinholes. "Khat" on the other hand is evidently cocaine-like, probably an effect that wouldn't make as much sense in this context.

    Also, I always thought the lines were:

    "when I'm high" instead of "when I'm eyed"

    "Kings fall to Ponzi" (as in the investment scheme, but I guess the 'pawns' interpretation makes more sense in the context of the chess game)


    Great song though!
    Flag breakouttheshotgunson March 11, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:someone please help me to understnd this song. like... all of it. i have no idea what anyone is talkinga obut
    Flag meowwwwon January 02, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Oh, and Khat is a speedy kind of drug. It's most popular in north and west africa.
    Flag smacklinon January 23, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Has anyone seen the video? Is that Odd Nosdam playing the piano or are my eyes just wrong?
    If so, then I think it's probably not a song about Clouddead, but rather a song about Reaching Quiet (Yoni and Odd Nosdam's first band)

    in Reaching Quiet songs they make references to chess, which is why I think Yoni sees his collaboration with Odd Nosdam as a failure. Even though their work together is unbelievable and in some ways better than Why?'s new stuff, it is far less well-known and almost impossible to find.

    I like Benladen's ideas, but I don't think it's a disgust that Yoni feels post-Reaching Quiet and post-Clouddead...rather, I see it as him moving in separate yet equal directions from all the people he's worked with. He's become something totally distinct from Doseone and Odd Nosdam.
    Flag smacklinon January 23, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:lol, he's saying bring people's mood down
    Flag elf4life420on October 17, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:how the fuck does one shoe horses under the sky?
    Flag menoselosoon September 11, 2008   Link

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