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Oh God I think I'm dying
And our drinks were just poured
Look outside someone's waiting
With a yellow horse
With a hole in my heart I was s'posed to ride
In morning traffic
With a golden hand by your fortress side
But without magic
Somebody, somebody, somebody tell me
It wont be long
Cause a horse is not a home
A horse is not a home
Uninvited to the play where language doesn't hurt
With nothing on my shirt
Sometimes I swim with you in a room that is ocean sized and clear
Not here where all I breath is smoke
With a hole in my heart I was s'posed to ride
In morning traffic
With a golden hand by your fortress side
But without magic
Somebody, somebody, somebody tell me
It wont be long
Cause a horse is not a home
A horse is not a home
With a hole in my heart I was s'posed to ride
In morning traffic
With a golden hand by your fortress side
But without magic
Somebody, somebody, somebody tell me
It wont be long
Cause a horse is not a home
A horse is not a home
Somebody, somebody, somebody tell me
It wont be long
Cause a horse is not a home
A horse is not a home
And our drinks were just poured
Look outside someone's waiting
With a yellow horse
With a hole in my heart I was s'posed to ride
In morning traffic
With a golden hand by your fortress side
But without magic
Somebody, somebody, somebody tell me
It wont be long
Cause a horse is not a home
A horse is not a home
Uninvited to the play where language doesn't hurt
With nothing on my shirt
Sometimes I swim with you in a room that is ocean sized and clear
Not here where all I breath is smoke
With a hole in my heart I was s'posed to ride
In morning traffic
With a golden hand by your fortress side
But without magic
Somebody, somebody, somebody tell me
It wont be long
Cause a horse is not a home
A horse is not a home
With a hole in my heart I was s'posed to ride
In morning traffic
With a golden hand by your fortress side
But without magic
Somebody, somebody, somebody tell me
It wont be long
Cause a horse is not a home
A horse is not a home
Somebody, somebody, somebody tell me
It wont be long
Cause a horse is not a home
A horse is not a home
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This song is about a man becoming tiring of this lifestyle and wishing for something other than the steam of meaningless connections in his life. He does mention, just once that he is dreaming of someone, I assume to be a past lover whom he regrets leaving. "Sometimes I swim with you in a room that is ocean sized and clear
Not here where all I breath is smoke". He made a conscious choice when he decided on his lifestyle but it does come with regrets.
Someday, hopefully he will find a place to settle, though just for a time.
The song is about meaningless bar hookups after a meaningful relationship breakup.
The "horse" is a "ride", literally sex (cowboy position). While the yellow horse is the cab ride.
The part about being "forced to ride, in morning traffic, with a golden hand by your fortress side,
but without magic" is being on a taxi very late at night (early morning) with a one night stand (golden hand) and driving by the ex' house (fortress side).
"Sometimes I swim with you in a room that's ocean sized" refers to him daydreaming about the ex, both being alone where nobody else matters. The part about "only breathing smoke" refers to after-sex smoke and smoke-filled bars where hookups take place
It generally talks about the superficial and fake stance one keeps when hooking up, how it can be both nice yet unfulfilling, since we all crave real love, especially after loosing someone special.
''o god I think i'm dying
and out drinks were just poured''
He's had far too much and they've just been served another drink, basically just drinking away the fact the girl means nothing to him.
''Look outside someones waiting
with a yellow horse''
As mentioned, there's a yellow taxi outside waiting for them (to which they both get in).
''With a hole in the heart I was forced to ride in moving traffic''
His heart feels nothing and yet he finds himself messing about in a taxi with this girl in morning traffic
''With a golden hand by your fortress side but without magic''
They're now out of the taxi at the girls home, she invites him in, reaches out her hand, but there's no magic or love there
''Somebody tell me it won't be long because a horse is not a home''
He can't go on like this, how long does he have to wait for his love
''Uninvited to the play where language doesn't hurt with nothing on my shirt''
I think he means he's not yet been invited to lifes play, like all the scripted things people do, marriage, kids and where you can tell somebody you love them without it being an issue. Nothing on my shirt i think i take as medals, he's got nothing to show for, no accomplishments.
''Sometimes I swim with you in a room that is ocean size and clear and not here where all I breath is smoke''
Sometimes he thinks about being with his love, even though she doesn't exist yet, and they'll be in the countryside away from the city and its smoke, describing his ideal. The swimming is just a play on words i think.
And at the end he really is getting weary and begging for her to come along 'somebody somebody tell me it won't be long', he just needes that reassurance that it's going to happen.
I can relate to this quite a bit, broke up with my gf who i did love, been dating girls a bit but theres nothing there, i can't even be arsed to make the effort, to try and make them laugh, nothing, but girls 'hold out their hand' but for me there isn't any 'magic' what so ever. And funnily enough I would love to live in the countryside so his ideal is mine too.
"and our drinks were just poured/Look outside someone's waiting/with a yellow horse"
he and his encounter are about to leave
"With a golden hand by your fortress side/but without magic"
well golden hand, i don't maybe this refers to satisfaction? because the touches are golden, meaning satisfying..or maybe it's just my pervy mind.
without magic means that it's no real love.
"Somebody tell me it won't be long/'cause a horse is not a home"
he's tired of constantly having short affairs because they only represent the journey (=horse ride) while true love feels like home, having arrived and being able to rest.
"Uninvited to the play/where language doesn't hurt/with nothing on my shirt"
the play should be clear, where language doesn't hurt means he and the other person only talk about superficial things since there are no strings attached. having nothing on your shirt means that you're difficult to be identified, he'd get lost in the shuffle which means that he's just anybody to this person, he will easily be forgotten.
"By your fortress side / without magic"
-Motorists look at their vehicles as private fortresses in the public roadway, "wheel-houses," if you will, and we ride our bikes "by your fortress side". And unlike those with metal shells to protect them, we are vulnerable to these rolling fortresses, "without magic".
"in a room that is ocean-sized and clear not here / where all I breathe is smoke."
-The streets in NYC are pretty large area-wise, but due to the way the space is rationed, it's not clear, and we all have to breathe smoke/exhaust.
"A horse is not a home."
-See #1!
So I guess the lesson is that if you have recently felt rejection or whatever, then that's how you interpret it. Or if you happen to be upon a bicycle while thinking about what it means, then, well, there ya go!
P.S. I love their take on the "jack-a-lope". The image they currently use on their .myspace page is super cRunChY.
I actually think that hes heart broken and the yellow horse is kind of his dignity. He's expected or forced to ride with what dignity he has left from rejection with a "hole in his heart" and the "morning traffic" part is just the struggle of what what he has to live through with little pride left. and hes wondering how long it will last because you cant live the rest of your life with regret and depression from relationship problems ("a horse is not a home") but idk. i might just be looking too much into it lol i mean, i was basically sitting there thinking about the song and this explanation made so much sense to me :D
and just wanting to get home to be alone the yellow horse is a yellow taxi cab.
Very clever play on words..