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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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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.