All the Pretty Little Horses
Coil Lyrics

The song All the Pretty Little Horses has a melancholic tone that soothes the listener's mind. The lyrics revolve around the comforting of a crying baby, who is then sent off to slumber to have sweet dreams of riding on pretty little horses. The opening lines of the song, "Hush-a-bye, Don't you cry, Go to sleepy little baby," are the perfect lullaby to put a child to sleep. The singer tells the baby to go to sleep, assuring the child that they will have pretty little horses waiting for them when they wake up.

The next lines describe the horses that the baby will see when they wake up. "Blacks and bays, Dapples and greys, All the pretty little horses" describes a wide variety of horses that the baby will get to ride in their dreams. The mood of the song changes when the singer introduces the struggles of a poor little lamb in the meadow, who is crying for its mother. The bees and butterflies add a melancholic but gentle imagery to the song’s overall tone.

The singer veers back to sleep again, telling the baby to rest their head upon the clovers and dream of riding on the horses while the mother watches over them. The song ends with a repetition of the chorus, "All the pretty little horses," while fading away in the background. The lyrics of the song are simple, but the message it portrays to the baby is profound. It soothes the baby's mind, letting them go into a deep slumber with positive thoughts about their dreams.