Goodbye Horses
Garvey Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
He told me, I see you rise
But, it always falls
I see you come, I see you go
He says, "All things pass, into the night"
And I say, "Oh no sir, I must say, you're wrong
A won't you listen to me
He told me, I've seen it all before
I've been there
I've seen my hopes and dreams a-lying on the ground
I've seen the sky just begin to fall
He says, "All things pass, into the night"
And I say, "Oh no sir, I must say. you're wrong
I must disagree, oh no sir, I must say. you're wrong"
Won't you listen to me?
Goodbye horses
I'm flying over you
Goodbye horses
I'm flying over you
Goodbye horses
I'm flying over you
Goodbye horses
I'm flying, flying, flying over you!
"Goodbye Horses" by Garvey is a haunting, emotive song filled with ambiguity and intricate meaning. The lyrics carry a sense of wistful detachment and a melancholic acceptance of endings.
In the first verse, the singer talks about a person who sees them rise and fall, come and go. This person says that all things pass into the night, but the singer disagrees, saying that the person is wrong. There is a subtle tension between these two perspectives, one rooted in pessimism and the other in hope.
In the second verse, the singer talks about someone who has been there, seen it all before, and has had their hopes and dreams lying on the ground. The singer reiterates their disagreement, saying that they must say they're wrong. The chorus repeats the phrase "Goodbye horses," which can be interpreted in various ways, including saying farewell to something wild and free.
Overall, the song's meaning is open to interpretation, featuring poetic imagery and a sense of yearning. It speaks to the universal themes of endings, change, and the human experience of trying to hold on to something fleeting.
Line by Line Meaning
Hoo, hoo-hoo, hoo-hoo
The sound of horses galloping away, representing the ending of a chapter in life.
He told me, I see you rise
But, it always falls
I see you come, I see you go
The singer is told that they always fall, no matter how high they rise or how many times they come and go.
He says, "All things pass, into the night"
And I say, "Oh no sir, I must say, you're wrong
I must disagree, oh no sir, I must say, you're wrong"
A won't you listen to me
The singer disagrees with the idea that everything fades away into nothingness and begs to be heard.
He told me, I've seen it all before
I've been there
I've seen my hopes and dreams a-lying on the ground
The artist is told that they are not the first to experience disappointment and defeat, and that the person speaking has also had their aspirations crumble.
I've seen the sky just begin to fall
He says, "All things pass, into the night"
And I say, "Oh no sir, I must say. you're wrong
I must disagree, oh no sir, I must say. you're wrong"
Won't you listen to me?
The artist vividly recalls a moment when the world seemed to be crashing down around them, and again begs to be heard regarding their belief that not everything fades away.
Goodbye horses
I'm flying over you
Goodbye horses
I'm flying over you
Goodbye horses
I'm flying over you
Goodbye horses
I'm flying, flying, flying over you!
The repetition of 'Goodbye horses, I'm flying' represents the singer leaving behind their past experiences and moving forward, soaring towards the future.
Contributed by Charlie O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@mikevillarreal8291
When I was diagnosed with cancer, I was listening to this on the car ride back home, I played it on a loop, and somehow, it let me know everything was gonna be fine... now hopefully I'm finishing treatment in a month, and I'm closer to remission.
A little update (11/11/2021): finally finished chemo a week ago, there were some hurdles like some covid scares along the way, but for what it's worth, I only have my PET scan left in December, but the docs are really optimistic I defeated this on the first run.
I'm overwhelmed with all your well wishes, motivational comments, and prayers. Thank you guys from all my heart. I knew I could find kindred spirits from this song.
Big update (23/03/2022): had a bit of a bump after that PET Scan, it was found my lymphoma grew a little bit, and had to go into further treatment. I went to have Immunotherapy, and now, at last, my latest PET Scan showed a "Complete Response to Treatment", and now I'm going to have a Stem Cell Transplant.
In between these two scans, I got married and finally, I'm living with my girl. While it was quite complicated at last I see the light at the end of the tunnel, just one more round of treatment to consolidate this, and I'm done.
I'm still in awe of all of your good wishes, and how we all are enduring some fights of our own.
@literarystudies1861
You told me, I've seen it rise
But it always falls
I've see him come, I've seen him go
He said, "All things pass into the night"
And I said, "Oh no sir, I must say you're wrong
I must disagree, oh no sir, I must say you're wrong
Won't you listen to me?"
You told me, "I've seen it all before
I've been there, I've seen my hopes and dreams
A-lying on the ground
I've seen the sky just begin to fall"
He said, "All things pass into the night"
And I said, "Oh no sir, I must say you're wrong
I must disagree, oh no sir, I must say you're wrong
Won't you listen to me?"
Goodbye horses, I'm flying over you
Goodbye horses, I'm flying over you
Goodbye horses, I'm flying over you
Goodbye horses, I'm flying, flying, flying over you
@user-gr2rj7xi3o
Never tell your psychiatrist that this is your favorite song
@billywaynemcwilliams9063
Underrated comment
@calei8738
why?
@thetribber
F**k! This IS my favourite song...
@gigemaggies50
It is.
@phineasmurph9539
Bad to tell to a psychiatrist because hes saying hes flying with horses. when it was clearly a hallucination
@TheDeadeye42
I got tossed out of a bar in Colorado for doing the "Buffalo Bill" to this on karaoke night, in 2009. I regret nothing.
@gemmacrybaby8808
Good
@rachelosborne8456
TheDeadeye42 which part of colorado if you dont mind my asking? my home state 😉
@themanlikekg
TheDeadeye42 bro 😂😂😂