HORSE the band's lyrics are chaotic and colorful metaphors for vocalist Nathan Winneke's life, often with humorous or abstract pop culture reference titles and bases. Winneke has referred to his style on multiple occasions as "lynchian" in reference to his favorite film director David Lynch and his obtuse narrative style.
The band had jokingly labeled themselves "Nintendocore" very early on in their career in reference to the synth sound they had adopted. Some Nintendo characters that are metaphorically referred to include Cut Man from Mega Man, although the song is spelled "Cutsman" because the song was about a childhood friend Winneke grew up with and that was how they had said the character's name in youth; "Birdo", one of the bosses from the NES game Super Mario Bros. 2, in the song "Birdo" which was actually about Winneke's distaste for eggs and traumatic experiences with his stepfather early in his life ; and the rabbit-like nemesis from The Legend of Zelda in the song "Pol's Voice" which is about Winneke's early loathing of the sound of his own voice. Similarly, the song "A Million Exploding Suns" refers to the Marvel Comics character Sentry, a schizophrenic and agoraphobic hero with this abundance of power, pertaining to Winneke's double life as a musician and as a video rental clerk.
2007's A Natural Death featured significant lyrical and musical evolution into the concepts of nature and mortality while moving slightly away from the Nintendo metaphors. The song "Murder" is inspired by the Western novel Lonesome Dove, in which a Native American named Blue Duck stalks and kills white settlers on the plains. "Hyperborea" as a reference to Robert E. Howard's original "Conan" pulp fantasy stories from the 30s, and "The Red Tornado," a DC comics character from the company of which Winneke is such an open enthusiast.
The band's line-up has continuously fluctuated in its 10 year history. In February it was announced that Chris Prophet had been fired and Jon Karel from The Number Twelve Looks Like You would be filling in on drums during Earth Tour. In July, 2008 the band stated that long-time band friend Daniel Pouliot of Bleeding Kansas had joined as the band's full time drummer. On Wednesday, December 3 2008, the band announced that Dash Arkenstone would be leaving the band soon, though he remains on good terms with the other members and has attended local shows.
The band booked its own tours starting the summer of 2002, including a 3-month tour spanning seven countries. With a carefully maintained web presence including their MP3.com and MySpace accounts, they had gained themselves a niche audience. In the summer of 2004, the HORSE the World Tour 2004 included 85 shows in 90 days, spanning 7 countries throughout North America and Europe.
Their latest album, titled Desperate Living, was released on October 6, 2009.
7 tentacles 8 flames
HORSE the band Lyrics
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red and blue, the green, yellow and white. They linger
in so lovingly to songs so gay i SCREAM!!! brighter
than the stars themselves and sweeter than ice cream.
the masses meld, the titans come, a crowd torn asunder
to a quivering mass, they smile down to me and devour
my face and hEAD!!!!! and everything - was washed
away, i was bathed in a light screaming i won't break!
aahhgfhgkuuuuuuukgfffffkluklyfj!!!!!! illu min ated
hun gry smiles ca ter pillars and croc o diles light
bulb flash pulse bright night bright light- everyone's
fucked THINGS NEVER CHANGE just re-arrange like a
suicide it's do or die IT'S COMING DOWN AGAIN like a
grain of sand it's in your eye now you're blind
In "Seven Tentacles and Eight Flames" by HORSE the band, the singer undergoes a transformative experience, being mesmerized by servants of various colors of light, singing songs so gay that the singer screams. The masses meld and the titans arrive, causing the crowd to quiver and the singer to be devoured. Everything is then washed away, and the singer is bathed in purest white light, feeling illuminated but hungry. The scene is chaotic, with caterpillars and crocodiles and flashing lights, and in the end, the singer is left blind.
The lyrics are full of vivid imagery and seem to be describing a hallucinogenic experience. The different colors of light symbolize various emotional and psychological states. The red and blue may represent passion and sorrow, green for envy, yellow for optimism, and white for purity. The mesmerized narrator is overwhelmed by the intensity of these emotions and is left powerless as the chaotic scene unfolds. The brightness of the stars and sweetness of ice cream emphasize the sensory overload experienced by the singer.
Overall, the lyrics to "Seven Tentacles and Eight Flames" suggest a surrender to a higher power or a loss of control. The experience is transformative but ultimately overwhelming, leaving the singer blind and uncertain. The chaotic imagery and vivid descriptions of sensory overload convey a sense of intense emotion and a sense of being swept up in something beyond one's control.
Line by Line Meaning
I'm mesmerized, a servant of the light, servant to the red and blue, the green, yellow and white.
I am entranced and feel like a devotee of the light, serving every color of it - red, blue, green, yellow, and white.
They linger in so lovingly to songs so gay i SCREAM!!! brighter than the stars themselves and sweeter than ice cream.
The colors of the light are present in such an enchanting way while listening to happy songs that I scream. The intensity of the colors is even brighter than the stars and infinitely sweeter than ice cream.
the masses meld, the titans come, a crowd torn asunder to a quivering mass, they smile down to me and devour my face and hEAD!!!!! and everything - was washed away, i was bathed in a light screaming i won't break!
The masses join together and seem to be devoured by titans, leaving only a trembling mass. The titans gaze at me, eating everything including my face and head, which caused all the negativity to be washed away. I was left to bask in a light that was screaming at me that I wouldn't falter.
WHITE!!!!! PUREST LIGHT!!! clean again but limited.
The purest form of light is white, which has made everything clean once more, but this feeling is limited.
aahhgfhgkuuuuuuukgfffffkluklyfj!!!!!! illu min ated hungry smiles ca ter pillars and croc o diles light bulb flash pulse bright night bright light- everyone's fucked
This is an expression of confusion in response to the change in atmosphere. Illuminated creatures that are smiling and seem to be starving are joined by caterpillars and crocodiles. Light bulbs flash in a bright pulse of light, causing everyone to be severely affected by the change.
THINGS NEVER CHANGE just re-arrange like a suicide it's do or die IT'S COMING DOWN AGAIN like a grain of sand it's in your eye now you're blind
Life is constantly shifting, but it never truly changes. It only rearranges itself, similar to how one feels during a suicide mission where it's either do or die. Everything is crashing down like a small grain of sand entering someone's eye and blinding them.
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: ARKENSTONE, ENGSTROM, ISEN, PROPHET, WINNEKE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind