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.
HORSE the song
HORSE the band Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
What do you see?
Yellow burns orange -- now blue and green
Phantoms in your vision over all that you see
The damage is done to your desperate life
But you love the feeling and won't be denied
The moment passes
Echoes and rings
You see the color
You hear the song sing
1 - 2 - 3
H THE B
HORSE THE BAND!
Like a meteor strike! Atomizing everything in a sphere of light
Like a lion attack! Teeth and claws covered with the meat of your back
It cuts you up just to try
How do you sleep at night?
It cuts me up every time and I don't know why.
Come on! Come on! Come on!
This is like an earthquake!
Find you balance and start to shake
Come on! Come on! Come on!
Like an exploding sun... everything is done...
It cuts you up just to try
How do you sleep at night?
It cuts me up every time and i don't know why.
Living at the top [x3]
When you're at the fucking bottom
In "HORSE the Song," the lyrics describe an intense and overwhelming experience that causes the singer to see colors and hear echoes. The opening lines, "Look into the light / What do you see? Yellow burns orange -- now blue and green," describe the sensory overload that the singer is experiencing. They later describe "phantoms in [their] vision over all [they] see," indicating that the experience is so intense that it seems to be affecting their perception of reality.
The song also touches on themes of addiction and self-destruction. The lines "The damage is done to your desperate life / But you love the feeling and won't be denied" suggest that the singer is aware of the negative effects that their behavior is having on their life, but they continue to engage in it anyway. The repetition of "It cuts you up just to try / How do you sleep at night?" and "It cuts me up every time and I don't know why" further emphasizes this internal struggle and sense of confusion.
The chorus, "H THE B / HORSE THE BAND!" is a signature shout-out to the band themselves. The song's bridge, "Like a meteor strike! Atomizing everything in a sphere of light / Like a lion attack! Teeth and claws covered with the meat of your back" adds to the intensity of the song's imagery and gives a sense of chaos and destruction. The repeated refrain of "Come on! Come on! Come on!" builds the song up to an explosive climax, with the final lines, "Living at the top / When you're at the fucking bottom," emphasizing the song's themes of desperation and struggle.
Line by Line Meaning
Look into the light
Gaze at the source of the light and tell me what you see
What do you see?
What is the image and color that gets formed once you look into the light?
Yellow burns orange -- now blue and green
The color of what you see after looking into the light slowly transitions first from yellow to orange, then to blue and green.
Phantoms in your vision over all that you see
Several spirits or non-existing images start to appear and overlap with your vision, everywhere you look.
The damage is done to your desperate life
Your life has already been affected negatively and there's no going back now.
But you love the feeling and won't be denied
Despite the adverse effects of your actions, you enjoy the sensation and won't give it up.
Once is enough
One instance is sufficient to experience the event or sensation.
The moment passes
The period of time where the event or sensation exists passes away very quickly.
Echoes and rings
The sound resonates and creates continuous vibrations in your ears.
You see the color
You begin to see the range of colors of the event or sensation.
You hear the song sing
You begin to hear the music produced by the event or sensation.
1 - 2 - 3
A countdown to signal the start of an event.
H THE B
Abbreviation of the name HORSE THE BAND.
HORSE THE BAND!
Expression of excitement upon mentioning the name 'HORSE THE BAND'.
Like a meteor strike! Atomizing everything in a sphere of light
Comparing the effect of the event or sensation to a meteor strike, where it produces a bright light that vaporizes everything in its vicinity.
Like a lion attack! Teeth and claws covered with the meat of your back
Comparing the effect of the event or sensation to a lion attack, where the lion's teeth and claws have dug into your back, leaving meat and shredded skin behind.
It cuts you up just to try
Despite knowing the adverse outcome, you still try the event or sensation and it hurts you.
How do you sleep at night?
Asking how you can sleep peacefully at night, knowing the harm caused by what you do.
It cuts me up every time and I don't know why.
Despite the pain caused by the event or sensation, I still try it repeatedly, without an explanation as to why.
Come on! Come on! Come on!
Encouragement to proceed with the event or sensation.
This is like an earthquake!
Comparing the effect of the event or sensation to an earthquake, where everything around shakes and crumbles as a result.
Find you balance and start to shake
Trying to maintain balance during the event or sensation and starting to shake as a result of excitement or nervousness.
Like an exploding sun... everything is done...
Comparing the effect of the event or sensation to an exploding sun, where everything ends at once.
Living at the top [x3]
Expressing that you are at the top of the world, both physically and/or mentally.
When you're at the fucking bottom
The contrast between the first statement and this one, indicating that you may feel superior to others, but still feel like you are worthless on the inside.
Contributed by Jayden G. Suggest a correction in the comments below.