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.
Pol
HORSE the band Lyrics
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Violence ears and whiskers flapping as its yellow
Flesh comes slapping across the rank filth of this
Ancient subterranean floor. its hate knows no bounds
As its home knows no sounds (but the)
Flapping slapping splatting of its yellow flesh
I am the herald of light I withdraw a shining glory, a
Single loving-end of story, the only weakness, a grace
Silver light my arrows take flight unleashed splits
Pols voices head and spills its thoughts and dreams
unleashed in crimson red across this floor
unleashed a host of yellow bodies comes crashing to
My feet neat! a host of slapping yellow bodies comes
Crashing in crimson piles a host of slapping yellow
Bodies comes crashing in crimson piles a host of
Slapping yellow bodies comes crashing in crimson piles
A host of slapping yellow bodies comes crashing in
Crimson piles running away running away running away
From your own voice running away running away running
Away from pols voice! silence! silence! silence!
Silence!
The lyrics of HORSE the band's song Pol's Voice tell a story of a creature known as Pol's Voice, who is violent and hateful, but also known for its silence. The creature's yellow flesh slaps across the ancient subterranean floor as it moves. The singer of the song, who is the "herald of light," withdraws a shining glory and unleashes a host of arrows that split Pol's Voice's head and spill its thoughts and dreams on the floor in crimson red. As a result, a host of yellow bodies comes crashing in crimson piles at the singer's feet. The song ends with the singer running away from Pol's Voice's silence.
The lyrics of Pol's Voice are about the power of sound and silence. Pol's Voice is a creature that is known for its silence, yet it is violent and hateful. The singer represents light and goodness, and by unleashing arrows that split Pol's Voice's head and spill its thoughts and dreams, the singer shows the power of sound and its ability to overcome darkness and violence. The silence of Pol's Voice is also a symbol of fear and repression. The singer is running away from this silence, which represents the fear of one's own voice and the repression of one's own thoughts and feelings.
Line by Line Meaning
Its name mocks its silence, a worthless beast born to
The creature's name is a taunt to its lack of sound, it was created only for destruction
Violence ears and whiskers flapping as its yellow
Its physical appearance expresses the violence inside it, with flapping ears and whiskers and yellow flesh
Flesh comes slapping across the rank filth of this
The creature moves grotesquely, slapping its flesh across the dirty floor
Ancient subterranean floor. its hate knows no bounds
The creature resides in an underground, ancient space, and its hatred is limitless
As its home knows no sounds (but the)
The creature's home is completely silent except for the sounds it makes
Flapping slapping splatting of its yellow flesh
The only noise in the creature's home is the unpleasant slap of its yellow flesh
I am the herald of light I withdraw a shining glory, a
The singer calls themselves the bringer of light and noble glory
Single loving-end of story, the only weakness, a grace
The artist has one solution to end a story: love. Their only weakness is their graceful vulnerability
Like wings, my bow sings. unleashed and in the
The artist's weapon is their bow, which sings like wings. They unleash their weapon during a moment of victory
Silver light my arrows take flight unleashed splits
In the silver light, the artist's arrows take flight and split their target
Pols voices head and spills its thoughts and dreams
The singer targets the creature, Pol's Voice, and destroys it, causing its thoughts and dreams to spill out
unleashed in crimson red across this floor
The creature's blood spills across the floor, red like crimson
Unleashed a host of yellow bodies comes crashing to
The creature's death causes a cascade of similar creatures to fall and crash to the ground
My feet neat! a host of slapping yellow bodies comes
The singer is left standing among the pile of dead creatures, which still slap and make noise
Crashing in crimson piles a host of slapping yellow
The bodies of the creatures continue to pile up, their yellow flesh slapping and making a racket
Bodies comes crashing in crimson piles a host of
The artist is overrun with the creatures' bodies, crashing and piling on top of each other
Slapping yellow bodies comes crashing in crimson piles running away running away running away
The artist tries to flee from the overwhelming number of creatures piling on them, repeatedly saying 'running away'
From your own voice running away running away running
The singer is running away from something, specifically their own voice
Away from pols voice! silence! silence! silence!
The creature Pol's Voice is so terrifying that the singer runs away from it, begging for silence
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: ARKENSTONE, CALL, ENGSTROM, ISEN, PROPHET, WINNEKE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind