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.
The Greatest Weight
HORSE the band Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And say to you, "Everything unutterably small or great in this life will have to return to you,
All in the same succession and sequence, even this spider and this moonlight between the trees, and even this moment and I myself - the eternal hourglass."
Speck of dust!
Speck of dust!
Speck of dust!
Or have you once experienced a tremendous moment when you would have answered him..
You would have answered him..
You would have answered him:
"You are a god and never have I heard anything more divine!"
If this thought gained possession of you, it would change you,
Or perhaps it would crush you;
The question in each and everything,
"Do you desire this once more, and innumerable times more?"
The question in each and everything,
"Do you desire this once more, and innumerable times more?"
Would you lie upon your actions as the greatest weight!
This life as you now live and have lived it before,
You will live once again
And there will be nothing,
But every pain and joy,
And every thought and sigh,
And every pain and joy,
And every thought and sigh!
Or how well disposed would you become to yourself and to life to crave nothing more fervently than this ultimate eternal confirmation and seal?
The question is..
The question is..
The question is..
The greatest weight!
The lyrics to HORSE the band's song The Greatest Weight are inspired by Friedrich Nietzsche's concept of the Eternal Recurrence. Nietzsche believed that everyone's life would be repeated an infinite number of times, and that we should embrace this idea and live our lives as if we are constantly reliving them. The opening lines of the song are a direct quote from Nietzsche's book, Thus Spoke Zarathustra, in which he poses the question of how one would react if they were confronted with the reality of eternal recurrence. The demon in the lyrics represents this idea and is asking the singer if they would be willing to relive their life multiple times, with all of its pain and joy intact. The singer is challenged to consider whether they would be willing to embrace the idea of eternal recurrence and accept the weight of all their actions and experiences.
The chorus of the song is a repeated chant of "Speck of dust!" which further emphasizes our smallness in the grand scheme of things. It is a reminder that our lives are fleeting and insignificant, but also that even the smallest moments and things will be repeated for eternity. The song's energy and frenzied instrumentation convey a sense of urgency and the need to fully embrace life, even if it means experiencing the pain and weight of it all.
Overall, The Greatest Weight is a thought-provoking exploration of Nietzsche's philosophy and challenges the listener to consider the weight of their own existence and how they choose to live their life.
Line by Line Meaning
What if some day or night a demon were to steal after you into your loneliest loneliness
Imagine a demon haunting your deepest moments of solitude
And say to you, 'Everything unutterably small or great in this life will have to return to you,
The demon reminds you that all things in life will come back to you eventually,
All in the same succession and sequence, even this spider and this moonlight between the trees, and even this moment and I myself - the eternal hourglass.'
Everything will be repeated in a never-ending cycle.
Speck of dust!
We are all insignificant in the grand scheme of things.
Speck of dust!
We are all insignificant in the grand scheme of things.
Speck of dust!
We are all insignificant in the grand scheme of things.
Would you not throw yourself down and gnash your teeth and curse the demon who spoke thus?
If faced with this realization, would you not be angry and refuse to accept it?
Or have you once experienced a tremendous moment when you would have answered him..
Have you ever had an epiphany that would allow you to answer the demon's question differently?
You would have answered him..
You would have accepted the repetition of life.
You would have answered him:
'You are a god and never have I heard anything more divine!'
You would have embraced the never-ending cycle of life.
If this thought gained possession of you, it would change you,
This realization would have a profound impact on you.
Or perhaps it would crush you;
Or it would be too much to handle and could destroy you.
The question in each and everything,
'Do you desire this once more, and innumerable times more?'
The question in each and everything,
'Do you desire this once more, and innumerable times more?'
Would you lie upon your actions as the greatest weight!
The question is whether you would knowingly do everything again an infinite number of times, and carry the weight of that knowledge.
This life as you now live and have lived it before,
You will live once again
And there will be nothing,
But every pain and joy,
And every thought and sigh,
And every pain and joy,
And every thought and sigh!
Life will be repeated, with every event and emotion played out over and over.
Or how well disposed would you become to yourself and to life to crave nothing more fervently than this ultimate eternal confirmation and seal?
Or, would you accept the repetition so fully that it becomes your greatest desire?
The question is..
The question is..
The question is..
The greatest weight!
The ultimate question is the greatest burden to bear.
Contributed by Kaitlyn I. Suggest a correction in the comments below.