After fronting several rock bands in his native Idaho, singer/songwriter Justin Ringle moved to Portland, OR in 2004 and began focusing on acoustic music, playing open mics regularly under the moniker Horse Feathers. In 2005, multi-instrumentalist Peter Broderick heard a couple of Justin's demos and offered to help flesh them out. In February 2006 the duo went into Skyler Norwood's Miracle Lake studios and recorded their debut album, Words are Dead, which was released that September on Portland label, Lucky Madison. Later that year, Peter's sister Heather Broderick joined the group on cello and by 2007, Horse Feathers began featuring a rotating cast of instrumentalists backing Justin's guitar and vocals.
Justin and the Brodericks returned to Miracle Lake studios in the fall and winter of 2007 and recorded House With No Home, which was released on Kill Rock Stars in the spring of 2008. Around that time, Peter left the country to pursue music in Europe, and Nathan Crockett was enlisted to cover violin duties. Several months later, Heather also left the group to pursue other musical projects and cellist Catherine Odell came on board. The current lineup was rounded out at the beginning of 2009 when Sam Cooper joined as a multi-instrumentalist. As a four piece, the group has been touring extensively and released a new album entitled Thistled Spring on Kill Rock Stars, April 20th, 2010.
Blood on the Snow
Horse Feathers Lyrics
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Of which she knows,
The smell in her clothes,
The smell in her nose.
There's blood on the snow.
Bring your love,
It's on your tongue,
And in your toes.
There's blood on the snow.
Tuesday's violence,
We're alone.
Into their beds they approach their doom.
Their heads, their lips, their chests, their hips, they walk.
Them bones they move, they talk.
Their bones they bleed they rot.
Their tones they're forged, they're wrought,
Into what they're not.
The lyrics of "Blood on the Snow" by Horse Feathers depict a scene of violence and tragedy. The first verse describes a woman who is haunted by painful memories, represented by the smell of blood on her clothes and in her nose. The second verse shifts focus to an unknown person who is urged to bring their love with them on their travels. However, the repetition of the phrase "there's blood on the snow" creates a sense of foreboding, suggesting that violence and death are imminent. The final verse describes a group of people who are approaching their "doom" as they move towards their beds. The personification of their bones, which move, talk, bleed and rot, suggests that death is not just a physical state but also an existential one. The final line, "their tones they're forged, they're wrought, into what they're not," suggests that the characters' identity, or perhaps their sense of self, is being transformed by the violence they are experiencing, leaving them unrecognizable even to themselves.
Overall, "Blood on the Snow" is a haunting, poetic exploration of the traumatic effects of violence and its lasting impact on those who survive it.
Line by Line Meaning
Painless ghosts,
Those that haunt her are absent of pain,
Of which she knows,
She is familiar with these ethereal beings,
The smell in her clothes,
She carries the scent of the ghosts with her,
The smell in her nose.
She can smell them, they are ever present,
There's blood on the snow.
There is a killing field, the ground is crimson,
Bring your love,
Come, bring all that you have to offer,
It's on your tongue,
You speak of your affection,
It's on your roads,
It is the path you have chosen to take,
And in your toes.
Love consumes you, it is in your very core,
There's blood on the snow.
There is a wreckage left behind, a trail of disaster,
Tuesday's violence,
The date is irrelevant, the act is brutal,
We're alone.
There is no one to witness the horrors,
Into their beds they approach their doom.
The victims unknowingly walk to their deaths,
Their heads, their lips, their chests, their hips, they walk.
They do not know what is coming, they continue walking,
Them bones they move, they talk.
There is movement, but it is not life that speaks,
Their bones they bleed they rot.
Flesh is no longer a part of them, they decay,
Their tones they're forged, they're wrought,
Their spirits are captured, they are manipulated,
Into what they're not.
They are changed, they are no longer alive,
Contributed by Anna V. Suggest a correction in the comments below.