Horizontal Departure
Robert Plant Lyrics


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And you said you'd never leave me
In fact you said you'd be my only one
I said you'd never grieve me baby
For things do when you are only having fun, fun.

You said you'd cry a river
I thought you meant you'd cry a river of tears
You'd rather die than live without me baby
But little girl you're so insincere
You know you count your blessings
But now I find that you were counting sheep, counting sheep

And then I try to court your feelings
I caught your eye and then you caught my cheek
All the trees (prisoners?) must come to view (feed?) now
And there you stood so proud the apple of my eye

You said you'd never leave me baby
But little girl that's the reason why
Whoa, that's why I have to leave you all alone
Whoa, that's why you have to leave me all alone
Let's go collect our prize now

So entertaining we were no-one no-one (number one, number one?)
The judge is hypnotized now
But after all we both fooled (bought the fool) for so damn long
So face the crowd and take a bow now, bow now
'Cause one more time and it will all be done
'Cause I must have been a show to you now baby

My next performance has just begun
Whoa, that's why I have to leave you all alone
Whoa, that's why you have to leave me all alone
Whoa, that's why I have to leave you all alone
Whoa, that's why you have to leave me all alone

Oh, Stop and think for a minute baby
As they bring the curtain down
Another drink then another, maybe
The toast might not make rounds (To do so nothing rhymes?)
I chose the style, the duck and the weaving (wheel?)
We were famous for And here's to him, and here's to yours and
You can thank me for the floor (... take the floor the floor)
Whoa, that's why I have to leave you all alone
Whoa, that's why you have to leave me all alone

I don't know, so you turned around and found another fool
I don't know, so you turned around and found another




I don't know, so you turned around and found another fool
I don't know, so you turned around and found another

Overall Meaning

In Robert Plant's "Horizontal Departure," the lyrics present a story of a romantic relationship that began with promises of fidelity but ended with deception and betrayal. The singer recalls how his partner assured him of her undying love and devotion, but then turned out to be insincere and false. He acknowledges that they were both charmed by their relationship's excitement and prestige but ultimately turned into fools. He resolves to move on from the relationship, even as his partner goes on to find another "fool." The lyrics suggest that the singer has learned an invaluable lesson about the impermanence of love and the dangers of clinging to those who are not true.


Plant's vocals in "Horizontal Departure" capture the song's sense of disillusionment and regret. The lyrics' verses build towards a climactic chorus, which conveys the singer's hurt and anger in equal measure. The song itself is an up-tempo rock number with a driving rhythm that propels the song forward.


Line by Line Meaning

And you said you'd never leave me
You promised to never leave me


In fact you said you'd be my only one
You even said you would be my only love


I said you'd never grieve me baby
I assured you that you would never upset me


For things do when you are only having fun, fun.
But when we're just having fun, things can happen


You said you'd cry a river
You claimed you would cry so much


I thought you meant you'd cry a river of tears
I mistakenly believed you meant literal tears


You'd rather die than live without me baby
You claimed you would rather die than live without me


But little girl you're so insincere
But now I see that you were insincere


You know you count your blessings
You acknowledge the good things in your life


But now I find that you were counting sheep, counting sheep
But I now see that you were really just daydreaming


And then I try to court your feelings
I tried to make you feel loved


I caught your eye and then you caught my cheek
You flirted with me and I flirted back


All the trees (prisoners?) must come to view (feed?) now
We must face reality now


And there you stood so proud the apple of my eye
You stood there so confidently, my beloved


You said you'd never leave me baby
You reiterated that you wouldn't leave me


But little girl that's the reason why
But that's precisely why I have to leave you alone


Whoa, that's why I have to leave you all alone
I have to leave you because of your insincerity


Whoa, that's why you have to leave me all alone
And you have to leave me because I can't trust you


Let's go collect our prize now
Let's go and reap the rewards of our relationship


So entertaining we were no-one no-one (number one, number one?)
We were so entertaining that we could have been the top performers


The judge is hypnotized now
The judge is captivated by us


But after all we both fooled (bought the fool) for so damn long
But in the end, we were both deceiving each other for a long time


So face the crowd and take a bow now, bow now
So let's acknowledge our accomplishments and take a bow


'Cause one more time and it will all be done
But we can only do this once, or it'll all be over


'Cause I must have been a show to you now baby
Because I was just an amusement to you


My next performance has just begun
But now, I'm moving on to my next act


Oh, Stop and think for a minute baby
Oh, please just take a moment to reflect


As they bring the curtain down
As our show comes to an end


Another drink then another, maybe
Maybe we should just have another drink


The toast might not make rounds (To do so nothing rhymes?)
But we might not have time to celebrate with a toast


I chose the style, the duck and the weaving (wheel?)
I chose to dodge and weave through this relationship


We were famous for
That's what we were famous for


And here's to him, and here's to yours and
And now, let's raise a glass to you, and to me


You can thank me for the floor (... take the floor the floor)
And you can thank me for all we've accomplished here


I don't know, so you turned around and found another fool
I don't know what happened, but you moved on to someone else


I don't know, so you turned around and found another
I don't know how you did it, but you moved on


I don't know, so you turned around and found another fool
I don't know who he is, but you found another person to deceive




Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: JEZZ WOODROFFE, PAUL MARTINEZ, ROBBIE BLUNT, ROBERT A PLANT

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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