Seán Dagher, cittern, ‘ud, voice
Seán Dagher is a… Read Full Bio ↴Seán Dagher
Seán Dagher, cittern, ‘ud, voice
Seán Dagher is an active performer, arranger, and composer of music from various folk and classical music traditions: Celtic, Baroque, Medieval, Arabic, French-Canadian, and Maritime. He is artistic director of Skye Consort and its principal arranger. He often provides arrangements for other ensembles and artists, including La Mandragore, Pierre Lapointe, Shannon Mercer, I Furiosi, Les Voix Baroques, Les Voix Humaines and La Nef. His music has been performed across Canada and the United States. Seán Dagher has worked with the Festival du Monde Arabe creating shows of Middle Eastern and North African music. He has arranged and composed music for audio books, with story-teller and musician Suzanne De Serres Youth Program Director for La Nef, and for American author Sandra Gulland. He has been a composer and sound designer for theatre productions. He has been nominated for numerous Adisq awards and participated in the Adisq-winning CD, La Traverse Miraculeuse with La Nef and Les Charbonniers de l’enfer. Despite all that, Seán Dagher can most frequently be found singing and playing in Irish pubs.
Dead Horse
Sean Dagher Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Came riding by.
And we say so,
And we know so.
O, a poor old man
Came riding by,
O, poor old man.
Your horse will die."
And we say so,
And we know so.
And if he dies
We′ll tan his hide.
O, poor old man.
And if he don't,
I′ll ride him again.
And we say so,
And we know so.
And I'll ride him
'Til the Lord knows when,
O, poor old man.
He′s dead as a nail
In the lamp room door,
And we say so,
And we know so.
And he won′t come
Worrying us no more
O, poor old man.
We'll use the hair of his tail
To sew our sails
And we say so,
And we know so.
And the iron of his shoes
To make deck nails,
O, poor old man.
Drop him down
With a long long rope
And we say so,
And we hope so.
Where the sharks have his body
And the devil takes his soul!
O, poor old man.
The song "Dead Horse" tells the story of a poor old man who is riding by on his horse. The singer warns the old man that his horse is going to die, but the old man continues riding anyway. Eventually, the horse does die, and the singers decide to make use of the animal's remains. They plan to tan its hide if it dies, or to ride it again if it doesn't. When the horse does die, they use its hair to sew sails and its iron shoes to make deck nails. Finally, they drop the horse's body into the water where sharks can consume it.
The song's lyrics can be seen as a commentary on the harsh realities of life and the struggles of poor people. The old man is poor and likely cannot afford a new horse, so he tries to make do with what he has for as long as possible, even when others warn him that the horse is going to die. The fact that the singers make use of the horse's remains, even after it has died, demonstrates the resourcefulness and practicality of people in poverty. The macabre final verse, in which the old man's body is fed to sharks, adds a dark twist to the story and underscores the harshness of life for those living in poverty.
Line by Line Meaning
A poor old man
Came riding by.
And we say so,
And we know so.
O, a poor old man
Came riding by,
O, poor old man.
An elderly man on horseback passed by us, and we acknowledge his presence with certainty, acknowledging his lack of wealth and status. Poor thing.
Says I, "Old man,
Your horse will die."
And we say so,
And we know so.
And if he dies
We′ll tan his hide.
O, poor old man.
I addressed the old man, predicting the death of his horse, which we will then flay and use the hide for our own purposes. How unfortunate for the old man.
And if he don't,
I′ll ride him again.
And we say so,
And we know so.
And I'll ride him
'Til the Lord knows when,
O, poor old man.
If the horse miraculously survives, I will continue to ride him endlessly for my own amusement, regardless of the horse's well-being. The poor old man can do nothing to stop me.
He′s dead as a nail
In the lamp room door,
And we say so,
And we know so.
And he won′t come
Worrying us no more
O, poor old man.
As predicted, the horse has died and we, having complete knowledge of its demise, are relieved to be free of its presence and any potential stress it may have caused. How unfortunate for the old man.
We'll use the hair of his tail
To sew our sails
And we say so,
And we know so.
And the iron of his shoes
To make deck nails,
O, poor old man.
We will use every last part of the dead horse, from its tail hair to its iron shoes, for our own material gain without any regard for the horse's life or the old man's feelings. How unfortunate.
Drop him down
With a long long rope
And we say so,
And we hope so.
Where the sharks have his body
And the devil takes his soul!
O, poor old man.
We will dispose of the horse's body in a manner that is cruel and disrespectful, hoping that it will be consumed by sharks and that the devil will claim its soul. What a tragic fate for the old man's horse.
Writer(s): Traditional, Min Seok Kim
Contributed by Adrian I. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@benytemes3094
A poor old man came riding by
And we say so and we know so
Oh, a poor old man came riding by
Oh poor old man
Says I old man your horse will die
And we say so and we know so
And if he dies we'll tan his hide
Oh poor old man
And if he don't i'll ride him again
And we say so and we know so
And I'll ride him till the lord knows when
Oh poor old man
Hes dead as a nail in the lamp room door
And we say so and we know so
And he wont come worrying us no more
Oh poor old man
We'll use the hair of his tail to sew our sails
And we say so and we know so
And the iron of his shoes to make deck nails
Oh poor old man
Drop him down with a long long rope
And we say so and we know so
Where the sharks will have his body and the devil takes his soul
Oh poor old man
@trevorfranks69
"Where the shark will have his body and the devil his soul."
Gives me goosebumps everytime.
@dylanfourie8450
Same here
@aczeartk7032
For real
@davidpadilla7510
Fr
@iguanamans1014
I find it amusing, this is the most entertaining song to me
@austinbarnes1159
And we say so, and we know so
@notoriousd.i.g.87
So they're gonna steal this old man's horse, ride it to death, tan its hide, use its hair to sow the sails, use its horseshoes to make nails, and then dump the body in the ocean to eliminate the evidence. Ladies and Gentlemen, behold the first example of a rapper snitching on himself in his album.
@yzn6160
🤣🤣🤣🤣This made me nearly piss myself LMFAO🤣🤣🤣🤣
@miscme6046
O my sea i love it
@lilpercocet1057
This song is literally them snitching on themselves