“I’ve been thinking,” said McLean,“how the best stories have their ending in mind before they begin. Let’s make a record together and call it 'Outlaw Ballads'. I’m not sure what it'll be about, but it feels right, doesn't it?”
It was spring of 2010. The future was hazy and the story was unclear, but it did feel right to tell it. Perhaps as they told it, it would start to make sense.
The name The Horse Thieves also felt right. Mclean was descended from a long line of horse thieves somewhere in southwest Scotland, and Miller, who raises Arabian horses, had aspired to be a professional horse trainer before music took over. The name, like the music, was the natural outgrowth of who they were, both alone and together.
Miller had tasted some success in Europe playing with the band Black Apache, but the band was on hiatus, its future uncertain. He'd written the song 'Travelin' Man' while playing with them, but the song had seemed distant, from another time - possibly the future. McLean had been pushing his solo career uphill for half a decade, but felt like it was going in the wrong direction. Both felt the growing tension of their plans, their projects, and the people in their lives.
That summer, Miller’s marriage of five years ended, clarifying the looming sense of heaviness he'd felt for some time. As many do in dark times, Miller retreated, stoking fires of loss and heartache in the dark parts of the soul that only true outlaws ever visit, and rarely with another. Which is what makes this story so special. Out of a wasteland of deep loss and rejection, a true friendship was cultivated and Mclean began to write songs with Miller in mind. Songs like 'Vagabond', written by McLean, tells a piece of Miller’s struggle. A real story, though a hard one to tell, was finally beginning to unfold.
In the fall, they began recording Outlaw Ballads in a guest house on Miller’s family ranch. Miller took over most of the production, and they pieced together songs that each had written in response to the difficulties he was facing. 'Ignorance is Bliss' and 'O River' came out at this time, born of long talks and meditation about how life is never what you think it's going to be. They recorded through the winter, often working through cold nights and shoveling cars out of the snow in the mornings. 'Outlaw Ballads' began to take shape. So did the band.
As the project neared completion, Fawn Dasovich - a mutual friend of McLean and Miller - heard the recordings and felt an immediate connection to the songs. Dasovich began working on the record, bringing it to a new place. After adding her haunting keys to 'The Devil Told Me So', everyone knew that Dasovich was there to stay.
Finishing the record that winter was a milestone for the still forming band, but they were now faced with obstacles that McLean had foreseen for some time. He'd been working with a small record label as a singer/songwriter, and the conflict of interests was becoming obvious. Still wanting to keep his other commitments, Mclean chose to put The Horse Thieves on hold.
He spent that spring touring, but The Horse Thieves were never far from his mind. The songs that stirred in him when he put his pen toward that band felt like home, and home is an alluring thing when you are far from it. 'Throw the Dice' was written during this time, as McLean agonized over which endeavor to follow. By late spring The Horse Thieves had played some small shows locally, but were afraid to draw much attention to themselves while McLean worked out his issues.
Despite the band's reluctance to self promote, what had started out as a side-project - little more than songs scribbled like road maps looking for direction - was gathering its own inertia. Having not yet released any material and largely keeping the band a secret, The Horse Thieves found themselves featured on the cover of The Pacific Northwest Inlander, a publication with a circulation of a quarter-million people. It turns out people are drawn to secrets, and the band was suddenly handed unintentional success.
It was this success that McLean contemplated one night while camping with friends in a valley, beside a lake. He stayed up all night, thinking how there are things we work hard for, and in the end, bring about almost reluctantly. Other things seem to stir at the very thought of them. The Horse Thieves was the latter and he knew it. He was tired of standing in the way.
'Outlaw Ballads' - ironically titled, in light of how he now felt - still sat on the shelf, and now new material was emerging. Mclean decided that night to set down one thing and pick up another; to walk away from what he'd built and pick up what had grown from it. Every new story begins at the end of the one that went before, and 'Valley of Decision' - The Horse Thieves' second album - began that night.
What Outlaw Ballads was to Miller’s story, 'Valley of Decision' was to Mclean's. Songs like 'Dakota Wind' and 'Dakota Wind II' looked to the past for directions to the future, chasing elusive memories for answers. The Horse Thieves released both albums on the same day. Not because they set out to, but because that's how the story told itself.
Jordan Miller - Adam's brother and former Black Apache frontman - joined the band soon after production of 'Valley of Decision' began, lending his musical talents and charisma to the mix. Drummer Tiffany Stephens joined later, at the very end of the recording process; drawn in by the content of the songs and the spirit of the band. With a bright future ahead and many trials behind, The Horse Thieves’ story is finally ready to be told.
Vagabond
The Horse Thieves Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
was gold?
and the world was lighter and easier to hold?
and all our questions had an answer
all our problems had a veil
and all our heroes had the devil by the tail?
goodness is lonely, the truth is cold
and the world got heavy and the story got old
and the silver chord was cut
and the devil paid our heroes to shut up
heaven help me
where the hell have you been?
you were the only thing that was ever making sense
in the valley of the shadow
in the midnight of the soul
you're an outlaw from the things you love the most
and i wanted home so bad
it made me a vagabond
yeah you said this won't be easy
but come on
yeah you said this won't be easy
but come on
my heart is heavy in the future
so i'm told
the more i found out the less i really think i know
and all those times i thought i had an answer
now i wish i hadn't spoke
words have a way of sayin nothing, you know?
a storm through a pillow and not for a dream
silence has a way of talkin', to me
and i'll fall with an angel
till the morning finally came
still feel like im waiting on a name
heaven help me, where the hell have you been?
you were the only thing that was really making sense
and i love you
and i hate you
i want to carry on your fire
yeah believe me if you want but i'm a liar
and i wanted home so bad
it made me a vagabond
yeah you said this won't be easy
but come on
yeah you said this won't be easy
but come on
heaven help me, where the hell have you been?
you were the only thing that was ever making sense
i'm a prophet with no prediction
i'm a truth told through fiction
i want you, i want you
amen
and i wanted home so bad
it made me a vagabond
yeah you said this won't be easy
but come on
yeah you said this won't be easy
but come on
yeah you said this won't be easy
but come on
The lyrics of The Horse Thieves song Vagabond explore the idea of a longing for a simpler time when the world was less heavy and complex. The opening line "Do you remember when silver was gold?" is a metaphor for a time when things were better, simpler, and easier. The lyrics then proceed to contrast that time with the present where goodness is lonely, truth is cold, and the world has become heavy and difficult to navigate. The song also touches on the idea that sometimes our questions lead to more questions, and sometimes the answers we thought we knew were actually wrong. The feeling of being lost and searching for a sense of belonging is expressed in the chorus, "And I wanted home so bad it made me a vagabond." The lyrics also express a sense of frustration and confusion as the singer struggles to make sense of the world around them. The singer calls out to heaven for help, but wonders where it has been all this time.
The lyrics of the song are deep and introspective, exploring the idea of longing for a simpler and better time. The song expresses frustration and confusion and asks big questions about the world and our place in it. The metaphor of a silver chord being cut, and the devil paying our heroes to shut up, serves to illustrate how things have become corrupted and twisted over time. Ultimately, the song suggests that despite the difficulties we face, we must keep moving forward and try to find our way home.
Line by Line Meaning
do you remember when silver
was gold?
Remember when things were easier and life seemed brighter?
and the world was lighter and easier to hold?
When everything in life was simpler?
and all our questions had an answer
all our problems had a veil
and all our heroes had the devil by the tail?
We used to think our problems were simple, but we soon realized they were more complicated than we thought, and our heroes weren't as powerful as we wanted them to be.
goodness is lonely, the truth is cold
and the world got heavy and the story got old
The world is a heavy place and the truth is hard to swallow. Life became more complicated.
and all our answers gave us questions
and the silver chord was cut
Our solutions created more problems and we lost touch with our innocent perspective.
and the devil paid our heroes to shut up
Our heroes became corrupt and were silenced by greed.
heaven help me
where the hell have you been?
As we grow older and experience more complex situations, we lose faith and question our spirituality.
you were the only thing that was ever making sense
in the valley of the shadow
in the midnight of the soul
Amidst the darkness and confusion, we hold onto the hope that our spirituality is the only clarity we have.
you're an outlaw from the things you love the most
Sometimes the things we love can be the things that keep us from true freedom.
and i wanted home so bad
it made me a vagabond
We yearn for a place to belong and call home, but when we can't find it, we become wanderers.
yeah you said this won't be easy
but come on
Life is tough, but we have to keep pushing through.
my heart is heavy in the future
so i'm told
the more i found out the less i really think i know
We are anxious about the future, but as we grow older, we realize the less we know.
and all those times i thought i had an answer
now i wish i hadn't spoke
words have a way of sayin nothing, you know?
Our past mistakes and wrong answers haunt us, and sometimes words are futile.
a storm through a pillow and not for a dream
silence has a way of talkin', to me
The tumultuous thoughts we have can be noisy, but true silence can reveal more than we expect.
and i'll fall with an angel
till the morning finally came
still feel like im waiting on a name
We cling onto hope and inner guidance, but still feel lost and searching.
i'm a prophet with no prediction
i'm a truth told through fiction
We want to enlighten others with our thoughts, but we may not always have the answers or solutions.
i want you, i want you
amen
We yearn for completeness and peace, even if it means praying for it.
Contributed by Lillian A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Havilah Goodenough
Should be "A stone for a pillow and a ladder for a dream" "and I fought with an angel till the morning finally came"
@carraraunited
Last week a friend of mine recommended me the band, and it was an awesome discovery, this song is one of my favorites and has one of the most beautiful lyrics I've ever heard. Thanks!
@fudgerolos
This is real music <3 So glad I discovered this band
@mattthefilmguy1849
I got to hear this song performed live way back in 2014. It means so much to me and has captured a lot of what I felt in my own life as I grew up and drifted away from the beliefs I was raised with. Still listening to it all these years later.
@PatMeruseye
what a beautiful song..
@touslesbluess
Beautiful.
@TV6377_
a shame that such a beautiful song and such a great band is so unknown :/
@melvde
my favorite horse thieve song!
@WeavingThroughTime
Always stuck in my head. So lovely.
@cuocujimmy
I just happened to come across this, Im so glad I did, what a lovely song, sung so well.