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The Byrds — Chestnut Mare
Album: Untitled
Avg rating:
6.6

Your rating:
Total ratings: 154









Released: 1970
Length: 5:03
Plays (last 30 days): 0
Always alone, never with a herd
Prettiest mare I've ever seen
You'll have to take my word

I'm gonna catch that horse if I can
And when I do I'll give her my brand

Well, I was up on the Stony Ridge after this chestnut mare
I'd been chasin' her for weeks
Oh, I'd catch a glimpse of her every once in a while
Takin' her meal, or bathin'
A fine lady

This one day I happened to be real close to her
I saw her standin' over there
So I snuck up on her, nice and easy
And I got my rope out
And I flung it in the air

I'm gonna catch that horse if I can
And when I do I'll give her my brand
And we'll be friends for life
She'll be just like a wife
I'm gonna catch that horse if I can

Well I got her, and I'm pullin' on her, she's pullin' back
Like this mule goin' up a ladder
I take this chance and I jump up on her
Damned if I don't land right on top of her
Well she takes off, runnin' up onto that ridge
Higher than I've ever been before
She's runnin' along just fine, till she stops
Something spooked her
It's a sidewinder, all coiled and ready to strike
She doesn't know what to do for a second
But then she jumps off the edge,
Me holding on

Above the hills
Higher than eagles were gliding
Suspended in the sky

Over the moon
Straight for the sun we were riding
My eyes were filled with light

Behind us black walls
Below us a bottomless canyon
Floating with no sound

Gulls far below
Seemed to be suddenly rising
Exploding all around

I'm gonna catch that horse if I can
And when I do I'll give her my brand
And we'll be friends for life
She'll be just like a wife
I'm gonna catch that horse if I can

And we were falling down this crevice, about a mile down I'd say!
I look down and I see this red thing below us
Comin' up real fast, and it's our reflection in a little pool of water
About six feet wide and one foot deep
Crawling down right through it
We hit, and we splashed it dry
That's when I lost my hold and she got away
But I'm gonna' try to get her again some day

I'm gonna catch that horse if I can
And when I do I'll give her my brand
And we'll be friends for life
She'll be just like a wife
I'm gonna' catch that horse
I'm gonna' catch that horse
I'm gonna' catch that horse if I can
I'm gonna' catch that horse if I can
Comments (19)add comment
 curious.engineer327 wrote:


 

 radioparadise9 wrote:
EMBARRASSING  lyrics - they haven't aged well

What type of people think like this?
Americans ... sinking into the swamp with Moscow's Man?

We're not laughing with you ... we're laughing at you.
 

ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!  Wonderful!
Still love this song lyrics are fun
EMBARRASSING  lyrics - they haven't aged well

What type of people think like this?
Americans ... sinking into the swamp with Moscow's Man?

We're not laughing with you ... we're laughing at you.
Oooh man...I like the Byrds, but this is McGuinn at his most pretentious. 
It's been almost 10 YEARS SINCE THIS WAS LAST PLAYED!!!

PLEASE DUST IT OFF AND GIVE IT A SPIN...
mrmojorisin wrote:
Please pull this. The sexual message is just so corny. And there is over-talking to top it off.
Gosh, and all this time I thought this song was about a horse. I'm glad that I'm so blissfully ignorant most of the time.
Oh, come on! McGuinn would be laughing hysterically if he caught wind of the interpretations posted here! This song started a trend toward country rock -- not sexually perverse rock! (Well, see, it didn't need to start a trend toward sexually perverse rock, because that was already a given...) :whip: And now here's Zevon again, singing about rubbing a pot roast all over your chest...wow, a song about food!
Hey look! It was just followed by "Exciteable Boy" again! Dear god of rock, please pull the "Chestnuts! Mare" song susafina wrote:
Funny, when I was a kid I never noticed the lyrics much. I guess I always thought they were about a horse. Listening to them now... well gosh, this song is just plain weird. Glad that poor horsie got away... brrrr. Got a chuckle when the song was followed up with Warren Zevon's "Excitable Boy" a way more blatantly creepy song. Yet somehow it makes me laugh. God I'm sick.
PLEASE, double please. PULL this song off the air. Please. mrmojorisin wrote:
Please pull this. The sexual message is just so corny. And there is over-talking to top it off.
Please pull this. The sexual message is just so corny. And there is over-talking to top it off.
Funny, when I was a kid I never noticed the lyrics much. I guess I always thought they were about a horse. Listening to them now... well gosh, this song is just plain weird. Glad that poor horsie got away... brrrr. Got a chuckle when the song was followed up with Warren Zevon's "Excitable Boy" a way more blatantly creepy song. Yet somehow it makes me laugh. God I'm sick.
Shaken_Bake wrote:
I'm sorry, but this song has always freaked me out with the overt sexual references... the lyrics are totally perverted and made quite a negative impression on me as a young schoolgirl...
HmmmÂ… And I always thought it was about a horse. (Sometimes a horse is just a horse)
Shaken_Bake wrote:
I'm sorry, but this song has always freaked me out with the overt sexual references... the lyrics are totally perverted and made quite a negative impression on me as a young schoolgirl...
I'm glad to hear that someone else feels the same way about this song. I've always thought this song was totally creepy - not to mention boring -ICK!
I haven't heard this since KDKB in Phoenix was a really good station in the mid 70's. I moved away in 1980, and by then they sucked. I imagine they still do. RP, you fill a great void. Thanks.
I'm sorry, but this song has always freaked me out with the overt sexual references... the lyrics are totally perverted and made quite a negative impression on me as a young schoolgirl...
I've never heard this one before! Love, love, love the Byrds!
this one is a classic, as with all the byrds songs.