OH COME ON PEOPLE!

Are you seriously telling me that you all believe that "Ride On" is just a straight forward love song?! Do you believe that there are women wandering around Ireland riding a horse (which by the way at 16 2hds would be a hell of a big horse) that McCarthy can fall in love with?

This song is not just a love song it is one the the best Republican songs ever written! In the tradition of Irish nationalism its written in the form seemingly ambiguous love song. It describes the writer's feelings of bitterness and loss as the cause of Irish Independence "rides" away. Its about disillusionment, about feeling as if its all for nothing. The horse and rider is symbolic of Ireland, the horse is described as having eyes: "wild and **green**" a reference Republicanism. As the horse and rider go the writer is left feeling empty - as the struggle for independence seems even more unattainable the Republican is left feeling bereft. The writer "looks for the spark that lights the night" - i.e. looks for hope. Yet he has to admit that he can "never go with you no matter how I wanted to" - that he can't make Ireland into the place he envisaged.      

Its a great song but please don't sing it unless you understand it and unless your really mean it.