Ride On (from Christy Moore)

Subject: Ride On/Christy Moore
From:
Date: 30 Apr 97 - 08:48 AM

I know this from Christy Moore's "Ride On" (great song):

True you ride the finest horse I've ever seen, standing 16",1'or 2' with eyes wild and green.

Does anybody know what the hell is "16",1' or 2'"

Thanks in advance.

Subject: RE: Ride On/Christy Moore
From: Martin Ryan
Date: 30 Apr 97 - 09:24 AM

Hands! Unit of measurement of horses.

Regards

Subject: RE: Ride On/Christy Moore
From:
Date: 04 May 97 - 04:42 PM

Thanx Martin.

I'm no good at horses, but I like Christy Moore.

Bye

Subject: RE: Ride On/Christy Moore
From: GUEST
Date: 26 Jul 03 - 02:14 PM

dick seek a horsie man instead

Subject: RE: Ride On/Christy Moore
From: Big Tim
Date: 26 Jul 03 - 03:02 PM

I hate this song!

Subject: RE: Ride On/Christy Moore
From: John MacKenzie
Date: 26 Jul 03 - 06:07 PM

1 Hand is 4"

Subject: RE: Ride On/Christy Moore
From: Strupag
Date: 26 Jul 03 - 07:08 PM

But the real question is: To what does "see you" allude to? Is CU an organisation?

Subject: RE: Ride On/Christy Moore
From: zanderfish3 (inactive)
Date: 27 Jul 03 - 04:42 AM

what is this song about anyway.
incidently it was written by Jimmy MacCarthy

Subject: RE: Ride On/Christy Moore
From: Amergin
Date: 27 Jul 03 - 04:51 AM

i always figured "see you" meant goodbye....as in see you later...

as for what the song is about ...there have been theories about death and dying...the faeries...and who knows what else...

Subject: RE: Ride On/Christy Moore
From: GUEST,JB
Date: 27 Jul 03 - 08:23 AM

I have stopped singing this song at gigs simply because I feel like an idiot as the words make absolutely no sense at all. It becomes all the more absurd when a multitude join in the chorus and they don`t know what they are singing about.

Even Christy himself kinda admitted he hadn`t a clue what the song was about.

JB

Subject: RE: Ride On/Christy Moore
From: Dipsodeb
Date: 27 Jul 03 - 11:12 AM

sounds absolutely fantastic when played by Dave K.... followed closely by the Stray Dogs version.

Subject: RE: Ride On/Christy Moore
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 27 Jul 03 - 11:47 AM

I've always had a feeling it might be about Shergar.

But essentially it's about longing for someone or something you know you can never have. You're on foot trudging through the mud, and she's up there riding a fine horse, and you can't even aspire to get closer. And she might be a symbol for poetry or freedom orv whatever it is thta is out of reach for you.

Subject: RE: Ride On/Christy Moore
From: Leadfingers
Date: 27 Jul 03 - 12:14 PM

Whatever the song is about its great fun to play on whistle.

Subject: RE: Ride On/Christy Moore
From: Big Tim
Date: 27 Jul 03 - 03:09 PM

I don't really hate the song but I do think it's somewhat overrated.

Subject: RE: Ride On/Christy Moore
From: sweetfire
Date: 27 Jul 03 - 04:22 PM

"16 1 or 2" is simply the height of the horse. 16 being the number of 'hands' and there are 4" to one hand.

I like singing the song but do sometimes feel a little stupid singing the first verse to new crowds...

Subject: RE: Ride On/Christy Moore
From: Roughyed
Date: 27 Jul 03 - 06:01 PM

Maybe I am not looking deeply enough but it always seemed to me that the general meaning of the song was plain. It appears to me to be a song of lost love, longing and lust. There has apparently been a physical relationship "I turn to face an empty space, where you used to lie" but this is over and the emotion is like "a claw against my gut". The image of the lady in question riding off on a high horse works on a few levels (I assume that 16.1 or 2 is high)from the metaphorical (getting on your high horse) to the erotic (Lady Godiva where are you) to the actual (saddling up and galloping off). Her former presence is seen as a "spark that lights the night" i.e. her beauty lit up his lonely existence.

Subject: RE: Ride On/Christy Moore
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 27 Jul 03 - 06:11 PM

"lie" is of course ambiguous, since it could also mean telling a lie.

Subject: RE: Ride On/Christy Moore
From: Roughyed
Date: 27 Jul 03 - 06:17 PM

Excellent. I'd missed that. It's even better written than I thought.

Subject: RE: Ride On/Christy Moore
From: smuggler
Date: 27 Jul 03 - 07:35 PM

We play this every gig. Its a great song. Poweful when we have the full instruments going. Fiddle, whistle, guitar, melodeon, mandolin, bass and a pile of voices on the chorus.
We have a great time singing it and a lot of people comment on it.
Just sheer enjoyment!!

Subject: RE: Ride On/Christy Moore
From: belfast
Date: 28 Jul 03 - 09:03 AM

I can't really see what difficulty there is about the meaning of this song. Once you've got the bit about the height of horses being measured in hands, and considered the possible ambiguity of the word "lie" , the meaning seems fairly obvious. Jimmy MacCarthy might be able to tell us that it was connected with some event or relationship in his life. This would not change the meaning of the words of the song. At best we would have another set of words telling us what he intended to mean. We bring our own images to it, imagining stories that gave rise to these words. None of this changes the meaning. The words are there, simple words, and they are easy to understand.

Subject: RE: Ride On/Christy Moore
From: michaelr
Date: 28 Jul 03 - 07:33 PM

In his autobiography/songbook "One Voice", Christy Moore comments:

"Ride On" has been one of my most popular songs and has been recorded by many singers. Many people wonder what it's about but Jimmy MacCarthy keeps that to himself. All we need to know is what it means to us individually.

I have lived every word and line of this song, sometimes in more ways than one."

For a quite different arrangement from Christy's minimalist take, check out Mary Coughlan's version (from "Under the Influence") which features a blazing, Jimi Hendrix-like uillean pipes solo by Davy Spillane.

Cheers,
Michael

Subject: RE: Ride On/Christy Moore
From: GUEST
Date: 30 Jul 03 - 03:34 PM

Love this song, but I am not mad on Christy Moore's version.

I do feel a bit uncomfortable about the words sometimes, and I had a laugh at some of the comments above !

Ride on, though, eh ?

Subject: RE: Ride On/Christy Moore
From: vectis
Date: 30 Jul 03 - 07:45 PM

16 1 or 2 is the height of the horse measured in hands of 4inches to the hand. The measurement is from the ground to the withers ( the bump where the neck and the body meet).

Subject: RE: Ride On/Christy Moore
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 30 Jul 03 - 07:59 PM

That's a big horse, but they come bigger. Here is a page which gves an idea.

Subject: RE: Ride On/Christy Moore
From: GMT
Date: 31 Jul 03 - 04:07 AM

I used to do 'Black is the Colour' then drift into 'Ride On' seemed like a nice blend to me, but that's me.

Cheers Gary

Subject: RE: Ride On/Christy Moore
From: GUEST,Cork
Date: 19 Aug 03 - 02:05 PM

Very indept insight into Ride On!! Well done lads, i used to just sing
it and hope no one asked me what the hell it was about!!! Now i know!!

Subject: RE: Ride On/Christy Moore
From: UB Ed
Date: 19 Aug 03 - 02:49 PM

Isn't "ride" slang for another act between consenting adults?

Subject: RE: Ride On/Christy Moore
From: GUEST,Bill Kennedy
Date: 20 Aug 03 - 11:30 AM

this from here http://www.ruaworld.com/lyricsrideon.htm

Ride On

Music & Lyrics by Jimmy MacCarthy (Universal Music Publishing UK)
Arranged & Orchestrated by Gloria Mulhall
Language: English.


In the words of Jimmy MacCarthy himself;

"...purely and simply, it is a song of parting. The parting of lovers, the parting of emigrants from their homeland and friends, the parting when illness or accident takes the life of a loved one ... Life is hard. Ride On."

Extract taken from 'Ride On in Song and Story' by Jimmy MacCarthy © Jimmy MacCarthy 2002. Published by TownHouse Dublin

True you ride the finest horse, I have ever seen,
Standing sixteen, one or two, with eyes wild and green,
You ride the horse so well, hands light to the touch,
I could never go with you no matter how I wanted to.

Ride on, see ya, I could never go with you
No matter how I wanted to.

When you ride into the night without a trace behind,
Run the claw along my gut, one last time.
I turn to face an empty space where once you used to lie,
And smile for the spark that lights the night
Through a teardrop in my eye.

Ride on, see ya, I could never go with you
No matter how I wanted to.

Subject: RE: Ride On/Christy Moore
From:
Date: 03 Sep 03 - 08:13 PM

great to see that the real meaning is included! We've just recorded the song and in my humble opinion it is one of the greats. "Some people may think that I just throw paint at the canvas, but there is an exactitude and detail in the placing of every word and phrase until I am satisfied that the lyric is absolutely watertight" - Jimmy MacCarthy writing on lyrics. I enjoyed every second I spent working on it and only hope I've done it justice in my arrangement.

Gloria Mulhall
Rua

Subject: RE: Ride On/Christy Moore
From: Cllr
Date: 03 Sep 03 - 08:23 PM

best version of this IMHO is by Steve Hunt now living down in the cornwall area the passion behind the lyrics and presentation style by Mr hunt just made it "oh good this is a great song" sort of moment. I realise this doesnt add much to the debate but I do like it 8-)Cllr

Subject: RE: Ride On/Christy Moore
From: GUEST,Chris M
Date: 04 Sep 03 - 04:06 PM

I read somewhere that's it's about the 'struggles'.

Subject: RE: Ride On/Christy Moore
From: GUEST
Date: 15 Oct 03 - 10:05 AM

The 16 I think refers to the height of the horse measured in Hands
:->

Subject: RE: Ride On/Christy Moore
From: Oaklet
Date: 15 Oct 03 - 10:56 AM

I thought it was a tribute to the most labour-saving of all the types of lawnmower.

Subject: RE: Christie Moore
From: GUEST
Date: 30 Dec 03 - 03:58 PM

Hello!

Does anybody have the notes of Christie Moore's "Ride On"?

Thanks very much, best wishes from Munich, Germany,
Florian ([e-mail])

Subject: RE: Ride On/Christy Moore
From: GUEST,Holly
Date: 11 Jan 04 - 12:20 AM

What if the song is "sung by a horse" whose mistress has ridden off on some powerful new stallion (I know that stallions are not meant to be ridden, but it makes a good image...and innuendo) The "claw" could be spurs, while the "where you used to lie" could be the old horse's back or a place in the hay for the beloved mistress on long nights in the stable. "I could never go with you no matter how I wanted to" is the old horse's lament at having been sold to the glue factory...c'mon, use your imagination! It's a great song, isn't it?

Subject: RE: Ride On/Christy Moore
From: ducksy
Date: 11 Jan 04 - 06:54 PM

Is it true that                               Jimmy MacCarthy used to be a apprentice jockey and now owns a stud farm in County Wicklow?.

Subject: RE: Ride On/Christy Moore
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 17 May 04 - 03:52 PM

Just passing through...

I think the interpreters should consider that perhaps this is written from the feminine point of view.

The rider might be male - the usual pun, but many female riders would not prefer a horse of this size, and the remark about light hands - as a mark of surprised assessment is more likely to be made of a male rider than a female. Women usually have lighter hands (Princess Anne excepted).

Comparably the reaction to the thumbnail from above the hipbone towards the groin is I think more characteristic of the female sexual response than the male.

Again, it is more usually the female who is constrained by social circumstance to remain behind and not to roam.

Subject: RE: Ride On/Christy Moore
From: GUEST
Date: 17 May 04 - 03:58 PM

the authors comments are above. Perhaps people should read them.

Subject: RE: Ride On/Christy Moore
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 17 May 04 - 04:08 PM

Did that.

You object to the possibility of insight, guest?

Or think authors always tell all?

Blithering idiot.

Subject: RE: Ride On/Christy Moore
From: Pogo
Date: 17 May 04 - 10:18 PM

The first time I had ever heard it played at all (and the only version I am familiar with) was by Steve Caroll and the Bograts and they played it in a Irish pub themed resturaunt. It was bodhran, mandolin(? I think?) and guitar and I was probably the only sober one listening |OD But man they went off on an incredible riff with the bodhran and it completely blew me away...the version I have on my CD is pale in comparison, definitely one of those life-pausing moments when the music gets in your blood. I've loved the song ever since.

The mention of the horse with green eyes always makes me think that's its a fairy mistress who's had her little fling with a mortal guy and then takes off to the fairy world again, a sort of Belle Dame Sans Merci (sp?) leaving him to pine away and die hence the claw along my gut line.

Subject: RE: Ride On/Christy Moore
From: Strupag
Date: 18 May 04 - 04:12 PM

Hi guest
"Date: 17 May 04 - 03:58 PM

the authors comments are above. Perhaps people should read them."

What do you mean by that?
Has Jimmy MacArthur contributed to this thread or what?

Subject: RE: Ride On/Christy Moore
From: GUEST
Date: 18 May 04 - 04:23 PM

see the qoute posted by bill Kennedy

Subject: RE: Ride On/Christy Moore
From: greg stephens
Date: 18 May 04 - 04:25 PM

Father Ted and Dougal's inimitable Eurovision song contest entry on the subject of horses is a a rather devastatating parody of this song. Or if not technically a parody, perhaps a homage.

Subject: RE: Ride On/Christy Moore
From: GUEST
Date: 19 May 04 - 05:02 AM

I see it as a night visiting song with an emotional take rather than a narrative take. To me the rider is a man and the singer is a woman constrained by duty, race, custom, family, W.H.Y.

Subject: RE: Ride On/Christy Moore
From: Mark Cohen
Date: 19 May 04 - 05:38 AM

Wait a minute, you can't fool me. Horses don't have hands.

Aloha,
Mark

Subject: RE: Ride On/Christy Moore
From: GUEST,Chris Murray
Date: 20 May 04 - 05:37 AM

When we were last in Ireland we got chatting to a man in a pub (a very rare sight - a man in a pub in Ireland) and he told us that it's about 'the troubles' and pro-IRA. He seemed to think that the joke is on the English as we enjoy it without realising the deeper significance, like so many of the songs that Christy Moore sings. According to him, Jimmy MacCarthy's comments are there to pull the wool over our eyes. Bearing in mind Christy's liking for singing songs with a hidden political meaning, this wouldn't surprise me at all.

Subject: RE: Ride On/Christy Moore
From: Noreen
Date: 20 May 04 - 05:56 AM

I think the joke is on the English if you believe what this 'man in a pub' said, Chris. I'm sure he knows that the English are only too keen to believe that everything in Ireland has a hidden meaning relating to 'the troubles' and the IRA.

I am absolutely sure that there are far more Irish love songs that have nothing to do with 'the troubles' and the IRA than those that do.

Subject: RE: Ride On/Christy Moore
From: Big Mick
Date: 20 May 04 - 12:08 PM

That is pure rubbish. It is a love song, pure and simple.

Mick

Subject: RE: Ride On/Christy Moore
From: Amos
Date: 20 May 04 - 01:09 PM

Love is rarely either, Big Mick. But I sure agree with your point of view about the song.

A

Subject: RE: Ride On/Christy Moore
From: GUEST,Gloria
Date: 18 Jul 04 - 08:44 PM

I guess it will mean whatever who reads the lyrics takes it to mean. To me though, the author's thoughts are more than an 'interpretation', they are the true meaning of the song and worthy of more than a passing nod.

Subject: RE: Ride On/Christy Moore
From: GUEST,Jon
Date: 18 Jul 04 - 09:57 PM

Not to me in this instance Gloria. My feeling is it's not as general as Jimmy MacCarthy say's in

"...purely and simply, it is a song of parting. The parting of lovers, the parting of emigrants from their homeland and friends, the parting when illness or accident takes the life of a loved one ... Life is hard. Ride On."

I'd bet it does refer to an incident in his own life.

I tend to see a woman of higher status to him, probably married... but everyone of us is likely to come up with different interpretations.

Subject: RE: Ride On/Christy Moore
From: GUEST,JTT
Date: 19 Jul 04 - 03:59 PM

It never occurred to me that this song could be a man speaking to a woman; I always saw it as addressed to a man - it never struck me that Christy Moore would be an unlikely man-lover. Hmmm.

I don't see how it could be political. A lot of songs are, but this one? Surely not!

Subject: RE: Ride On/Christy Moore
From: GUEST,MMario
Date: 19 Jul 04 - 04:02 PM

hmmmm - odd that, I have ALWAYS imaged it as a man speaking to a woman...

Subject: RE: Ride On/Christy Moore
From: GUEST,Fionnghaile
Date: 19 Jul 04 - 04:20 PM

You people take yurselves way to seriously you know go and learn some gaelic if youse are that interested

Subject: RE: Ride On/Christy Moore
From:
Date: 23 Jul 04 - 08:19 PM

Gaelic has nothing to do with this song. What a very peculiar comment.

Songs mean different things to different people and so therefore does 'Ride On'. I simply think it's worth considering the composer/author's point of view. After that, the song is yours.

Subject: RE: Help: Ride On (Christy Moore)
From: GUEST,SCShamrock
Date: 02 Jul 06 - 03:32 PM

I found this thread while searching for the lyrics. I was a bit unsure about the first word whether it was intended to be "true" or "through." Either works well for me. I do want to say that I am a bit dismayed at the apparant need for some people to have songs make plain, perfect sense. Where is the appreciation for the abstract? This is one of many songs I love that I feel has to be interpreted by the individual because it is so abstract. You feel stupid singing it? Then don't sing it. I sing it at my favorite pub (using the word "true" that I wasn't sure about) and sure enough, the first time someone asked me what it meant. So my reply was "what did it mean to you?" The response? He said "nothing, but I sure liked it!" So, either use the song in your line-up, or don't. I think it adds something special to my show, as now the response has been that the pub quiets down, except for the sound of those singing along and the shuffle of feet on the dancefloore.

Subject: RE: Help: Ride On (Christy Moore)
From: michaelr
Date: 03 Jul 06 - 12:42 AM

Good comments, SCS. A good song should never be explained. It means what it means to the singer, and to the listener, at the time.

Let the mystery be.

Cheers,
Michael

Subject: RE: Help: Ride On (Christy Moore)
From: GUEST,Vin
Date: 03 Jul 06 - 07:05 AM

People have the same problem with Chicken On a Raft & Fathom the Bowl. Who cares, they're great songse. May they continue to be sung!

Subject: RE: Ride On (from Christy Moore)
From: GUEST,sheehy
Date: 04 Jul 08 - 03:35 PM

The remonstrance above to learn Gaelic to find the key to the lyrics probably refers to the gaelic name for the fairy folk, "Sidhe," which is pronounced "shee." In the old folktales, people became infatuated with the sidhe and were carried off and never seen again.

Subject: RE: Ride On (from Christy Moore)
From: GUEST,Topman
Date: 21 Dec 09 - 04:41 PM

Hi all,
Have just started to play this on the guitar. Easy chords and transitions.
Christie Moore has a voice of his own, a rough rugged sound that expresses the heart of the lovely land of Ireland. I am English but have always enjoyed the Irish sounds.
I am glad that the explaination of the song is now known to me, the version of the love between two cannot continue due to the differences in wealth etc.
Thanks to everyone for there discussions,

Subject: RE: Ride On (from Christy Moore)
From: JHW
Date: 21 Dec 09 - 05:53 PM

I cannot stand the song, substantially because it features so often in the sort of session that I define by its inevitable inclusion.
I have heard it sung so, so many times that there are obviously countless singers out there who do know what it means and we at Mudcat are the poor relation who are in the dark. I certainly don't know what it means but have given up caring; my concern goes more toward the vain hope that I never hear it again.

Subject: RE: Ride On (from Christy Moore)
From: Acorn4
Date: 21 Dec 09 - 06:03 PM

Drone On,


1.The band they played the finest songs
That you will ever hear,
Songs of love and songs that brought us
Laughter and a tear
But as the evening drew to an end
And we all begged for more
There's no prizes for guessing the song
They chose for their encore..

Chorus:-

Drone on, won't you
Why must I always hear this song
Whenever I'm not wanting to
Drone on, so slowly
Just like a bad dream
I keep coming back and haunting you.

2.So let's drone on into the second verse
As if one were not enough!
Let's have a competition to see who can be
The last one to nod off.
Won't someone shoot that bloody horse!
Put it out of its misery
Instead of leaving it to die a slow death
And we're not even on verse three, so,,,

Drone on…etc

3.Just when you think this song will end
Things go from bad to worse
Because after the next chorus has finished (oh yes)
I've written another verse
And put in an instrumental break
Just to prolong the pain
Which will give me the excuse to go back to verse1
Then sing the chorus all over again (six times) so…

Drone on.. – (sing chorus accompanied by heavy yawning)


4. And so at last we're near the end
Let's have one final yawn,
Sing it to you one more time
As night-time turns to dawn.
It's been like watching wet paint dry
Half the audience are deceased
You think you've been listening to Sir Geoffrey Howe
Reading "War and Peace" so..

Drone on…

(final chorus accompanied by yawning then snoring leading to final fade out)

Actually it is s good song, but done to death unfortunately. It actually only covers a span of four notes so is, in fact, quite ingenious.

Subject: RE: Ride On (from Christy Moore)
From: Smokey.
Date: 21 Dec 09 - 06:07 PM

I always understood the horse to be a somewhat blatant allegory of 'the cause'..

Subject: RE: Ride On (from Christy Moore)
From: Leadfingers
Date: 21 Dec 09 - 07:05 PM

Any song can be killed by NOT singing it with the right level of emotion ! Too fast or too slow , either will murder the best of songs
    And being played too often doesnt help . I Like the Drone ON rewrite though - Who does one credit Acorn ??

Subject: RE: Ride On (from Christy Moore)
From: MMario
Date: 22 Dec 09 - 10:44 AM

I like the drone on re-write as well; though I do NOT hear "Ride on" that frequently. I got to perform this song with a few friends this fall, and it was the first time I'd heard it in a year...and I have to say we didd one INCREDIBLE job with it....

Guitar, flute, harp, and six voices....the audience loved it.

Subject: RE: Ride On (from Christy Moore)
From: Acorn4
Date: 22 Dec 09 - 12:15 PM

Leadfingers, one credits Dave Taylor - if you want to perform it, it works best punctuated with gradually inceasing yawns and snores in the last two verses. If anyone joins in with instruments, you can add " try not to overstimulate people with that fiddle!"

Subject: RE: Ride On (from Christy Moore)
From: GUEST,Róisín McLaren
Date: 22 Jan 12 - 11:12 AM

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.

Subject: RE: Ride On (from Christy Moore)
From: GUEST,Folknob
Date: 22 Jan 12 - 12:07 PM

What a load of tosh - MacCarthy explained on Radio Eireann in February 2010 that this song's lyrics hark back to his days as an apprentice jockey. When they first began training for races the younger horses would gallop behind the older horses. But as the younger horses developed, they needed the horses in front to go faster, so the jockeys would shout out "Ride On."

Subject: RE: Ride On (from Christy Moore)
From: GUEST,Cudhonail
Date: 26 Mar 16 - 08:14 PM

One possible interpretation of the song, perhaps not intended by the songwriter, is that it reflects the relationship between W B Yeats, the great Irish poet, and his mistress and muse, Maud Gone. Yeats' words have long since become part of the Irish psyche. In a poem about 1916 he wrote, "A terrible beauty is born". Gonne was an ardent Nationalist and a catholic. Yeats was an Irish Protestant. Gone repeatedly refused his entreaties to marry, partly, she said, because he didn't feel like her about Irish nationalism, partly because he would not become a catholic, but mainly because she felt that Yeats needed his sorrow and unrequited love to inspire his writing
Certainly much of his work, both poetry and plays, was inspired by, and addressed either directly or indirectly to, Maud Gonne. A good example is the poem, "Aedh Wishes for the Cloths of Heaven". It contains the lines, " I have spread my dreams under your feet/Tread softly for you tread on my dreams.".
In 1916 he wrote in the poem, "No Second Troy", "Why should I blame her that she filled my days/With misery, or that she would of late/Have taught to ignorant men most violent ways/Or hurled the little streets upon the great.".
And the connection with the Christy Moore song? A Yeats poem, "Under Ben Bulben", ends with the words, "Cast a cold eye/On life, on death/Horseman, pass by!".
Yeats won the Nobel Prize for Literature and died in 1939. His simple gravestone near Ben Bulben in County Sligo carries only his name and dates and the words
Cast a cold eye
On life, on death
Horseman, pass by!

Subject: RE: Ride On (from Christy Moore)
From: Gallus
Date: 27 Mar 16 - 06:59 AM

I must admit I love this song in spite of it being played to death.

One thing that has always interested me about it: although it's a song of parting it seems to have three protagonists in it: The Rider, the Horse and the Narrator.

In the section where the Narrator says, "Run your claw along my gut. One last time" I get the impression that he is casting himself in the rôle of another Horse not another Rider.

It's an unusual gambit and, for me, raises the stakes psychologically turning this into more than a simple song of parting.

I'm sure there are many who will say I'm reading too much into this, especially given the author's own comments quoted above and I will happily acquiesce to the enduring mystery of it as it simply adds to the beauty of it all for me.

But pause for a moment maybe to consider MacCarthy's own (more recent) rewriting of this section of the lyric which I find neatly removes this little mystery. Here's the alt.

"When you ride into the night without a trace behind,
The silver spur, the stirrup foot where the road doesn't part and wind"
(link below)

For me it evokes ancient mythology, like the shape-shifting Pwca/ Púca/ Pwc/ Puck- bound over by their nature to be alone but drawn to humanity and love all the same.

A little too Pagan for Easter Sunday? Perhaps.

A beautiful song by any standards; full of depth and mystery and a lifelong friend.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOY7FIB4Sx8

Subject: RE: Ride On (from Christy Moore)
From: GUEST
Date: 31 Mar 16 - 09:58 AM

Having heard this yesterday I'm none the wiser reading its lines but recalling how it was sung I'd say it's a love song. And then we all had to leave!