All the Tired Horses (Dylan) - Why???

Subject: All the Tired Horses - Why???
From: Little Hawk
Date: 18 Oct 01 - 11:02 PM

Okay, Dylan fans...

When Bob did the album Self-Portrait in 1970, the first track on it was a chorus of women singing:

All the tired horses in the sun
How'm I s'posed ta get any ridin' done
Ooooo-oooo-ooo-ooo-ooo

(repeated multiple times)

Anyone got any idea why? Any theories as to what, if anything, it meant?

I sure don't. It does sound kind of nice, though.

- LH

Subject: RE: All the Tired Horses - Why???
From: Clifton53
Date: 18 Oct 01 - 11:13 PM

LH, I tink you've answered it yourself there in your last line, 'sounds kind of nice though'. I've always wondered about this myself with the heavy strings and all, but sometimes I guess a smoke is just a smoke.

Some type of cowboy Haiku perhaps? What would we call that? Haikow? I think it's a great opening track.

Clifton

Subject: RE: All the Tired Horses - Why???
From: wysiwyg
Date: 19 Oct 01 - 01:13 AM

The only tired horses in the sun I know are the ones standing in livery lines, alternating hot boredom on a tie-line, with going out all day over the same trail over and over again, with people kicking their sore sides and jerking on their sore mouths.... when they'd rather run like the wind with a good rider or roll free in the pasture grass.

~S~

Subject: RE: All the Tired Horses - Why???
From: BluesMojo
Date: 19 Oct 01 - 08:35 AM

I think that song was supposed to be some kind of commentary on Dylan's writer's block at the time. Self-Portrait was a cover album by and large, and some theorize that he did this either because he had writer's block or because his manager was ripping him off and he wanted to get out of his contract. Either way, I think "tired horses" might refer to Dylan's songs that by this time were overplayed and stale to him. He was sick of celebrity at the time and just didn't feel like writing. That's what I think, anyway.

Subject: RE: All the Tired Horses - Why???
From: GUEST,The girl by the whirlpool
Date: 19 Oct 01 - 09:01 AM

Just because.

Subject: RE: All the Tired Horses - Why???
From: Little Hawk
Date: 19 Oct 01 - 01:38 PM

Hmmm...interesting possibilities there, BluesMojo. You may be right.

- LH

Subject: RE: All the Tired Horses - Why???
From: BluesMojo
Date: 19 Oct 01 - 03:18 PM

Especially suspect is Dylan's love of puns. "Writing/riding." "All the tired horses [Bob's old 'warhorses' perhaps?] in the sun, how am I supposed to get any writing/riding done?"

Quite a clever way to start a cover album, I think.

Subject: RE: All the Tired Horses - Why???
From: catspaw49
Date: 19 Oct 01 - 03:32 PM

I think it's about some tired horses standing in the sun and this guy who can't get a ride on any of them.

Just a theory.

Spaw

Subject: RE: All the Tired Horses - Why???
From: BluesMojo
Date: 20 Oct 01 - 01:43 AM

If they're just standing around in the sun, how come he can't just hop on one of them?

Subject: RE: All the Tired Horses - Why???
From: fat B****rd
Date: 20 Oct 01 - 05:38 AM

Maybe he thought Peckinpah might need a theme for a western movie.

Subject: RE: All the Tired Horses - Why???
From: Art Thieme
Date: 20 Oct 01 - 08:58 PM

I always felt that this fine song was about exhausted prostitutes who have been really overworked by their pimps. They've decided to go out in the sun for a little R. & R. and the frustrated Johns are in a group out in the street singing this song. It's like the song "Easy Rider"... ;-)

Art

Subject: RE: All the Tired Horses - Why???
From: Little Hawk
Date: 20 Oct 01 - 09:03 PM

Oh, for heaven's sake! :-)

- LH

Subject: RE: All the Tired Horses - Why???
From: catspaw49
Date: 20 Oct 01 - 09:06 PM

Luvya' Art!

Spaw

Subject: RE: All the Tired Horses - Why???
From: raredance
Date: 21 Oct 01 - 12:05 AM

It's obvious that Bob was throwing down the gauntlet. Joh Stewart picked it up in 1971 with:

Shoot all the brave horses and how will we ride?
Shoot all the brave horses and how will we ride?
Shoot all the brave horses and how will we ride?
And ford the cold waters, how will we ride?

repeated many times (it's a 4 1/2 minute song)

Stewart apparently wasn't satisfied with that rejoinder because in 1975 he came up with:

Let him run, let him run
Oh let me see the big horse run
Let him run, let him run
Oh let him
Let him run
Let him run let him, oh let him
Let him run let him run, oh let him, etc.

After Stewart was done the horses would have a reason to be tired. Cycle back to Bob. This two author trilogy is also exponential. Dylan, first year. Stewart I, second year. Stewart II, four years later. I haven't seen this theory in print before just now.

rich r

Subject: RE: All the Tired Horses - Why???
From: Art Thieme
Date: 21 Oct 01 - 12:26 AM

Rich,

Looks good to me.

Art
P.S.---Why should my cursor disapear when I try to put it into this box ?

Subject: RE: All the Tired Horses - Why???
From: Crazy Eddie
Date: 21 Oct 01 - 01:10 AM

So are these horses related to the horse with no name, that whatsisname has been through the desert on? ( on which, whatsisname has been through the desert??).
Apparently, "in the desert, you can remember your name" so how come the horse still has no name?
And, he must have been tired, from being ridden through the desert.

Subject: RE: All the Tired Horses - Why???
From: DougR
Date: 21 Oct 01 - 01:32 AM

I think the horses were just tired.

dougR

Subject: RE: All the Tired Horses - Why???
From: grumpy al
Date: 21 Oct 01 - 06:57 AM

Easy init?

All the tired horses in the sun. Should read....

All the tyred horses in the sun, which of course refers to a collection of cars stranded in the desert through lack of petrol (gasoline)so they can' be ridden/driven 'cos they got no go juice. obvious really

the grumps