I heard the song Horse With No Name by America on the radio today, and I remembered back to the time I first heard it when I was, oh, maybe in the 9th grade. It had kind of a haunting melody to it, and back then I thought the song was pretty cool. So much so that I even taught myself to play it on the guitar. (Two chords -- how tough is that?)
But it occurred to me as I listened to the lyrics today, that songwriter and guitarist Dewey Bunnell surely could have come up with a better phrase than, "There were plants and birds and rocks and things." I mean, come on. Things? Things? That's the best Dewey could come up with? There were plants and birds and rocks and things. Give me a break!
To be honest, I just don't get it. He's got all the time in the world to come up with four items one might find in a desert -- like some weird variation of Family Feud -- and he can only name three! Can't come up with a fourth and has to use the term things? Things? Hey, come on Dewey! How about sand, or dust or even air. How hard is that? But things? Come on, really!
Oh well. The song was America's biggest hit, and probably has made millions down through the years, so I guess I'm being a little bit harsh. Still, I think ol' Dewey could have been a tad bit more creative than things.
Between you and me, these kinds of things just irritate me to no end.
3 comments:
You're funny Bill... I can see why he used "things" so he could cover everything.. the air, sand, camels, etc without making a whole list... or at least that is my take on it. "Things" as a generalization is easy for me to digest, but you do make a valid point as well..~Gin
well, if he can't even come up with a name for his horse what do you expect!
;)
Hang on Bill. He also came up with "fly with a buzz". I nicknamed this song, Song With Two Notes decades ago.
Post a Comment