A HORSE
WITH NO NAME
AMERICA
SONGWRITER:
DEWEY BUNNELL
COUNTRY: USA
ALBUM: AMERICA
LABEL: WARNER
BROS
GENRE: FOLK
ROCK
YEAR:
1971
America is
an American rock band that was formed in London in 1970 by Dewey Bunnell, Dan
Peek, and Gerry Beckley. The trio met as sons of US Air Force personnel
stationed in London, where they began performing live.
Achieving
significant popularity in the 1970s, the trio was famous for its close vocal
harmonies and light acoustic folk rock sound. The band released a string of hit albums and
singles, many of which found airplay on pop/soft rock stations.
The band
came together shortly after the members' graduation from high school, and a
record deal with Warner Bros. Records followed. Its debut 1971 album, America,
included the transatlantic hits "A Horse with No Name" and "I
Need You"; Homecoming(1972) included the single "Ventura Highway";
and Hat Trick(1973), a modest success on the charts that fared poorly in sales,
included one minor hit song "Muskrat Love". 1974's Holiday featured
the hits "Tin Man" and "Lonely People"; and 1975's Hearts generated
the number one single "Sister Golden Hair" alongside "Daisy Jane"
History: America's Greatest Hits, a compilation of hit singles, was released
the same year and was certified multiplatinum in the United States and
Australia. Peek left the group in 1977, and their commercial fortunes declined,
despite a brief return to the top in 1982 with the single "You Can Do
Magic".
"A
Horse with No Name" is a song written by Dewey Bunnell, and originally
recorded by the folk rock band America. It was the band's first and most
successful single, released in late 1971 in Europe and early 1972 in the United
States, and topped the charts in Canada, Finland, and the United States. It was
certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America.
America's
self-titled debut album was released initially in Europe, without "A Horse
with No Name", and achieved only moderate success. Originally called
"Desert Song", "Horse" was written while the band was
staying at the home studio of musician Arthur Brown, near Puddletown, Dorset. The
first two demos were recorded there, by Jeff Dexter and Dennis Elliott, and
were intended to capture the feel of the hot, dry desert that had been depicted
at the studio from a Salvador Dalí painting, and the strange horse that had
ridden out of an M.C. Escher picture. Writer Dewey Bunnell also says he
remembered his childhood travels through the Arizona and New Mexico desert when
his family lived at Vandenberg Air Force Base. Bunnell has explained that
"A Horse with No Name" was "a metaphor for a vehicle to get away
from life's confusion into a quiet, peaceful place".
Trying to
find a song that would be popular in both the United States and Europe, Warner
Brothers was reluctant to release Beckley's "I Need You" ballad as
the first single from America. The label asked the band if it had any other
material, then arranged for America to record four more songs at Morgan Studios,
Willesden in London. "A Horse with No Name" was released as the
featured song on a three-track single in the UK, Ireland, France, Italy and the
Netherlands in late 1971. On the release, "A Horse with No Name" shared the A-side
with "Everyone I Meet Is from California"; "Sandman"
featured on the B-side. However, its early-1972 two-track US release did not
include "Sandman", with "Everyone I Meet Is from
California" appearing on the B-side.
On the first part of the journey I was looking at all the life
There were plants and birds and rocks and things
There was sand and hills and rings
The first thing I met was a fly with a buzz
And the sky with no clouds
The heat was hot and the ground was dry
But the air was full of sound
I've been through the desert on a horse with no name
It felt good to be out of the rain
In the desert you can't remember your name
'Cause there ain't no one for to give you no pain
La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la
La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la
After two days in the desert sun my skin began to turn red
After three days in the desert fun, I was looking at a river bed
And the story it told of a river that flowed
Made me sad to think it was dead
You see I've been through the desert on a horse with no name
It felt good to be out of the rain
In the desert you can't remember your name
'Cause there ain't no one for to give you no pain
La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la
La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la
After nine days I let the horse run free
'Cause the desert had turned to sea
There were plants and birds and rocks and things
There was sand and hills and rings
The ocean is a desert with it's life underground
And a perfect disguise above
Under the cities lies a heart made of ground
But the humans will give no love
You see, I've been through the desert on a horse with no name
It felt good to be out of the rain
In the desert you can't remember your name
'Cause there ain't no one for to give you no pain
La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la
La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la
La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la
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