21 Songs for Horse Lovers
Have you been tirelessly searching for the perfect playlist for when you're out horse riding? Well, look no further. Black Heart Equestrian has you back and we've compiled a list of twenty-one songs that are about, or include, horses in the title or lyrics. In no particular order...
.
1. Old Town Road - Lil Nas X ft. Billy Ray Cyrus
Favourite Lyric: “I’m gonna take my horse to the old town road, I’m gonna ride ’til I can’t no more.”
.
.
This instantly catchy chart topper has been making waves, topping charts all over the world. Lil Nas X and Billy Ray Cyrus (a very unlikely duo) managed to fuse old school country vibes with a more current hip-hop sound to create the ear worm of 2019. Who knew that in 2019 would be screaming out lyrics at house parties about horses, tractors, bull riding and wranglers?
.
2. Dark Horse - Katy Perry ft. Juicy J
.
Favourite Lyric: “So you wanna play with magic? Boy, you should know what you’re falling for. Baby do you dare to do this? ‘Cause I’m coming atcha like a dark horse.”
.
.
Katy Perry was at the height of her fame in 2013, topping the charts with her song Dark Horse. The expression ‘dark horse’ refers to someone who wins something unexpectedly. In the case of this song, Katy is warning a man that if he pursues her, she will be his last.
.
3. All The King’s Horses - Dusty Springfield
.
Favourite Lyric: “Now, all the king's horses and all the king's men, you’ll never get me back together again”
.
.
Whilst not specifically about horses, this old bluesy classic was too good a song to miss off this list! Originally slated to appear on the original version of her famous album Dusty in Memphis, this track was later added on a re-released version. Dusty Springfield’s vocals ooze heartbreak in this song about a lost lover who has left her heart broken. An ultimate break-up song!
.
4. Only The Horses - Scissor Sisters
.
Favourite Lyric: “Only the horses can find us tonight, Only the horses can bring us back home”
.
.
The Scissor Sisters released this anthemic club song back in 2012, a cut from their album Magic Hour (which featured some absolute bops by the way… I’m looking at you Let’s Have a Kiki). I would love to tell you more of what this song is about, but the Scissor Sisters don’t even know themselves! Ana Matronic of the Scissor Sisters has labelled fellow band mate Jake Shears (who wrote the song) as “an adept writer of gibberish”. I mean, I can definitely relate…
.
5. Poems to a Horse - Shakira
.
Favourite Lyric: “So what's the point of wasting all my words? If it's just the same or even worse than reading poems to a horse”
.
.
This deep cut from Shakira’s magnum opus Laundry Service stands out for many reasons. Shakira wrote the song about her friend who started doing drugs who she was really worried about. She sings about how her friend is disassociating from those around them and when she tries to talk to them it’s like “reading poems to a horse”. I mean, personally me and my horses have conversations for hours about my problems so…
.
6. Chasin’ Wild Horses - Bruce Springsteen
.
Favourite Lyric: “You lose track of time, It’s all just storms blowin' through, You come rollin' 'cross my mind, Your hair flashin' in the blue like wild horses”
.
.
Bruce Springsteen is the king of classic American music and has always been known for socially aware and poetic lyrics that speaks out to the average working-class American. This track from one of his latter albums uses the imagery of running wild horses as a metaphor for dreams that seem to disappear into the distance whilst the mundane, everyday things seem to get in the way. This is definitely one to listen to on a sad, gloomy day over a bottle of red (if you’re of legal age of course).
.
7. John Wayne - Lady Gaga
.
Favourite Lyric: “It's like, I just love a cowboy you know, I’m just like, I just, I know it's bad but I'm just like can I just like, hang off the back of your horse? And can you go a little faster?!”
.
.
The beginning of this song sounds a bit like when I’m trying to flirt with a country boy after a few too many and start rambling about horses. Anyhow, this song was written about always going after the bad boys, comparing them to the iconic Western movie star John Wayne, who was renowned for being wild. Relatable. Couple this with the action-filled music video complete with dramatic horse races and you have what we call a SERVE.
.
8. White Horse - Taylor Swift
.
Favourite lyric: “This ain't Hollywood, this is a small town, I was a dreamer before you went and let me down, Now it's too late for you and your white horse to come around”
.
.
Taylor Swift has always had a talent when it comes to her songwriting. She can make you smile, cry, laugh or feel empowered through her ability to describe things that have happened to her in such a relatable way. This song is essentially about a boy who has led her on to believe they were going to be together, let her down, and then suddenly decided that he does want to be together and she’s just over it. I bet that sounds familiar to a few people out there.
.
9. Free Fallin’ - Tom Petty
.
Favourite lyric: “She’s a good girl, loves her mama, Loves Jesus and America too, She’s a good girl, crazy 'bout Elvis, Loves horses and her boyfriend too”
.
.
One of Tom Petty’s most iconic hits, this song is the perfect song to play whilst you’re riding your horse at sunset or driving down the highway. It gives you classic American imagery and was written about things that Petty frequently saw whilst driving along Ventura Boulevard in the San Fernando Valley.
.
10. High Horse - Kacey Musgraves
.
Favourite lyric: “So, why don't you giddy up, giddy up and ride straight out of this town, You and your high horse”
.
.
Kacey Musgraves has had a stellar year. Her newest album, Golden Hour, won big at the GRAMMYs and was a critical and commercial success. This particular track is taken off that album and breathes new life into the country genre, incorporating more modern sounds that wouldn’t typically be heard on a country album. The song is written about someone who needs to get off their high horse, meaning someone who is arrogant and needs to be taken down a peg or two.
.
11. A Horse With No Name - America
.
Favourite lyric: “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 remember your name, ’Cause there ain't no one for to give you no pain”
.
.
The band America were a big deal in the 1970’s and, ironically, were formed in London where they started their careers in the music biz. The three sons of American US Air Force servicemen all met in West Ruislip (one was even born in Yorkshire!) and wrote this song about thinking back to memories of being in America amongst nature, mentally escaping the city and remembering happier times in the desert. This song is one of my go-tos when I’ve got post-holiday blues.
.
12. Wild Horses - Natasha Bedingfield
.
Favourite lyric: “Wild horses I wanna be like you, Throwing caution to the wind, I run free too”
.
.
Lets be honest, Natasha Bedingfield produced some absolute bangers in the 2000s; I Wanna Have Your Babies, These Words, Pocketful of Sunshine? And lets not forget Unwritten, which I still scream in the shower most days word-for-word. Wild Horses is a departure from the upbeat pop sound and showcases Natasha’s lush vocals over a piano and strings singing about wanting to break free of the stresses of life and just have fun. Play this one on a rainy Monday morning as you’re heading to school/work.
.
13. Runaway Horses - Belinda Carlisle
.
Favourite lyric: “Suddenly all of my fences have broken, I’m cutting the reins of my life”
.
.
Belinda Carlisle has had a pretty impressive career; starting out as the lead singer of one of the most successful all-girl bands in history, the Go-Go’s, before going on to have major success with tunes such as Heaven Is A Place On Earth. Runaway Horses, the title track of her 3rd solo project, is a bold 80’s anthem about running away into the sunset with the person you love. We’ve all had that thought, Belinda.
.
14. Black Horse and the Cherry Tree - KT Tunstall
.
Favourite lyric: “I came across a place in the middle of nowhere with a big black horse and a cherry tree, I fell in fear upon my back, I said don't look back, just keep on walking”
.
.
This is one of those songs you may not recall at first mention but as soon as someone hits play on this song it instantly sounds familiar. KT Tunstall (whose song Suddenly I See is forever associated with The Devil Wears Prada in my mind) wrote this song after seeing a huge black horse that had broken free in an olive grove in Greece and was going crazy. Describing it as ‘apocalyptic’, it inspired a song about looking inward and finding out what kind of person you want to be.
.
15. Live Like Horses - Elton John & Luciano Pavorotti
.
Favourite lyric: Someday we'll live like horses, Free rein from you old iron fences, There’s more ways than one to regain your senses, Break out the stalls and we'll live like horses”
.
.
Get your lighters out because you’re going to be waving them in the air to this one! This tear-jerking piano ballad was a duet with the late Pavorotti (one of the greatest and most successful opera singers who ever lived) and is about breaking free from something that’s holding you back. Not only does it feature Pavorotti, but Eric Clapton played guitar on this track too! This live performance linked above is everything you need if you just need a lil cry today. If not, see if you can spot Oscar Winner Liza Minelli amongst the choir.
.
16. Tennessee Stud - Johnny Cash
.
Favourite lyric: “The Tennessee Stud was long and lean, The color of the sun and his eyes were green, He had the nerve and he had the blood, There never was a horse like Tennessee stud”
.
.
No song can transport you to the wild west of America like this track from the legendary blues singer Johnny Cash can! This masterpiece tells you the story of a man and his horse who travel around America, winning races, escaping Indians and running from a shootout. They both eventually get lonely and ride back to Tennessee, pick up the man’s sweetheart and her female horse and ride off over the mountains to start a life together as man and wife with a companion for his horse too. Awww!
.
17. Pony - Genuwine
.
Favourite lyric: “Lets do it, ride it, my pony, My saddle's waiting, come and jump on it”
.
.
WARNING: EXPLICIT SONG. Do not let the cute little pony fool you, this is a very sexy song. That’s all we’ll say about this one… aside from it’s an absolute banger.
.
18. The Buckin’ Song - Jerrod Niemann
.
Favourite lyric: “She bucked me on the pick-up truck, bucked me on the fence, My dad said, "Son, ya got no buckin' sense””
.
.
This fun, upbeat country song has all the hoo-hoo’s, hey hey’s and yippee-yi-ki-yay’s you could ever need in a song that wouldn’t sound out of place playing in a saloon in the mid-west somewhere. It’s a catchy little song to barn dance to and the horse he’s singing about sounds mega buckin’ funny!
.
19. No Reins - Rascal Flatts
.
Favourite lyric: “Like a painted wild mustang flying out across the open range, Finally gets to live her life that way, No fear, no fences, nobody-no reins”
.
.
Are you even a country music fan if you don’t listen to Rascal Flatts? If you haven’t heard this one then you should. Over acoustic guitars and some fist pumping drumming, the band sings about a woman who’s got out of a bad relationship and now is pretty much living her best life like a wild mustang with no reins. This is the ultimate break-up song to help you say “I don’t need no man!”
.
20. One Trick Pony - Paul Simon
.
Favourite lyric: “See how he dances, See how he loops from side to side, See how he prances, The way his hooves just seem to glide”
.
.
The only song from a soundtrack on this list, One Trick Pony hails from the soundtrack of the film of the same name about a one hit wonder trying to recapture his time in the spotlight. Paul Simon (once one half of the famous duo Simon and Garfunkel) also starred in the film as the main character. Whilst the film didn’t do amazingly as hoped, the soundtrack was pretty successful in it’s own right and we can see why. The phrase ‘one trick pony’ refers to someone who can only do one thing very well and doesn’t change and in this song refers to the films protagonist.
.
21. Save a Horse Ride a Cowboy - Big and Rich
.
Favourite lyric: “Riding up and down broadway on my old stud Leroy, and the girls say Save a horse, ride a cowboy”
.
.
We’re ending this list with a personal favourite horse-related song that we listen to all the time when we go over to Texas on our holidays. This song is tongue-in-cheek, catchy and overall just a feel good song. I used to get told off as a kid for singing the chorus out loud and for the life of me couldn’t figure out why. If you give it a listen now, though, I’m sure you’ll be able to figure it out…
.
So how many of these songs have you heard? Which ones have you gone straight to Spotify to listen to? If you have any favourites or can think of any that we didn’t mention let us know! We’d love to hear your recommendations!