One night I dreamed I was dreaming…which turned into this joyful, Möbius strip of a song.
I had a dream last night and oh it felt so true I dreamed of you and you were dreaming of me dreaming of you you were dreaming of me dreaming of you
It was a dazzling day the air was clear as glass we sunned ourselves like royal beasts in the tender grass then we drowsed and dozed in the grass
And the birds sang a feathery opera and the butterflies fluttered by and I watched you dreaming away under a luminous sky
Then in the dream within the dream you and I both awoke and at the very same moment both of us spoke, and we said—
“I had a dream last night, and oh it felt so true I dreamed of you and you were dreaming of me dreaming of you you were dreaming of me dreaming of you”
It was a dazzling night the air was still as glass we yawned and stretched like royal beasts in the tender grass then we slumbered on in the grass
And an owl sang a bluesy lullaby and the fireflies glimmered away till the night turned and swallowed its tail and dreamed us into the day
Then in the dream within the dream you and I both awoke and at the very same moment both of us spoke, and we said—
“Flying changes” is the name of a dressage movement, in which the horse switches its lead in mid air. But this song isn’t just for dressage enthusiasts! It’s about the changes that life can throw at you, and the fact that “you can only work with the horse you’ve got.”
Big draft cross, Clyde and thoroughbred bought him as a colt, got him for a song figured I’d start him, have a little fun till the money for a better horse came along
well the money never came so we kept on working got him on the bit at the canter and trot ’cause if wishes were horses, we’d all ride champions but you can only work with the horse you’ve got
Chorus: Flying changes switch your lead in midair when you find yourself looking for a new direction then a flying change is gonna take you there
Oh that big horse tried hard to please me got a little rounder every day but we never could manage a flying change though I tried my best to keep out of his way
feeling discouraged, I thought about selling ’cause it seemed that goal was out of our range and then one day when I didn’t expect it that big horse did a flying change
Chorus
Oh it’s just like life, you look for a rhythm and you have to stay supple ’cause you’ll need to bend and sometimes you’ve got to change on the fly but you keep moving forward until the end
So we’ll never rank in the top one hundred never make it to the national team but my horse now loves flying changes so canter pirouette is our latest dream
Flying changes switch your lead in midair when you find yourself looking for a new direction then a flying change is gonna take you there Do it every stride and you’ll be dancing ah, those flying changes will take you there
We’ve all known one like this guy. “Naughty pony” is probably redundant, isn’t it?!
He’s as wide as he’s tall, he stands ten hands at best his tail is a tangle, his mane is a nest he’s as old as the hills and he’s blind in one eye But you’ll never outsmart him, so don’t even try
Tie him up to a tree, he’ll just undo the knot and head back to the barn at a merry old trot He’ll nip and he’ll kick and he’ll stomp on your toes And then he’ll go slobber all over your clothes
Chorus: ’Cause he loves to make trouble, he will not obey He’s the naughtiest pony that ever ate hay that ever, that ever, that ever ate hay
Turn him out in the paddock, he’ll stomp on his pail then he’ll crawl on his belly right under a rail to munch on your garden and then he’ll move on up the road to the neighbours to trample their lawn
And his cast iron stomach has helped him consume two brushes, eight gloves, an old boot and a broom No wonder his belly’s so ample and round You might as well call it the barn’s lost and found!
Chorus
And riding that pony’s like passing a test he starts off so docile, you think he’s the best then he’ll buck like a bronc or he’ll stop on a dime and dump his poor rider most every time
So maybe you’re wondering just why he’s still here but no one else wants him, they’ve all made that clear and the truth is we’d miss him if he went away ’cause we’re gluttons for punishment – what can I say!
Oh he loves to make trouble, he will not obey He’s the naughtiest pony that ever ate hay that ever, that ever, that ever ate hay He’s the naughtiest pony that ever ate hay
I’ve always loved the big draft breeds. (And no, I didn’t steal the idea from Jethro Tull – I found out about their great song, “Heavy Horses,” after I’d written mine…)
Chorus: Curves like melodies, muscles like chords and the heavy horse rhythms are steady and strong curves like melodies, muscles like chords and the jingle of the harness is the heavy horse song
Handsome Clydesdale, kind and willing silky feathers and broad white blaze the British sent thousands to the colonies to build the Empire’s glory days
Belgian beauty, shades of caramel he’s got stamina, strength and size in pulling matches at your county fair chances are he’s gonna take the prize
Chorus
Massive Shire, gentle giant carried armoured knights of yore he pulled the plough in times of peace and hauled the heavy guns of war
Elegant Percheron, he’s got Arabian blood they say, and it makes him smart the colour of mist or as black as night he’s got the movement and he’s got heart
Now some believe you will rise again when machines stand still ’cause the earth’s run dry then we’ll need your strength to turn the soil and bring us home under a darkening sky
Curves like melodies, muscles like chords and the heavy horse rhythms are steady and strong curves like melodies, muscles like chords and the jingle of the harness is the heavy horse song
This song is set in early 70s, not long after laws were passed, declaring that the ponies, which had roamed and grazed free until then, had to be fenced in, along with other livestock. This meant more expense and labour. At the same time, increasing mechanization of farming and other work meant that the ponies were sold off by the thousands, mostly to be slaughtered for meat. As a result the breed is severely endangered, with fewer than 400 in existence as of 2012.
Chorus: Diddle-ee dye-di dum, diddle-ee dye-di day we were born on the Rock, of hardy stock, and the Rock is where we’ll stay with the cliffs and trees and the foggy seas, diddle-ee dye-di dee oh, together we’re grand, my Newfoundland pony and me
My pony he’s descended from more breeds than I can tell like the Highland, Welsh, and Exmoor, the Dartmoor and the Fell that came here with the settlers for to work this rugged place and now their blood has joined to form a new and sturdy race
Chorus
May Day (photo:Veronica Arend)
My Prince he stands about 13 hands, he’s a handsome brackety* grey and when I hitch him to the plough he’ll pull and pull all day We’ve hauled logs from out of the woods and kelp on the beaches too His heart’s as big as Conception Bay, there’s nothing he won’t do!
Chorus
He’ll pick his way on a rocky ledge and never slip or fail and when I’ve had a drop or two, he’ll keep me on the trail he’ll take my boy to school at eight and come back on his own, and then we’ll send him out at three and he brings the laddie home
Our ponies used to roam at large and graze along the way but now the law says fence them in and pay for feed and hay So folks are buying tractors now while the ponies disappear But I swear by the moon and the snows in June, old Prince he’s staying here!
Chorus
* brackety: Newfoundland dialect for spotted, dappled
Special thanks to Paul Aird for inspiring me to write this song and for letting me borrow the line about pulling the plough all day from his poem about the Newfoundland Pony; and also to Bob Bossin for letting me borrow “I swear by the moon and the snows in June” from his song “Newfoundlanders.”
The true story of a real little mare. Her tale was almost forgotten, but she’s been rediscovered recently. Written from the point of view of a fictional Korean veteran. Special thanks to Harold Wadley, a former Marine who remembers her fondly and who gave me the idea for the chorus.
It was sixty years ago today I shipped out to Korea, a rancher’s kid from Arizona, still in my teens and my story’s worth a listen, ’cause I served with Sergeant Reckless a real unlikely soldier, but the pride of the Marines
She was from the racetrack down in Seoul, a small Mongolian mare we named her for the rifle* that would help us win the day and we trained that horse to carry ammunition to the gun crew and she earned her stripes** for the courage that she showed along the way
Chorus: Oh there must have been an angel riding Reckless through the fire to save her from the bullets and the shrapnel flyin’ round
Reckless & two Marines
And every time we saw that mare, we felt our spirits risin’ oh little Sergeant Reckless helped us all to stand our ground
And on the first day of our battle to recapture outpost Vegas that mare made over fifty trips through rugged, steep terrain at first I’d lead her to the guns, and then she’d do it solo and each time we changed positions, she’d just learn the way again
Nine thousand pounds of ammo she delivered to the gunners on that day, and then she carried out the casualties of war and twice she came back bleeding, but Reckless was no quitter so we cleaned her cuts, and she turned around and headed out once more
Chorus
And Reckless kept us laughing with her antics and her appetite from scrambled eggs to whiskey, there was nothing she’d refuse and seeking warmth on winter nights, she’d creep into our tents and all us leathernecks would let her, ’cause that gal had paid her dues
And when the war was over, there’s no way we could leave her as a decorated veteran, she deserved the very best so when we shipped her stateside, she received a hero’s welcome and retired to Camp Pendleton – lord knows she’d earned her rest
And now that I’m old man, I sometimes get to wonderin’ if every war is really worth all the blood and death and pain But still I’d give most anything to see my long-lost buddies and to stroke that little white-faced sorrel mare again
Chorus
Yeah, every time I saw that mare, I felt my spirits risin’ oh little Sergeant Reckless, she sure helped me stand my ground
*The recoilless rifle, nicknamed the “reckless” rifle. **The mare was officially given the rank of sergeant by the Marine corps and later promoted to staff sergeant.
When I was a teen, I owned a gelding named Traveller who was half-Quarter horse. The math jokes people made about him inspired the chorus of this tune, and other Quarter horses I’ve known inspired the verses.
Chorus: If your fancy horse was half the horse that my little Quarter horse is Then your mount would amount to twice the horse that you’ve got He’d be supple and fit and clever and quick, the way my little horse of course is If your horse was half the horse my Quarter horse is – but he’s not!
My Quarter horse he’s strong and steady, he’s an old foundation type deep through the girth, he’s mostly muscle and heart traces his blood through Silver King right back to the Steel Dust line and he just about trained himself ’cause he’s that damn smart
Chorus
Now your horse needs a cushy stall and boots for his delicate legs and a big thick blanket ’cause I guess he can’t take the cold my Quarter horse is out 24/7 with nothing but his shaggy coat and he’s sound as a dollar though he’s twenty-two years old
If your fancy horse was half the horse that my little Quarter horse is If your horse was half the horse my Quarter horse is – but he’s not!
My little Quarter horse he’s a special sorta horse English or Western he can do it all reining and ropin’, or just some easy lopin’ you can even jump him, there’s nothing that’ll stump him
If your fancy horse was half the horse that my little Quarter horse is Then your mount would amount to twice the horse you’ve got He’d be supple and fit and clever and quick, the way my little horse of course is If your horse was half the horse Half my little Quarter horse If your horse was half the horse my Quarter horse is – but he’s not!
A slightly abridged version of the song that appeared on my CD Pegasus. Inspired by a real mare I saved from going to auction – that’s her in the photo.
Everybody said now you gotta beware you’ll have nothing but trouble with a chestnut mare it’s the same kinda thing we’ve all heard said about women and girls with hair of red
they’ve got a fiery temper, ’cause their blood’s so hot they’re real darn stubborn and they fight a lot well I’ve never paid attention to that old folklore but I’m starting to believe in it a little bit more
Chorus: Oh she’s a naughty little horse that chestnut mare she’s a naughty little horse but I don’t care ’cause she moves so fine and she looks so fair I went ahead and bought the little chestnut mare
Her mood can change like the weather in fall she will nuzzle your face when you enter her stall Then she’ll turn around and pin her ears right back She will step on your foot and try to eat her tack
Oh but ten minutes later she’s as good as gold her trot is willing and her canter bold with a mouth like butter and a back so round you feel like you’re floating above the ground
There are horses to be had that are free of vice they will jog in a circle as meek as mice but they’ve got no soul, there’s nothing there I wouldn’t trade the lot for my chestnut mare
Chorus
well my friends all shake their heads and say you sure don’t pick the straight and easy way but there’s nothing that’s certain in life but change so I don’t find that little mare all that strange
No, there ain’t no reason and there ain’t no rhyme just a random pattern that weaves through time you never know what’s coming, that’s the way it goes and the chestnut mare keeps me on my toes
She’s a naughty little horse that chestnut mare she’s a naughty little horse but I don’t care ’cause she moves so fine and she looks so fair I’m glad I went and bought the little chestnut mare oh I’m glad I went and bought the little chestnut mare
