Pony

Pony (Becky & Gabe cover) - MP3

Lyrics

me and my
pony ride
through the night
dark and lonely
we keep our heads down
while the moons out
please don't let the light shine in my eyes
tonight

i've been dreaming
for a few weeks
that i'm adrift
in a thousand snowflakes
i've got to keep moving
to keep from freezing
if i slow down
i'll just start sleeping
and i won't rest tonight

i've got stars hung above the poles
to keep me facing north
when i'm far from home
they keep me on my course
i've got stars inside my chest
to keep me facing west
where i can finally rest
and lay my head down 

i've heard boats on
the arctic ocean
have to move
or they'll stay frozen
their daylight withers
until its a sliver
which cuts the night
and buries in her side
to die
 
and show me stars hung above the poles
to keep me facing north
when i'm far from home
they keep me on my course
i've got stars inside my chest
to keep me facing west
where i can finally rest
and lay my head down 

i've got stars hung above the poles
to keep me facing north
when i'm far from home
they keep me on my course
i've got stars inside my chest

Songwriter Notes

i wrote this at my parents house during xmas break during my senior year of college. i hadn't written anything in what felt like a very long time and was worried i would never write again. i think the chords came fist. the lyrics came sequentially with great effort. i remember feeling quite impressed with tight internal rhymes in the verses. at the time, i thought it was the best song i had written. i was very pleased with it.

looking back at it now the melody seems weak, and though i'm still happy with most of the lyrics the second half of the chorus looks awful. reading it now it seems affected (stars inside my chest to keep me facing west), inconsistent (facing north / facing west), and redundant (where i can rest AND lay my head down).

i still like the pivot on the B7 from e minor to G major. it's a nice progression. this song was probably most inspired by Lyle Lovett's If I had a boat. I was listening to that song a lot a the time.

Comments

This one was always one of my favorites; just posted a recording of Becky and I doing it at our country practice the other night. I always heard "where I can finally rest/and lay my head down" as "where i can find a place/to lay my head down", so i sing it that way. whoops! the best part of this tune for me is the transition to the chorus, going to the as yet unheard relative major. I just never really expect that there. A local classic. Gabemcelwain 16:52, 12 March 2009 (PDT)
Yeah!! I just listened to it and noticed the different words in the chorus. It's an improvement!! It's not redundant now. It's so cool hearing becky and you sing together. i miss you guys! <3 Conorl 16:57, 12 March 2009 (PDT)