The Byrds — Chestnut Mare

Always alone never with a herd Prettiest mare I’ve ever seen You’ll have to take my word I’m going to catch that horse if I can And when I do I’ll give her my brand Well I was up on stony ridge after this chestnut mare I’d been chasin’ her for weeks Oh, I’d catch a glimpse of her every once in a while Takin’ her meal, or bathin' A fine lady This one day I happened to be real close to her And I saw her standin’ over there So I snuck up on her nice and easy Got my rope out And I flung it in the air I’m going to catch that horse if I can And when I do I’ll give her my brand And we’ll be friends for life She’ll be just like a wife I’m going to catch that horse if I can Well I got her, and I’m pullin’ on her, and she’s pullin’ back Like this mule goin’ up a ladder And I take a choice and I jump up on her Damned if I don’t land right on top of her And she takes off, runnin’ up on to the ridge Higher than I’ve ever been before She’s runnin’ along just fine, 'til she stops And something spooked her It’s a sidewinder, all coiled and ready to strike She doesn’t know what to do for a second But then she jumps off the edge Me holding on Above the hills Higher than eagles were gliding Suspended in the sky Over the moon Straight for the sun we were riding My eyes were filled with light Behind us black walls Below us a bottomless canyon Floating with no sound Gulls far below Seemed to be suddenly rising Exploding all around I’m going to catch that horse if I can And when I do I’ll give her my brand And we’ll be friends for life She’ll be just like a wife I’m going to catch that horse if I can And we were falling down this crevice About a mile down I’d say I look down and I see this red thing below us Comin’ up real fast And it’s our reflection in a little pool of water About six feet wide, and one foot deep And we're crawling down right through it We hit and we splashed it dry That’s when I lost my hold and she got away But I’m going to try to get her again some day I’m going to catch that horse if I can And when I do I’ll give her my brand And we’ll be friends for life She’ll be just like a wife I’m going to catch that horse I’m going to catch that horse I’m going to catch that horse if I can I’m going to catch that horse if I can