Singles años 70 número 36

The Byrds - Chestnut Mare

Hablar de los The Byrds , es hablar de uno de los mejores grupos de la historia de Estados Unidos, y uno de los mas grandes de la historia. Este grupo se forman en Los Angeles, California, a principios de 1964. Estaba formado por Jim McGuinn con su famosa guitarra Rickenbacker de 12 cuerdas, Gene Clark, David Crosby (estos tres componentes formaban el grupo folk The Jet Set), a ellos se les unieron Chris Hillman (hasta entonces bajo de su propio grupo, The Hillmen) y el batería Michael Clarke.

En los 70, el grupo, ya con McGuinn como, practicamente, unico compositor, lanzan algunos buenos temas, como "Ballad of Easy Rider" para la pelicula Easy Rider, y "Chesnut Mare".

Canción



Letra

Always alone never with a herd
Prettiest mare I've ever seen
You'll have to take my word
I'm gonna' 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 now. Oh, I'd catch a little glimpse
Of her every once in a while; she'd be off takin' her meal, or bathin';
She was a real fine lady!
This one day I saw her standin' over there in a clearing,
So I snuck up to her nice and easy. I waited for the wind to blow
Just the right way, and I got my rope out and I flung it in the air!
I'm gonna' 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 gonna' catch that horse if I can
Well I got her, and I'm pullin' on her, she's pullin' back
Like a mule tryin' to climb up a ladder. I take this chance and
I jump up on her. Danged if I don't land right on top of her the
First time. Well she takes off, runnin' up on to that ridge, higher
Than I've ever been before. We're runnin' along just fine, and then
She sees a sidewinder, all coiled up ready to strike. Well that
Spooks her, and she jumps off the edge...me holdin' on!
Above the clouds 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 gonna' 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 gonna' catch that horse if I can
And we were falling down this crevice, about a mile down there
I'd say! I look down and I see this red thing below us. Turned
Out to be our reflection in a little pool of water, about six
Feet wide, and only one foot deep, and we're comin' down at it!
Finally we hit and we splashed that pool dry. Well that's when
I lost my hold and she got away. But I'm never gonna' give up,
I'm gonna' get her again some day!
I'm gonna' 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 gonna' catch that horse
I'm gonna' catch that horse
I'm gonna' catch that horse if I can
I'm gonna' catch that horse if I can

Video

Para completar este post me ha parecido interesante poner esta entrevista con Guillerm Soler autor del libro "The Byrds. Pajaros de doce cuerdas" que tuvo lugar en el programa La biblioteca del ritmo de RTVE

"En 1965 la canción “Mr. Tambourine Man” sumaba la poesía de Bob Dylan, las armonías vocales de los Beatles y el característico sonido de la guitarra Rickenbacker eléctrica de doce cuerdas tocada por Roger McGuinn. Con su single de debut, The Byrds definían el folk rock; tan sólo, el primero de los géneros de los que serían pioneros junto a la psicodelia, el country rock o el movimiento de singer-songwriters. Los californianos son, además, una de las pocas bandas realmente fundamentales de los 60 cuyos miembros, ya fuera del grupo madre, supieron brillar a la misma altura: Gene Clark en solitario, David Crosby junto a Stills y Nash, Chris Hillman y Gram Parsons con The Flying Burrito Brothers, así lo atestiguan. Este libro -primero dedicado en español y de forma monográfica a los pájaros de las doce cuerdas- presenta, pues, la historia de los Byrds y de su herencia personal y artística como una saga que debe ser entendida y escuchada como un todo indisoluble."