I Chose Horses - Mogwai
Mugen ni hirogaru
Ishiki no fuchi wo aruki
Koudo dake wo tayori ni
Kimi ni mukau toki
Hirakareta ao wa eikyuu no kanousei wo utsushi
Kimi to boku no kawasu kotoba wo tsunageru
Omoku taresagaru yuuutsu no katachi wo omoiukabe
Soko ni aru hazu no kokoro
Yagate souon ni kakikesare
Oowareta hikari ni kaeri
Modoru koto wo nozomu koe wa hashiru
Shizuka ni tomaru shiroi nami
Minamo de haneru
Kumo no utagoe
Kuruu hizashi ni yakusoku no moji
Ashimoto ni hirogaru
Shikou no kakera wo mitsume
Kanawanu mono ni kibo no namida
Hoshi wa dare no mono ni
Kanashimi no saigo wa itsuka
Bokura ni kaesareru monogatari wo tsuzuku
Kage ni utsuru hitomi ni
Takusan no hohoemi ni musuu ni narabu
Deguchi e no shisen
Saiai no fuukei
Maboroshi ga motarasu
Shiroi shunkan to te no hira
Subete hohaba no naka ni sonzaishi
Afureru mizu ni tochaku no kane
Sora no hashi to yuuyami no kensou
Yoru wo koete
Chinmoku no toki
Tomoshibi wo keshite
Tsukiyo no michi wo
Muku no egao ni mikan no shiawase wo
Translation
It stretches on forever
I walk through this abyss of consciousness
Relying only on my heartbeat when I face you
The open blue reflecting eternal possibility
The words we exchange intertwine
A melancholy figure, hanging heavily
Surfaces in my mind
There must be a heart there:
Soon noise will drown it out
Returning to the enveloped light
My voice raised, yearning to go back
White waves stop quietly
The song of the clouds breaking the surface
Words of promise to the insane sunlight
I gaze at the fragments of thought spread out at my feet
Tears of hope for those unfulfilled
To whom do the stars belong?
Sometime this sadness will end
My heart's response will continue the story
Silhouettes reflected in my eyes:
Countless faint smiles lined up before me
Gazing towards the exit
This beloved landscape
A vision brings
An instant of whiteness and the palm of my hand
All exists within one stride
Bells sound the arrival of the flood
The bridge of the sky and the clamor of twilight
I pass through this night; in silence
I extinguish my lamp, and in the moonlit street
Give an innocent smile for the happiness to come
Music is a magical entity in which many have difficulty describing with words. Music just is. If a song is created without words, the melody itself paints pictures in one's mind. With lyrics, the words are almost always profound or meaningful-meaningful at least to the composer, if not the listener as well. In the song, “I Chose Horses,” by an inspirational band named Mogwai, both the lyrics and its internal sounds and beats harmoniously intertwine, creating a very tranquil atmosphere. Tetsuya Fukagawa sings the song originally in Japanese. The way the lyrics are sung-or poetically spoken, to be accurate, gives the song a very personal appeal that inevitably draws the listener in, capturing he/she in a divination of a sort, a trance. The first attempt at deciphering the lyrics was a difficult one. Eventually, the reader will become accustomed to the different tenses used, as well as the various aspects of the narrators views on life. The song includes great and stunning imagery, underlying, meaningful interpretations, and is drenched with emotion.
Lines 1 through 5,
- It stretches on forever
- I walk through this abyss of consciousness
- Relying only on my heartbeat when I face you
- The open blue reflecting eternal possibility
- The words we exchange intertwine
Depict someone, possibly the narrator, in a “waking dream.” It seems as if he/she feels more alive within this dream, as opposed to reality. In line two, he/she uses the word, “abyss.” This means bottomless or deep, implying that he/she must have been absorbed in this “consciousness.” The definition of sleep mentions that, “…one is in a state of suspended consciousness.” The narrator is most likely in the stage of sleep called R.E.M. (Rapid Eye Movement), because this is where most dreams occur. The narrator might possibly be dreaming of meeting a certain loved one, possibly a lover or even God. Then, as he/she is speaking to this loved being, he/she suddenly starts to reminisce about “a melancholy figure.” This figure could be him/her in his waking life, or merely a metaphor for all the depressed and sad people in the world. Then, in lines 6 through 9,
- A melancholy figure, hanging heavily
- Surfaces in my mind
- There must be a heart there:
- Soon noise will drown it out
The narrator is so sure that this positive figure still has a heart, but it's beat is becoming drowned in “noise.” This noise could be referring to the bustling ruckus of society, disregarding the feelings and the life of the people in this world who are actually sad or depressed, who are looking for that one smile from a stranger. Unfortunately, it is reality. There aren't many people out there who genuinely care for strangers in need, unless they are known on a personal level. Humans are greedy. Selfish. Many live their lives for their own pursuit, their own gain. In lines 10 and 11,
