Dead Horse Lyrics
Sick of this life, not that you'd care
I'm not the only one with whom, these feelings, I share
Nobody understands quite why we're here
We're searching for answers that never appear
Maybe if I looked real hard, I'd, I'd see you trying, too
To understand this life that we're all going through
"Then when she said she was going to, like, wreck my car
I didn't know what to do"
[Chorus]
Oh, sometimes, I feel like I'm beating a dead horse
And I don't know why you'd be bringing me down
I'd like to think that our love's worth a tad more
It may sound funny, but you'd think, by now, I'd be smiling
I guess some things never change
Oh, never change
[Verse]
I met an old cowboy, I saw the look in his eyes
Something tells me he's been here before 'cause experience makes you wise
I was only a small child when the thought first came to me
That I'm a son of a gun and the gun of a son that brought back the devil in me
[Chorus]
Oh, but sometimes, I feel like I'm beating a dead horse
I don't know why you'd be bringing me down
I'd like to think that our love's worth a tad more
It may sound funny, but you'd think, by now, I'd be smiling
Yeah, I guess some things never change
Ooh, never change
I ain't quite what you'd call an old soul
Still wet behind the ears
I've been around this track a couple of times
But now the dust is starting to clear, oh, yeah
[Guitar Solo]
[Chorus]
Sometimes, I feel like I'm beating a dead horse
I don't know why you'd be bringing me down
I'd like to think that our love's worth a tad more
It may sound funny, but you'd think, by now, I'd be smiling
Ooh, yeah, I'd be smiling
No way I'd be smiling
Ooh, smiling
[Outro]
Sick of this life, not that you'd care
I'm not the only one with whom, these feelings, I share
About
“Dead Horse” is the second to last track on Use Your Illusion I. Based on the expression “beating a dead horse”, the lyrics are about trying to rebuild yourself after a failed relationship. Rolling Stone called it a “frustration anthem”.
The composition starts and ends with an acoustic section, which features a guitar riff written by lead vocalist Axl Rose. According to Slash, the song pre-dates Guns N Roses:
There was also a sense of closet-cleaning about the Illusion records. Many of the albums' songs had histories that stretched back years: “Dead Horse” was an old Axl tune…
The song was never released as a single commercially, but was sent to radio stations and a music video was made for it.
In 2019, the band performed the song live for the first time in 26 years.
Q&A
Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning
- 4.Don’t Cry
- 10.November Rain
- 11.The Garden
- 12.Garden of Eden
- 13.Don’t Damn Me
- 14.Bad Apples
- 15.Dead Horse
- 16.Coma