# Songs That Mention Both a Horse and a Boat **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 18, 2010, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-mention-both-a-horse-and-a-boat/529538 "2010-02-18T21:47:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![uncle\_squeegee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b5e925/32.png) [@uncle\_squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/uncle_squeegee)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-mention-both-a-horse-and-a-boat/529538/1 "2010-02-18T21:47:47Z")
A Seattle radio station used to have a contest called Theme Park. They’d play three songs that had something in common; callers would try to guess the theme to win valuable prizes. The link could be anything from a shared word in the titles to having the same songwriter to being the first track from the first album by each performer. The station took user submissions; I had an idea for an entry but could only come up with two songs. My theme was horses and boats. The contest is no longer running, but I am still searching for that elusive third song. Anybody that completes the set can come for a horse ride on my boat (once I get around to getting a horse and a boat). The songs I came up with (with applicable lyrics): _If I Had a Boat_ by Lyle Lovett And if I had a boat I’d go out on the ocean And if I had a pony I’d ride him on my boat And we could all together Go out on the ocean Me upon my pony on my boat _Buckskin Stallion Blues_ by Townes Van Zandt If I had a buckskin stallion I’d tame him down and ride away And if I had a flyin’ schooner, I’d sail into the light of day If I had your love forever, sail into the light of day **and** If I had a buckskin stallion I’d tame him down and ride away And if I had a golden galleon, I’d sail into the light of day If I had your love forever, sail into the light of day Thank you, and giddy up to starboard. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-mention-both-a-horse-and-a-boat/529538/2 "2010-02-18T21:53:27Z")
Does a song with rocking horse people count? ---
**Author:** ![Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brown_eyed_girl/32/3574_2.png) [@Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brown_Eyed_Girl)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-mention-both-a-horse-and-a-boat/529538/3 "2010-02-18T22:02:08Z")
It’s not really a song in the true sense of a song, but _Horse Latitudes_ by The Doors. ---
**Author:** ![Helena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c68b51/32.png) [@Helena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helena)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-mention-both-a-horse-and-a-boat/529538/4 "2010-02-18T23:36:19Z")
Loreena McKennit’s version of “The Highwayman”? It does have that “the moon was a ghostly galleon” line. Not an actual boat as such. ---
**Author:** ![Cowgirl\_Jules](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4af34b/32.png) [@Cowgirl\_Jules](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cowgirl_Jules)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-mention-both-a-horse-and-a-boat/529538/5 "2010-02-18T23:46:09Z")
There’s a Jimmy Buffett one but the name escapes me at the moment. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-mention-both-a-horse-and-a-boat/529538/6 "2010-02-18T23:49:28Z")
Give A Man A Horse He Can Ride, by James Thomson [http://www.recmusic.org/lieder/get\_text.html?TextId=15756](http://www.recmusic.org/lieder/get_text.html?TextId=15756) Give a man a horse he can ride, Give a man a boat he can sail; And his rank and wealth, his strength and health, On sea nor shore shall fail. Give a man a pipe he can smoke Give a man a book he can read: And his home is bright with a calm delight, Though the room be poor indeed. Give a man a girl he can love, As I O my love, love thee; And his heart is great with the pulse of fate, At home, on land, on sea. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2010, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-mention-both-a-horse-and-a-boat/529538/7 "2010-02-19T01:04:49Z")
**If I had a Fine White Horse** by Secret Garden If I had a fine white horse I’d take you for a ride today But since I have no fine white horse Inside I’ll have to stay And empty all the chamber-pots And scrub the floors and such For what’s there to do on a fine white horse? It seems to me, not much If I had a wooden boat I’d take you for a sail today But since I have no wooden boat Inside I’ll have to stay And catch and kill the mice And pluck the chickens for the cook But what’s there to do in a wooden boat But sit up straight and look? And worry our boat will start to drift And float us out to sea And land us on an isle of gold Oh dear, oh dearie me [more] [http://www.lyricsdownload.com/secret-garden-if-i-had-a-fine-white-horse-lyrics.html](http://www.lyricsdownload.com/secret-garden-if-i-had-a-fine-white-horse-lyrics.html) ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2010, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-mention-both-a-horse-and-a-boat/529538/8 "2010-02-19T03:55:40Z")
Do mules count as horses? Because I’ve got an old mule, her name is Sal, fifteen miles on the Erie Canal. ---
**Author:** ![ErinPuff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dbc845/32.png) [@ErinPuff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ErinPuff)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2010, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-mention-both-a-horse-and-a-boat/529538/9 "2010-02-19T04:34:11Z")
“Annan Water” by the Decemberists. > [@](#): > > Annan Water, you loom so deep and wide > I would cross over if you would stem the tide > I’ll build a **boat** that I might ford the other side > To reach the farthest shore where my true love lies in wait for me > > O grey river, your waters ramble wild > The **horses** shiver and bite against the bridle > But I will cross if mine own **horse** is pulled from me > Though my mother cries that if I try, I sure will drowned be ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2010, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-mention-both-a-horse-and-a-boat/529538/10 "2010-02-19T04:47:11Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Do mules count as horses? Because I’ve got an old mule, her name is Sal, fifteen miles on the Erie Canal. Best known of the thread for sure. Low bridge, everybody down! ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2010, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-mention-both-a-horse-and-a-boat/529538/11 "2010-02-19T05:02:21Z")
And its by the hush, Me Boys And be sure to hold your noise And listen to poor Paddy’s sad narration I was by hunger pressed And by poverty distressed So I took an oath to leave the Irish nation So I sold me horse and plow Sold me sheep, me pigs and sow Me little farm of land and I we parted And me sweetheart Beth Magee I’m afeared I’ll never see For I left her on that mornin’ broken hearted And here’s you Boys, now take my advice To Americay I’ll have you not be goin’ For there’s nothin’ here but war Where the murderin’ cannons roar And I wish I was back home In dear old Ireland So meself and a hundred more To Americay sailed o’er Our fortunes to be makin’ we were thinkin’ But when we got to Yankee-Land They stuck a musket in me hands Sayin’ “Paddy, you must go and fight for Lincoln.” - “Paddy’s Lamentation,” Traditional ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2010, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-mention-both-a-horse-and-a-boat/529538/12 "2010-02-19T05:06:18Z")
On the fourth of July eighteen hundred and six We set sail from the sweet cove of Cork We were sailing away with a cargo of bricks For the grand city hall in New York 'Twas a wonderful craft, she was rigged fore-and-aft And oh, how the wild winds drove her. She’d got several blasts, she’d twenty-seven masts And we called her the Irish Rover! We had one million bales of the best Sligo rags We had two million barrels of stones We had three million sides of old blind horses hides, We had four million barrels of bones. We had five million hogs, we had six million dogs, Seven million barrels of porter. We had eight million bails of old nanny goats’ tails, In the hold of the Irish Rover! - “The Irish Rover,” Traditional ---
**Author:** ![Bootis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e8c25b/32.png) [@Bootis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bootis)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2010, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-mention-both-a-horse-and-a-boat/529538/13 "2010-02-19T05:20:23Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > Does a song with rocking horse people count? Thats what I was gonna say before I noticed your post, so I tried to think of another. John Lennon is sure the only one to have written TWO well known songs with horses and boats- Lucy in the Sky as mentioned, and I - I - I -I - I Dig a pony … … You can syndicate any boat you row Yes you can syndicate any boat you row ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2010, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-mention-both-a-horse-and-a-boat/529538/14 "2010-02-19T12:26:38Z")
Big Hat, No Cattle by Randy Newman gets bonus points for rhyming “big horse, no saddle” with “big boat, no paddle”. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2010, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-mention-both-a-horse-and-a-boat/529538/15 "2010-02-19T13:58:27Z")
[Low Bridge](http://www.springsteenlyrics.com/lyrics/e/eriecanal.php) If by “horse” you mean “mule” and by “boat” you mean “barge”. And by “mention” you mean “infer” (regarding the barge). ---
**Author:** ![TV\_time](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f17d59/32.png) [@TV\_time](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TV_time)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2010, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-mention-both-a-horse-and-a-boat/529538/16 "2010-02-19T18:12:00Z")
Those are perhaps the only two things not mentioned in Don McClean’s “By, By Miss American Pie.” ---
**Author:** ![TV\_time](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f17d59/32.png) [@TV\_time](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TV_time)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2010, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-mention-both-a-horse-and-a-boat/529538/17 "2010-02-19T18:21:23Z")
While the horse is not directly stated it is implied in a number of places in “Lydia the Tattooed Lady.” Apparently if you look on Lydia, you can see the Battle of Waterloo, and you can see Andrew Jackson coming up a hill and you can see Buffalo Bill with a Lasso all of which would suggest to me mounted men. The boats are more clearly stated. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2010, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-mention-both-a-horse-and-a-boat/529538/18 "2010-02-19T18:51:33Z")
**Wounded Horse** - XTC \*Well my friends all said you won’t sink if you paddle But my ship drifts on into an endless night Well I bit my own tongue like a wounded horse When I found out you’d been riding Another man\* ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2010, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-mention-both-a-horse-and-a-boat/529538/19 "2010-02-19T19:10:37Z")
The Lady of Shalott There is verse mentioning she is riding in a boat, but the word boat is never written. > [@](#): > > On burnish’d hooves his war-horse trode; > [@](#): > > And at the closing of the day > She loosed the chain, and down she lay; > The broad stream bore her far away, > The Lady of Shalott. > [@](#): > > Under tower and balcony, > By garden-wall and gallery, > A gleaming shape she floated by, > Dead-pale between the houses high, > Silent into Camelot. > Out upon the wharfs they came, > Knight and burger, lord and dame, > And round the prow they read her name, > The Lady of Shalott. ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2010, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-mention-both-a-horse-and-a-boat/529538/20 "2010-02-19T19:33:38Z")
_I’m On A Boat_. Except for the horse thing. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-mention-both-a-horse-and-a-boat/529538.md?page=2)