So I was sitting here and I can't remember why, but started thinking about the song Horse With No Name and decided to look it up on You Tube. The video is below. I've always thought it was a cool song and didn't know why, so I decided to have a listen. There were a couple of interesting things I noted (and no there's no deeper meaning to this post, just some ramblings like my post on Ang-Land).
Basically it seems a song describing the desert, and it is. What I found interesting when thinking about it though was why you wouldn't name a horse. The only thing I could conclude is that you didn't expect it to live. People tend not to name things that will die because it is more personal. It's like naming a chicken in your farm that you intend to later eat. So he probably didn't name it because he expected death. Which leads me to believe it wasn't just a planned trip across the desert, or it was a planned trip that went wrong. And indeed, in the song, he says that on the ninth day he let the horse run free.
Another thing of note is the absolutely fabulous comparative lyrics between the desert and the ocean. I found it actually profound.
The ocean is a desert with its life underground
Having been in the middle of the ocean on a ship with nothing around, this lyric is amazing.
Apparently someone was smoking some Marijuana when writing this song - and I wasn't when analyzing it... but I still found that comparison very cool.