Three Horses Lyrics

In the early dawn 
A stallion white 
Prances the hills 
In the morning light
His bridle is painted 
With thunder and gold
Orchids and dragons 
Pale knights of old
He´s  the horse of the ages past.

And now the children run
To see the stallion on the hill
Bringing bags of apples 
And of clover they have filled
And the white horse 
Tells his stories
Of the days
Now passed and gone
And the children stand 
A-wondering
Believing 
Every song
How brightly glows the past.

When the sun is high
Comes a mare so red
A-trampling the graves 
Of the living and dead
Her mantle is heavy
With mirrors and glass
All is reflected 
When the red mare does pass
She´s the horse of the here and now.

And now there is confusion 
´mongst the children on the hill
They cling to one another 
And no longer can be still
While the red mare´s 
Voice is trembling
With a rare and 
Mighty call
The children 
Start remembering 
The bearers 
And the the pall
And though their 
Many-colored sweaters 
Are reflecting 
In the glass
And though the sun
Shines down upon them
They are frightened 
In the grass
How stark is the here and now.

When the night does fall
Comes a stallion black
So proud and tall
He never looks back
He wears him no emaralds
Silver or gold
Not even a covering
To keep him from cold
He´s the horse of the years to come.

And I will get me down 
Before this steed upon my knees
And sing to him the sorrows
Of a thousand centuries
And the children 
Now will scatter
As their mothers 
Call them home
For the sadness 
Of the evening horse
No child 
Has ever known
And I will 
Hang about him
A bell that´s 
Never rung
And thank him 
For the many words
Which from his throat
Have never sprung
And I´ll thank God 
And all the angels
That the stallion 
Of the evening 
The black horse 
Of the future 
Comes to earth but has no tongue.

Joan Baez  
Copyright 1971 by Chandos Music 
ASCAP 7:03