Home | Songs By Year | Songs from 1983
White Horse (Laid Back song)
Buy White Horse (Laid Back song) now from AmazonFirst, read the Wikipedia article. Then, scroll down to see what other TopShelfReviews readers thought about the song. And once you've experienced the song, tell everyone what you thought about it.
Wikipedia article
{{Infobox song
| name = White Horse
| cover = White Horse (Laid Back song).jpeg
| alt =
| caption = Re-release A side front cover
| type = single
| artist = Laid Back
| album = Keep Smiling
| B-side = So Wie So (US)
| released = 1983
| format =
| recorded =
| studio =
| venue =
| genre =
| length = 4:42
| label =
| writer =
| producer = Laid Back & The Dwarfs
| prev_title = Sunshine Reggae
| prev_year = 1983
| next_title = Party at the White House
| next_year = 1987
}}
"'White Horse'" is a 1983 song written by Tim Stahl and John Guldberg of the Danish duo Laid Back. It was released as the B-side of their single "Sunshine Reggae" which became a major hit in several European countries. In the US, the A-side was mainly ignored and it was the B-side that became most successful. It was released as a single and went on to spend three weeks at number one on the Dance Charts. The single also made the top five on the R&B singles chart and peaked at number 26 on the 'Billboard' Hot 100. Although being played in European clubs, it failed to chart there when re-released as an A-side.
Lyrics
The song's lyrics, which refer to riding "the white horse" and "the white pony", have been interpreted as references to heroin and/or cocaine use. 'Rolling Stone' described "White Horse" as "[p]erhaps the most unconvincing anti-drug song of all time". An article in 'Miami New Times' listed it as one of the "top 10 cocaine songs" and stated, "It's often debated whether the white horse in this song refers to cocaine or heroin. Either way, Laid Back's 1982 single starts out persuading you not to ride the white horse but rather to ride the white pony, also a slang term for coke." The book 'Totally Awesome 80s' described "White Horse" as "a song with very few words that still managed to be about the joys of cocaine". An article in the 'Tampa Bay Times' stated, "While the title seems harmless, those in the know figured out the song was about drugs."
Co-writer Tim Stahl referred to an alternative interpretation of the song when interviewed for the book 'Flashbacks to Happiness: Eighties Music Revisited' (published by iUniverse), saying, "Another cute anecdote about the song was when we got a letter from a little girl in Jutland in 1983, thanking us for making a song for her white pony!"
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Samples and cover versions
*It has been cited as an influence on Prince's song "Erotic City".
*R&B artist Monifah sampled it on the lead single "Touch It" from her second album, 'Mo'hogany' released in 1998. It peaked at No. 9 on the 'Billboard' Hot 100.
See also
*List of number-one dance singles of 1984 (U.S.)
References
Category:1983 singles
Category:1983 songs
Category:Laid Back songs
Category:Electro songs
Category:Post-disco songs
Category:Songs about drugs
Category:English-language Danish songs
Category:Sire Records singles
Buy White Horse (Laid Back song) now from Amazon
<-- Return to songs from 1983