Learning English Through Songs: A Horse with No Name

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A Horse with No Name (America, 1972)

On the first part of the journey
I was looking at all the life
There were plants and birds and rocks and things
There was sand and hills and rings
During the initial stage of his journey, the singer was looking at various forms of living beings both in the animal and plant kingdoms. Geological objects and unidentified miscellaneous items were also being observed.

The first thing I met was a fly with a buzz
And the sky with no clouds
The heat was hot and the ground was dry
But the air was full of sound
The singer chanced upon a type of buzzing insect while noticing the absence of clouds in the sky. He also made a redundant statement about the heat being hot. The ground appeared parched, he says, and the atmosphere was audible.

I've been through the desert on a horse with no name
It felt good to be out of the rain
The singer is now reporting that, at that point, he had been traveling through a wilderness on a nameless equestrian animal, and that being away from the rain made for a good feeling.

In the desert you can* remember your name
'Cause there ain't no one for to give you no pain
The singer is now stating what he perhaps believes to be gnomic truth through the use of the impersonal "you." Cause: There is nobody who inflicts pain upon anyone (in the desert) --> Effect: one can remember one's name in the desert. This statement could be a deeply sublime statement of truth; it could also be a non sequitur statement.

La la la la la
La la la la la
La la la la la
La la la la la
The horse-borne singer is now uttering a series of the untranslatable particle "la." The purpose of this remains unknown. It is quite probable that this is a joyous expression of the lack of pain previously referred to. It could be his way of avoiding the question as to what exactly he was talking about in the previous verse.

After two days in the desert sun
My skin began to turn red
The singer is reporting that he was experiencing a severe case of sunburn two days into the journey.

After three days in the desert fun
I was looking at a river bed
The singer is reporting that he was noticing the bed of the river three days into the fun-filled journey.

And the story it told of a river that flowed
Made me sad to think it was dead
The bed of the river gave him the impression that this used to be a river that once flowed and was now dead. This depressed him.

You see I've been through the desert on a horse with no name
It felt good to be out of the rain
In the desert you can* remember your name
'Cause there ain't no one for to give you no pain
As if he wasn't sure whether we believed him the first time, the singer is now reiterating the point he has made previously, i.e. he was experiencing no pain because 1. being out of the rain gave him a good feeling, 2. there was no one in the desert to give him, or anyone else for that matter, any pain (this is also the reason why one can remember one's name when one is wandering in the desert).

La la la la la
La la la la la
La la la la la
La la la la la
This is just a repeat of the unintelligible expression of joy.

After nine days I let the horse run free
'Cause the desert had turned to sea
After having wandered the desert for nine days, the singer is telling us that he parted way with the horse. The animal, he said, became useless now that the desert had become a sea.

There were plants and birds and rocks and things
There was sand and hills and rings
In the midst of a drastic change in scenery, certain things remained the same. The singer recalled seeing the same geological objects he had seen prior to the miraculous transfiguration of the desert.

The ocean is a desert with its life underground
And a perfect disguise above
The singer is opining that the ocean (which he saw?) was in actuality a desert with subterranean life. This, he says, is not apparent to the eye as it has been perfectly modified in both its manner and appearance in order to prevent recognition.

Under the cities lies a heart made of ground
But the humans will give no love
The singer is now apparently changing the subject to what he believes to be lying under multiple unidentified cities, i.e. a heart that is made of one of these materials listed in the noun section of this page. He contrasts the previous statement with the fact that multiple unidentified human beings will not generate a deep, tender, ineffable feeling of affection.

You see I've been through the desert on a horse with no name
It felt good to be out of the rain
In the desert you can remember your name
'Cause there ain't no one for to give you no pain

La la la la la
La la la la la
La la la la la
La la la la la
...
vide supra

*People can't decide whether it's "can" or "can't" here. The Water Buffalo says, when in doubt, err on the side of positivity.