"Only the Horses" is a song by

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band Scissor Sisters. The track is the first single from their fourth studio album, '' Magic Hour''. It premiered on April 6, 2012, on

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, and was released to various

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s as a single on April 13, 2012, in Europe and was released on May 13, 2012, in the United Kingdom. Scissor Sisters worked with producers Boys Noize and

Calvin Harris Adam Richard Wiles (born 17 January 1984), known professionally as Calvin Harris, is a Scottish DJ, record producer, singer, and songwriter who has released six studio albums. His debut studio album, ''I Created Disco'', was released in June ...

on the track, after having met Harris while working with

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on her eleventh studio album, ''

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''.

Music video

Directed by Lorenzo Fonda and produced by Ross Levine, the music video for "Only the Horses" was released on April 19, 2012, and features a quartet of horses running through the desert in slow motion. Attached to the horses are long hempen ropes, and over the course of the video it becomes clear that the other ends of the ropes are attached to metal plates set in a decorated triangular panel. As the ropes run out of slack, the equestrian imagery is intercut with slow-motion reversed footage of paint cascading over people (the band members, with Jake Shears covered in pink, Del Marquis in yellow, BabyDaddy in green and Ana Matronic in blue, also revealed to be wearing a Scissor Sisters ring). At the end of the video (quite evidently a homage to John Huston's, '' The Misfits''), the taut ropes pull the plates from the panel and fountains of paint shoot out.

Critical reception

Lewis Corner of

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blog gave the song a positive review, stating:

"Only the horses can find us tonight/ Only the horses can bring us back home," Jake Shears belts over Calvin's usual mix of gleeful synths and fluorescent beats, though still retaining much of the band's camp and carefree vibrancy from when we first fell in love with them. The result is much like the song's interesting choice of a saviour; a number that canters along powerfully enough to last the distance. .Scissor Sisters: 'Only The Horses' - Single review

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Track listing

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{Scissor Sisters 2012 singles Scissor Sisters songs 2011 songs Songs written by Amanda Ghost Songs written by Jake Shears Songs written by Babydaddy Casablanca Records singles