"White Horse" is a song written and performed by Tim Stahl and John Guldberg of the Danish duo
Laid Back
Laid Back is a Danish electronic music duo group from Copenhagen, formed in 1979. The duo consists of John Guldberg (vocals, guitar, bass) and Tim Stahl (vocals, keyboards, drums, bass). They are best known for the hits " Sunshine Reggae" and ...
. 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
The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...
. 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
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
'' described "White Horse" as "
rhaps the most unconvincing anti-drug song of all time". An article in ''
Miami New Times
The ''Miami New Times'' is a newspaper published in Miami, Florida, United States, and distributed every Thursday. It primarily serves the Miami area and is headquartered in Miami's Wynwood Art District.
Overview
It was acquired by Village Voic ...
'' 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
The ''Tampa Bay Times'', previously named the ''St. Petersburg Times'' until 2011, is an American newspaper published in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States. It has won fourteen Pulitzer Prizes since 1964, and in 2009, won two in a single y ...
'' 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
iUniverse, founded in October 1999, is an American self-publishing company based in Bloomington, Indiana.Kevin Abourezk"iUniverse to move to Indiana" incoln Journal Star, January 22, 2008
History
iUniverse focuses on print-on-demand self-publi ...
), 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
See also
*
List of number-one dance singles of 1984 (U.S.)
These are the ''Billboard magazine'' Hot Dance Club Play number one hits of 1984.
See also
*1984 in music
*List of number-one dance hits (United States)
*List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. Dance chart
References
{{US Dance Ch ...
References
1983 singles
1983 songs
Laid Back songs
Electro songs
Post-disco songs
Songs about drugs
English-language Danish songs
Sire Records singles
{{1980s-pop-song-stub