This is the original cover sleeve of the 'Goodbye Horses' single, so people can see that it is a woman singing. The picture is of Q Lazzarus. I too, initially thought it was a man singing, but knowing that it is not, does not detract from the fact that the song is amazing and powerful. The song lyrics and composition by William Garvey (who died in 2009) and sung by Q Lazzarus.
Actual lyrics are :-
GOODBYE HORSES
He told me, "I've seen it rise,
But, it always falls.
I've seen 'em come, I've seen 'em go."
He said, "All things pass into the night."
And I said, "Oh no sir, I must say you're wrong,
I must disagree, Oh no sir, I must say you're wrong,
Won't you listen to me?"
He told me, "I've seen it all before,
I've been there, I've seen my hopes and dreams
lying on the ground.
I've seen the sky, just begin to fall."
He said, "All things pass into the night"
And I said, "Oh no sir, I must say you're wrong,
I must disagree, Oh no sir, I must say you're wrong,
Won't you listen to me."
Goodbye horses, I'm flying over you.
Goodbye horses, I'm flying over you.
---You can check this, by going to William Garvey's website. http://www.garveymusic.com/
It's a woman singing about a man (sung in past tense), and what he's telling her is all very negative, to which she disagrees. It's pretty simplistic in it's verses. The 'Goodbye Horses' lyric is clearly a metaphor. There are no horses in the song.
Basically, it's the mind we're talking about here. 'Goodbye Horses' is saying goodbye to the mind. So it could just be Death on the whole. I believe Garvey intended the song to be quite uplifting, however, he didn't have control over Q Lazzarus' voice. But as with any song, it's all down to interpretation (well, unless the singer says otherwise and screws that up)
A lot of people say 'Goodbye Horses' is about drugs, namely, cocaine. But there isn't really any indication to that. On the flipside to the 'Goodbye Horses' vinyl, is a song called 'White Lines', which could easily be misconstrued as being about cocaine, but the lyric within the song goes 'White lines over the ocean'. But even if the song is a reference to cocaine, it does not mean that 'Goodbye Horses' is.
'Goodbye Horses' was not written for the movie 'The Silence Of The Lambs (1991 Jonathan Demme)'. The song was written and released in 1988, a month after the book (by Thomas Harris) was released. The song appeared in 'Married To The Mob' (another Demme movie) which was released in theatres across America a month after the books release, thus making it impossible.
Unfortunately Q Lazzarus only made a few songs and they are very hard to come by:-
'The Candle Goes Away', which featured in the 1986 movie 'Something Wild' staring Melanie Griffith, i believe (another Demme movie) .
'White Lines' which appeared on the flipside to the 'Goodbye Horses' vinyl.
'Heaven' (a cover of 'The Talking Heads') which appeared in the film 'Philadelphia' (yet another Demme movie), which you can see a clip of (on YouTube) under the title.. 'Soul Song In The End Of The Party', you even see Q herself, seemingly wearing the same jacket as on the Goodbye Horses cover sleeve, and wearing a hat. Unfortunately the song seems to be an in-movie song, and thus not a proper recording.
Also, Q Lazzarus wrote and composed music, alongside Danny Z, for a movie named 'Twisted' by director Seth Michael Donsky released in 1996. I read a review of the film by someone, who said 'that the movie should of just been a 2 hour MTV music video, which could mean (not certain) that Q lazzarus sings some other songs...here's hoping.
Finally original video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKFaGDrOfrI
