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Echo & The Bunnymen - Bring On The Dancing Horses

Music Video
ArtistEcho & The Bunnymen
SongBring On The Dancing Horses
DirectorAnton Corbijn
GenreAlternative Rock
IntroNo
OutroNo
Sound MixStereo
Technical Specificationscolour - format unknown

Wiki

Synopsis

A surreal parade unfolds against stark, colorful backdrops. A silhouetted Ian McCulloch leads a cow on a leash while a cameraman follows, turning the ordinary animal into the video's central "dancing horse." Elsewhere, suited figures drag along a man wearing a horse or unicorn head. The strange procession eventually intersects with McCulloch, who exchanges a black heart with the masked figure before taking his place in the procession. The result is an enigmatic, theatrical visual companion to the song's dreamlike atmosphere.

Factoids & Trivia

  • The video was released in 1985 as a promotional film for the song, which was later included on the compilation *Songs to Learn & Sing*.
  • "Bring On the Dancing Horses" was the only newly recorded track on *Songs to Learn & Sing*. It was also recorded for the soundtrack to the 1986 John Hughes film *Pretty in Pink*, helping the song reach a wider American audience.
  • The clip's deliberately artificial look comes from its use of silhouetted performers, colored backgrounds and green-screen-style compositing rather than a conventional performance setting.
  • The animal at the center of the procession is a cow, not a horse. The visual joke is reinforced by the surreal exchange between the cow handler and the horse-headed figure.
  • The song reached No. 21 on the UK Singles Chart and No. 15 in Ireland.
  • A later Echo & the Bunnymen video, "People Are Strange," reused material from this clip.

Lyrics

Jimmy Brown
made of stone
Charlie Clown
no way home
bringing the dancing horses
headless and all alone

shiver and say the words
of every lie you've heard

first I'm gonna make it
then I'm gonna break it
till it falls apart
...
© Echo & The Bunnymen - Bring On The Dancing Horses. This is an excerpt, provided as citation under fair-use.
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