When a Horse Hoof Hits the Ground (Tom Swearingen )

When a Horse Hoof Hits the Ground

«Tom Swearingen »

I hear something special when a horse hoof hits the ground

 Nothing else as magic as the rhythm of that sound

Whether just a gentle clip clop ambling down a street

 Or thunder at the gallop just a blur of legs and feet

Don’t matter if it’s barefoot or shod with nails and steel

 There’s nothing else I’ve heard that gives me quite the feel

I’ve heard the greatest orchestras and a diva’s glorious song

 And choirs harmonizing like a grand angelic throng

I’ve seen the late and great ones from Elvis to George Jones

 Those with voices that move and shake you deep down to your bones

But I hear something special when a horse hoof hits the ground

 Nothing else as magic as the rhythm of that sound

I’ve heard a child’s first words and the whinny of a new born foal

 And beautiful songs of yesteryear and classic poems of ol’

The echo through the canyon of coyotes checking in

 And the gentle sound of evening breeze at daylight’s peaceful end

Yes those sounds are wonderful and each speaks to my soul

 But so does the sound of hoof beats when horses are on the roll

Yes, I hear something special when a horse hoof hits the ground

 Nothing else as magic as the rhythm of that sound

When I listen to those hoof beats no telling what I’ll find

 With imagination running free painting pictures in my mind

A future derby winner leading on the rail

 A Pony Express rider rushing someone’s mail

A Finals barrel racer turning on a dime

 The old country doctor’s buggy arriving just in time

A desperado’s getaway following a spree

 The posse hot behind aiming to hang him in a tree

A bred to buck saddle bronc flanked and just set loose

 A proud Umatilla Indian on a swift Cayuse

Or the horses I grew up with when I was just a pup

 Fury, Silver, Trigger, and my stick horse Giddy-Up

No telling where they’ll take me when I hear a horse’s feet

 My imagination up in the saddle riding with the beat

Yeah, I hear something special when a horse hoof hits the ground

 Nothing else as magic as the rhythm of that sound