All the Tired Horses

"All The Tired Horses"
Song by Bob Dylan
from the album Self Portrait
Released	June 8, 1970
Genre	Folk
Length	3:14
Label	Columbia
Songwriter(s)	Bob Dylan
Producer(s)	Bob Johnston

"All the Tired Horses" is a song written by Bob Dylan, released on his 1970 double album Self Portrait.

The song is the first track on the album. It is most notable for its absence of Dylan's singing. It consists of a small choir of female voices (Hilda Harris, Albertine Robinson, and Maeretha Stewart)^[1] repeating the same two lines

All the tired horses in the sun

How'm I s'posed to get any ridin' done? Hmm.

to the same melody for 3 minutes and 14 seconds, with varying instrumental accompaniment. In the key of C major, this song consists musically of the chord structure I-vi-iii-V, repeated throughout. This translates in the given key to C-Am-Em-G.

All the Tired Horses was used in the 2001 film Blow.

All the Tired Horses covered by Lisa O’Neill was used in the last scene of the 2022 finale of the TV series Peaky Blinders.

All the Tired Horses was used in the 2023 series Black Cake.

Cover versions

• The Sports: The Sports Play Dylan (and Donovan) (1981)
• Tim Heidecker & The Earth Is A Man (2012)^[2] (single)
• Lisa O'Neill (2022)
• Anna Calvi (2022)

References

1. "All The Tired Horses". Genius. Retrieved March 30, 2016.
2. "Tim Heidecker Does an Impromptu Collaboration on Bob Dylan's "All the Tired Horses"". 27 February 2012.

Further reading

• Don Giller and Ed Lozano. The Definitive Bob Dylan Songbook. Amsco Publications, 2003.
• Clinton Heylin. Revolution in the Air: The Songs of Bob Dylan, 1957–1973.. Chicago Review Press. 2009.
• Oliver Trager. Keys to the Rain: The Definitive Bob Dylan Encyclopedia. Billboard Books, 2004.