A Horse with No Name

"A Horse with No Name" is a song by the folk rock band America. Written by Dewey Bunnell, it was the band's first and most successful single, released in late 1971 in Europe and early 1972 in the United States. The song topped the charts in Canada, Finland, and the United States. It was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America. Development America's self-titled debut album was released initially in Europe, without "A Horse with No Name", and achieved only moderate success. Originally called "Desert Song", "Horse" was written while the band was staying at the home of musician Arthur Brown, near Puddletown, Dorset, England. The first two demos were recorded there by Jeff Dexter and Dennis Elliott, which were intended to capture the sensation of the hot, dry desert that had been depicted in a Salvador Dalí painting, and in a picture by M. C. Escher which featured a horse. Writer Dewey Bunnell also says he remembered his childhood travels through the Arizona and New Mexico desert when his family lived at Vandenberg Air Force Base. Bunnell has explained that "A Horse with No Name" was "a metaphor for a vehicle to get away from life's confusion into a quiet, peaceful place". Trying to find a song that would be popular in both the United States and Europe, Warner Bros. was reluctant to release the ballad "I Need You" as the first single from America. The label asked the band if it had any other material, then arranged for America to record four more songs at Morgan Studios, in Willesden, London. "A Horse with No Name" was released as the featured song on a three-track single in the United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Italy and the Netherlands in late 1971. On the release, "A Horse with No Name" shared the A-side with "Everyone I Meet Is from California", while "Sandman" featured on the B-side. However, its early-1972 two-track United States release did not include "Sandman", with "Everyone I Meet Is from California" appearing on the B-side. Composition "A Horse with No Name" was recorded in E Dorian (giving it a key signature with two sharps, F# and C#) with acoustic guitars, bass guitar, drum kit, and bongo drums. The only other chord is a D, fretted on the low E and G strings, second fret. A 12-string guitar plays an added F♯ (second fret, high E string) on the back beat of the Em. A noted feature of the song is the driving bass line with a hammer-hook in each chorus. A "waterfall"-type solo completes the arrangement.