Tim Booth's Milestone

Patti Smith

The first time I heard 'Horses', I was a 17-year old English public schoolboy. That evening I was told that my father was dying and might not make it through the night. Unable to sleep, I sneaked through the dark corridors, past the prefects, and into my study. The first words I heard through the headphones were:

"His father died
and left him alone on the New England farm.
All the black funeral cars left the scene
and the boy was left standing there.
It was if someone had spread
butter on all the fine points of the stars
cos when he looked up they started to slip ..."