Black Baldy Stallion

Album: Ready For Confetti (2011)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This is the opening track from Robert Earl Keen's album Ready For Confetti. Most of his songs tell a story, and American Songwriter magazine asked the Texas country-folk artist if his tales are autobiographical or more for entertainment purposes. He replied: "I usually always try to start with some point of truth as a reference or cornerstone. And then I fictionalize everything from there. Then the idea is to either get a message across through the story or make people think about whatever I think they should be thinking about. There's usually a message behind the story or sometimes it's about how cool the story can be."

    Keen added that this song is "just a really cool Western motif story. I'm not trying to put across any kind of real message other than one lover wants to get to another lover and will do anything to make that happen."
  • Keen told American Songwriter he is proud of the lyrical content on this song, He explained why: "I don't think I'm the cleverest guy, but I'm a solid lyricist. In the 'Black Baldy Stallion,' I'm singing a syllable on every beat, which reflects this whole feeling of riding a horse to some destination. Then when it gets to the chorus, it opens up really wide. There's just a few words in the chorus and it's a real singable, easy chorus. But the story right there is very dense and I was really proud of that. And that was intentional. I wanted this really dense verse and then this really open chorus. It builds tension through the verses and then gives you some great release during the choruses."

Comments: 1

  • Larry Keiter from Wichita, KansasThis is a really Great Song - I Love it!
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Boz Scaggs

Boz ScaggsSongwriter Interviews

The "Lowdown" and "Lido Shuffle" singer makes a habit of playing with the best in the business.

Jonathan Cain of Journey

Jonathan Cain of JourneySongwriter Interviews

Cain talks about the divine inspirations for "Don't Stop Believin'" and "Faithfully."

Which Restaurants Are Most Mentioned In Song Lyrics?

Which Restaurants Are Most Mentioned In Song Lyrics?Song Writing

Katy Perry mentions McDonald's, Beyoncé calls out Red Lobster, and Supertramp shouts out Taco Bell - we found the 10 restaurants most often mentioned in songs.

Taylor Dayne

Taylor DayneSongwriter Interviews

Taylor talks about "The Machine" - the hits, the videos and Clive Davis.

Women Who Rock

Women Who RockSong Writing

Evelyn McDonnell, editor of the book Women Who Rock, on why the Supremes are just as important as Bob Dylan.

Bob Daisley

Bob DaisleySongwriter Interviews

Bob was the bass player and lyricist for the first two Ozzy Osbourne albums. Here's how he wrote songs like "Crazy Train" and "Mr. Crowley" with Ozzy and Randy Rhoads.