01	....And The Mouse Police Never Sleeps						03:14
	02	Acres Wild						03:25
	03	No Lullaby						07:55
	04	Moths						03:27
	05	Journeyman						03:57
	06	Rover						04:16
	07	One Brown Mouse						03:23
	08	Heavy Horses						08:59
	09	Weathercock						04:02

Ian Anderson, vocals, flutes, acoustic & electric guitar, mandolin;
Martin Barre, guitars;
John Evan, piano, organ;
Barriemore Barlow, drums, percussion;
John Glascock, bass;
David Palmer, pipe organ, keyboards, orchestral arrangements;
with Darryl Way, violin



~ Heavy Horses ~

An introduction to "Heavy Horses"

The album - released in 1978 - continued the themes explored on the previous album with the same mixture of folk-influenced acoustic pieces and heavy rock. Like "Songs From The Wood", this album is full of folk imagery. Many of the songs are about animals and the lyrics continue much of the rustic tradition of its predecessor. The album is a bit darker however, with more references to modern civilization but lacks the lightness and humour the previous album. The music too reflects this change: the more traditional rock sounds of electric guitar and the trap kit are more prominent. Though Anderson once again was responsible for all the writing, the musical contributions from individual band members were stronger than ever. Up to now "Heavy Horses" remains one of the most popular and successful Tull-albums and the title song still is - in spite of being a long winded - an obligatory one on every Tull concert.


Annotations


...And The Mouse Police Never Sleeps

This song appears to be about cats:
"Savage bed-foot warmer of purest feline ancestry"
and doesn't seem to celebrate nature as much as it reminds us that dead and killing are parts of nature:
"Eats but one in every ten, leaves the others on the mat."
It may be the case that a pagan or 'nature-worshipper' would not view death in the bleak, dreary manner in which most modern, Western people do.

The line "Eats but one in every ten, leaves the other on the mat" is an obvious reference to the habit of domestic cats to bring their kill to the master as an offering. This is a very common behavior of domesticated felines. Anyone who has a cat that catches mice knows that the cat will frequently leave the intact bodies of their prey in a well trafficked area as a gift to show their 'love' for the humans that keep them. The front door mat is the most common alter of offering, as this is where the cat patiently waits for the master to open the door and let them in to the house.
* Bruce Rusk


Acres Wild

Acres Wild takes a very earthy view of sex, based on a tradition I discussed in the introduction of Songs From The Wood. In the opening verse natural settings are enumerated in which the narrator plans to have sex. Than, in the second verse, the scenery change from rural to urban:
"in narrow side streets with shuttered windows, crumbling chimneys" and brings us to the present day. The narrator proceeds to enumerate places of dilapidated civilization. He speaks of having sex in "a weary town".
Based on the pagan fertility beliefs discussed before, the practice of having sex in these places should make them alive and productive again. Caswell asks himself: "Is it possible that this song is about a kind of pagan , pre-Christian sexual rejuvenation of a crumbling civilization?" We saw how this theme was the main subject of Jack-In-The-Green.

In the chorus lines the narrator calls his love "northern father's western child".
It might be that this cryptic line shows the gap that arose between old tradition, where every human being had his/her place in the cycle of nature, and modern life, where so many feel lost and anonymous. In that case the "western child" stands for modern man and his life in the city who experiences the alienation that springs from the loss of traditions, that were so dear to the previous generations ('the northern fathers'). Could it be, that these northern fathers refer to Picts, Scots and other Celtic nations that inhabited Scotland so long ago and - being safeguarded for Roman civilization - could preserve their traditions for so long?
* Jan Voorbij

In 'Acres Wild', I've always thought "northern father's western child" is simply Skye itself. The northern father is Scotland, the comparatively small Isle Of Skye being described as Scotland's child.
* Neil R. Thomason

The Winged Isle is an old name for the Isle of Skye. The black mountains refer to the Black Cuillins, the eastern part of the Cuillin Hills on the Isle of Skye.
* Jan Voorbij, Judson Caswell


No Lullaby

At first sight this song seems to address children and summons them to remain watchful and "keep an open eye" for all kinds of dangers that are "out there in the night". If that is the case, we are dealing here with what Barbara Espinoza in her book "Driving In Diverse" calls "a discomforting fairy tale : a child has to stand up to the darkness and all that lies in wait there" (p. 83). It is known however that Ian's lyrics can be interpreted at more than one level. So when we look more close, it is us who are addressed here. The lyrics are very alarming, supported splendidly by the brooding atmosphere of the music. What are the dangers the narrator warns us for? Who are these "dragons and beasties", these "folk out there who would do you harm" and make it necessary to stay alert ("Keep your eyes open and prick up your ears, rehearse your loudest cry") and defensible ("Gather your toys at the call-to-arms")? And why are the "lock on the window (...) chain on the door: a big dog in the hall" not enough to make us feel safe?

Bearing in mind that the song was written in 1977-78, I suspect it has to do with the rise of fascism in several European countries in the late seventies and early eighties. Beating up and brutalizing foreigners (blacks, gypsies, jews, Turkish and Vietnamese people a.o.), setting fire to pensions were they were hosted and other acts of violence: they were all the results of the agitation of fascist organisations in the past two decades. This all started around 1975 and a parallel with the situation of the thirties springs to mind. Due to the economic recession, originating from the socalled oil-crisis of 1973, many fascist and other ultra right wing groups in Europe saw an increase of their following.
History teaches us that economic crises create feelings of uncertainty, fear for the future; they make people distrustful towards foreigners, and ask for a Great Leader to make things better. These movements make these ressentiments explicit, speculate on them and thus manipulate people, who are not political defensible enough to resist these ideas, for their own questionable goals. The National Front in Great Britain, Le Pen's Front National in France, the Vlaams Blok in Belgium and the Centrum Partij in the Netherlands are clear examples of these organisations.
* Jan Voorbij



Moths

Like most of the songs in "Heavy horses" this one seems to essentially romanticize the life and actions of the "Moths" - creatures of the dark. It is partly in the third partciple - as if the "creatures of the candle" are the ones that are speaking. A solitary candle by a window on a dark night has more than once been metaphorically used as a symbol of "hope".
Probably, the commonly used phrase "A ray of hope" emanated from someone
fantasizing on these lines. For those who have read Boris Pasternak's immortal work, "Dr. Zhivago", maybe it'd be interesting to point out a similar situation in which Yurii Zhivago comes across this solitary candle burning by the window on a frosty night in St. Petersburg, around which his destiny "soared on powdered wings" till the end of his life. Probably all of us, throughout our prosaic worldy existence keep chasing many futile dreams in the same fashion, so wonderfully brought out in the next couple of lines - "Circling our tomorrows, in the wary month of Spring", for spring is the season of hopes and dreams, when fresh life re-awakens. However, many-a-time in life, prosaic and mundane activitities cause our faiths to collapse and fancies to slip - "Chasing shadows slipping". The song ends with the same kind of ethos that it started with - "to join in the worship, of the light that never dies", for although many and have come and many left, "hopes" still burn and dreams live - attracting generations after the previous ones have been naturally attritioned to attain their ends.
* Arup Nandi



Journeyman

This song seems to be about businessmen taking trains from meetings across the country. It is a familiar mood to anyone who has taken a red-eye flight or train trip in which most of the time is spent sleeping.
"Spine-tingling railway sleepers,
Sleepy houses lying four-square and firm."
These two lines help set the mood. The first one refers to the characters Ian is describing. They are similar to the character used in "Black Sunday" later on in the "A" album.
"Sliding through Victorian tunnels
where green moss oozes from the poors."
Many train stations are given a Victorian look through architecture and overall design scheme. The green moss shows that the tunnel has been put to much use.
"In the late night commuter madness,
Double-locked black briefcase on the floor
like a faithfull dog with master,
sleeping in the draught beside the carriage door."
This proves that the character is a businessman. His trusty briefcase sits next to him on the floor. Ian uses the metaphor of a dog protecting his master, or in this case, his files.
"To each Journeyman his own home-coming,
Cold supper nearing with each station stop."
We see that this song is the opposite of "Black Sunday". The character is returning home in full epic form like Odyseus. "Black Sunday" could be a prequel of "Journeyman".
"Station master in his wisdom
told the guard to turn the heating off."
This line ends the song and makes no reference to the Willy Loman-like character described in the song. Most likely, Ian is showing that in the large scheme, these people are considered insignificant while important in their own minds.
* Arend Raifsnider



One Brown Mouse

The song is inspired by a poem of Robert Burns: 'Ode To A Mouse'. Though the song has a markedly urban setting, it fits the tone of the album. Taking the Burns connection one step further, the first three lines of 'To A Mouse' are:
"Wee, sleekit, cow'rin', tim'rous beastie
O what a panic's in thy breastie!
Thou need na start awa sae hasty,"
(see for the complete poem: The Official Robert Burns Site)
In a recording for the BBC in 1975, Ian quoted these lines and acknowledged that the third line may have unconsciously inspired the line: "... don't start away uneasy..." in Aqualung.
* Neil R. Thomason



Heavy Horses

The title track of the album eulogizes in an almost loving way the working horses of great Britain, who find themselves no longer needed with the advent of mechanized farm machinery:
"And there's no work to do: The tractor is on its way".
The narrator presents himself as a man who wants "to keep the old line going" as he is aware of the special qualities and charm of these animals and that they will be needed badly in the future:
"one day when the oil barons have all dripped dry
and the nights are seen to draw colder".
People than will realize what the price is of economic growth and once again will
"beg for your strength, your gentle power,
your noble grace and your bearing."
The narrator believes the heavy horse will not let us down:
"And you'll strain once again to the sound of the gulls
in the wake of the deep plough, sharing".

"The Suffolk, the Clydesdale, the Percheron vie with the Shire ...." These are four breeds of heavy work and draft horses. For specific information about these horses visit the Breeds Of Lifestock website of the Oklahoma State University, Animal Sciences Dpt.
* Jan Voorbij

Alexander Glasgow points out that Ian might have been inspired by a poem of Edwin Muir when writing "Heavy Horses": "I was listening to the lyrics for Heavy Horses last night, and the theme of praising the old technology when the new was seen to have been nilhilistic or corrupt. I started thinking of a poem by the Orcadian poet Edwin Muir. His poem "Horses" tells of the aftermath of some nuclear/chemical/generally apocalyptic war, and the almost supernatural arrival of horses to save the people and re-aquaint them with the reliable old technology. There's a copy at http://www.rhizomatics.demon.co.uk/muir/. Have a read: in fact, look at the entire site. The man was very close to capturing something unquantifiable about the atmosphere and quality of daylight this part of Scotland".
* Alexander Glasgow


Weathercock

The final song of the album is a prelude to the next album 'Stormwatch'. It uses the concept of the weather as an analogy for the state of humanity in general:
"Did the cold wind bite you, did you face up to the fright (...)
Do you simply reflect the changes in the patterns of the sky (...),
Do you fight the rush of winter (...)".
This idea of 'the rush of winter' would be seized upon later in 1978 as Anderson wrote songs for Tull's next album. The hope for a better future is comes to the fore in :
"make this day bright. Put us in touch with your fair winds.(...)
Point the way to better days we can share with you."



* "Songs from the wood : the music and lyrics of Ian Anderson"; adaptation Jan Voorbij.


Living In These Hard Times (2003 remaster only)

Recorded in 1978, this one did not make it to the 'Heavy Horses' album, probably because to content of the song just didn't fit its concept.

To me this really is an "eighties" song, that would have perfectly fitted in the 'Broadsword album', in the sense that it reflects the general atmosphere of crises that dominated the late seventies and early eighties: the feeling of being threatened by economic troubles, the fear and uncertainty about the future that comes from it, affecting (stable?) relations and not in the least the political climate of the era (remember Thatcher and Reagan). It is the first song of many in which this can be traced.
The first verseline, "The bomb's in the china. The fat's in the fire", suggests that suddenly something has happened that made the good times turn into hard times. Looking back at the seventies this might have been the energy-cirsis (or oil-cirisis) of 1973/74 that obstructed further economic growth, but I'm not sure. Many European governments sought ways to limit the use of energy like the "car-free sundays" (Netherlands), price increase of oil, gas, electricity, reduce street-lighting on motorways to an absolute minimum ("Well, the light, it is failing along the green belt" -?), urging people to use energy as economically as possible, all in the hope to reduce the economical damage. What then follows are several lines that depict how the economical crisis turns everything upside down:
"The cow jumped over yesterday's moon
and the lock ran away with the key"
and affects the lives of the common people:
"There's no turkey left on the table"
".... brings no bale of hay to the stable."
"Someone slapped a writ on our deficit,
not a penny left to our name.
Oh, the times are hard and the credits lean,
and they toss and they turn in their sleep."
"You know what you like and you like what you know,
but there is no jam for tea".
The difficulty people experience in handling this crisis - or just surviving - comes to the fore in:
"And the line they take is the line they make,
but it's not the line they keep"
as it's hard to adapt one's lifestyle when one's income decreases in order to make both ends meet.
* Jan Voorbij




============================



Eric Porter:
I consider this one a companion to Songs From The Wood in both style and substance. The cover art may contribute as much to how the music is perceived as the songs themselves. These two releases are often described using terms such as "rustic" and "folksy". Ian's acoustic guitar lays the foundation, running through almost every arrangement. What's interesting is how complicated the songs are musically. Ian fools us by creating melodic, sit-around-the-fire-telling-stories type songs, but the intricate detail contained within should not be ignored. The rhythm section of Barlow and Glascock provides some amazing interplay. Not to overstate, but at times you would think you are listening to Bach. Bach's music always has the most incredible bass lines, and with Glascocks playing, he is always providing a separate melody that does not disturb the song but works perfectly within it. Barlow's varied percussion also provides a spark; this is not just a guy spinning around the drumset, and these are well thought out drum patterns. It is the mark of an accomplished drummer that one can take songs like this and make them as smooth as playing a simple 4/4, nothing is forced for the sake of complexity.
Songs such as "No Lullaby" and the title track are constantly changing time and dynamics, and they hit everything perfectly. "Moths" & "One Brown Mouse" provide us with those beautiful acoustic treats that Ian is so good at, with Palmer adding some orchestration. Guest violinist Darryl Way (formerly of Curved Air) fits in perfectly, showcasing another instrument that could have been right at home in the Tull family. The addition of David Palmer expands the band, now using two keyboardists, allowing for a bit more orchestration. The title track seems to be a confession of Ian's love of country living, and the noble work of the farmer, but it is dedicated to a variety of working horses that are used for farming. An incredible tour de force of everything in the Tull bag of tricks, acoustic guitar, flute, incredible dynamics and musical muscle are flexed.
"No Lullaby" also has some terrific instrumental breaks that revolve around Martin Barre's guitar licks. "Rover" reminds me of how Gentle Giant often conjured up a medieval sound, with the keyboards, flute, and guitars accompanied by some orchestration, this is another monster musical track. Heavy Horses consists of short concise musical statements, with only two tracks going over five minutes, but there is a wealth of music to be heard. Another feather in the band's cap.




Jethro Tull - "Heavy Horses" (1978) With the exception of the shitty "Journeyman" (Tull trying to sound "modern"), this is another excellent album, following in the musical footsteps of "Songs From the Wood". Personal favourites includes "Acres Wild", "No Lullaby", "Moths" and "Rover". But most of the album is great anyway. The title-track is next to "No..." the most progressive of the bunch, but unfortunately not better than just ok. The folk influence from the previous album was still quite strong on "Heavy...", and the arrangements now also included some violin played by former Curved Air member Darryl Way. As a whole, the album is a little tad weaker than "Songs...", but it's still definitively worth owning!




Jethro Tull
Heavy Horses
Chrysalis (VK 41175)
UK 1978

Ian Anderson, vocals, flutes, acoustic & electric guitar, mandolin;
Martin Barre, guitars;
John Evan, piano, organ;
Barriemore Barlow, drums, percussion;
John Glascock, bass;
David Palmer, pipe organ, keyboards, orchestral arrangements;
with Darryl Way, violin

Tracklist:
1. And The Mouse Police Never Sleeps - 3:11
2. Acres Wild - 3:22
3. No Lullaby - 7:54
4. Moths - 3:24
5. Journey Man - 3:55
6. Rover - 4:59
7. One Brown Mouse - 3:21
8. Heavy Horses - 8:57
9. Weathercock - 4:02

total time 42:40

conrad

Anybody who has listened to Heavy Horses has no doubt about Ian Anderson's ability to compose a complex interplay of instruments. While none of his songs are what anyone would call heavy, there is a lot of variation in the dynamics and mood of his album. Some passages consist of a fulte playing a simple melody over the long, sustained chords of a keyboard, while others involve exciting rhythmic patterns jumping from instrument to instrument.
If the idea of an album consisting of instrumental music performed on keyboards and classical instruments written by Jethro Tull's frontman does not put you off, this album is certainly recommended. If you want a hard rocking, turn it up to 11 album, well, there's always Roots to Branches. This is an oddly eclectic album. It has a predominantly folk feel to it, and there are an awful lot of accoustic instruments to it. However it has alot of the production values and sensibilities of the late seventies. The lyrics add to this with their references to a more rustic time, and then shifting to the modern world.

By far the most exciting element of this album, though, is the complexity of the arrangements. Ian Anderson eschews the multi-sided tracks of Jethro Tull's heyday in favour of standard verse-chorus-bridge arrangements. He instead concentrates on multi layering the sound. The first twenty seconds of "Acres Wild" is enough to explain what I mean by this.

The oddest track on this album would have to be "Journeyman". The song refers to trains and Ian Anderson employs many of the standard blues tricks to evoke the appropriate sound. However the bass line and string arrangements owe a definite debt to disco. All this is played on folk (or folk-rock) instruments. The result is better than you might think.

Unfortunately the two tracks that don't seem to sit well on this album are the longer ones, "No Lullabies" and "Heavy Horses". I have heard the latter song in other contexts and enjoyed it. I'm not entirely sure why it doesn't work here.

This is an album of mixing extremes. Folk instruments and complex arrangements; the rustic and the modern; prog rock dinosaurs in an age of disco. The result could either have been inspirational or dreadful. Some claim it is a bit of a failure, but I really love this album.

eric

I consider this one a companion to Songs From The Wood in both style and substance. The cover art may contribute as much to how the music is perceived as the songs themselves. These two releases are often described using terms such as "rustic" and "folksy". Ian's acoustic guitar lays the foundation, running through almost every arrangement. What's interesting is how complicated the songs are musically. Ian fools us by creating melodic, sit-around-the-fire-telling-stories type songs, but the intricate detail contained within should not be ignored. The rhythm section of Barlow and Glascock provides some amazing interplay. Not to overstate, but at times you would think you are listening to Bach. Bach's music always has the most incredible bass lines, and with Glascocks playing, he is always providing a separate melody that does not disturb the song but works perfectly within it. Barlow's varied percussion also provides a spark; this is not just a guy spinning around the drumset, and these are well thought out drum patterns. It is the mark of an accomplished drummer that one can take songs like this and make them as smooth as playing a simple 4/4, nothing is forced for the sake of complexity.
Songs such as "No Lullaby" and the title track are constantly changing time and dynamics, and they hit everything perfectly. "Moths" & "One Brown Mouse" provide us with those beautiful acoustic treats that Ian is so good at, with Palmer adding some orchestration. Guest violinist Darryl Way (formerly of Curved Air) fits in perfectly, showcasing another instrument that could have been right at home in the Tull family. The addition of David Palmer expands the band, now using two keyboardists, allowing for a bit more orchestration. The title track seems to be a confession of Ian's love of country living, and the noble work of the farmer, but it is dedicated to a variety of working horses that are used for farming. An incredible tour de force of everything in the Tull bag of tricks, acoustic guitar, flute, incredible dynamics and musical muscle are flexed.

"No Lullaby" also has some terrific instrumental breaks that revolve around Martin Barre's guitar licks. "Rover" reminds me of how Gentle Giant often conjured up a medieval sound, with the keyboards, flute, and guitars accompanied by some orchestration, this is another monster musical track. Heavy Horses consists of short concise musical statements, with only two tracks going over five minutes, but there is a wealth of music to be heard. Another feather in the band's cap.