Ride Below the Crupper

Lyrics

[Intro]

[Verse 1]
The yard is full of watching eyes and velvet heavy gowns,
We speak of nothing but the bit, the pacing of the hounds.
You hold the braided reins aloft, your posture strictly framed,
While half the Earl of Leicester's men are waiting to be named.
A lady must be seen to sit exactly on the crown.

[Chorus]
But if the leather slips an inch, the journey changes tone,
A softer gait, a deeper seat, a rhythm of your own.
Keep your gaze upon the spire, let no one see you yield,
When we ride below the crupper in the lower field.

[Verse 2]
The Master of the Horse demands a five-pound Spanish tree,
He likes a rider pitched ahead, where all the lords convene.
But balance is a private thing between the earth and sky.
I tell you, Madam, shift your weight. The motion passes by.
Find the hollow of the back where all the hinges groove,
The mind will catch the danger just before the muscles move.

[Chorus]
And if the leather slips an inch, the journey changes tone,
A softer gait, a deeper seat, a rhythm of your own.
Keep your gaze upon the spire, let no one see you yield,
When we ride below the crupper in the lower field.

[Bridge]
They think I teach you how to trot, to manage and correct,
They hear the creak of saddlery, it's what they all expect.
A gentleman must guard his tongue to keep a lady's grace,
We build a quiet lexicon to substitute the space.
I praise the harness to the Duke, and look you in the eye.

[Guitar Solo]

[Verse 3]
The girth is tightened by the groom, the buckles are secure.
The phrasing of the afternoon is careful and obscure.
We talk of how the iron sits, of how the ankles rest,
While keeping every wilder thought arrested in the chest.

[Outro]
The sun is dropping past the eaves.
Your hands are steady on the mane.
We leave the watching yard behind,
The courtiers turn back to the hall,
And leave us to the...