Released November 20, 2000 Genre Country Label Capitol Nashville | Format CD Single Length 3:08 | |
Recorded 1990 (instruments)
2000 (vocals) | ||
"Wild Horses" is a song co-written by Bill Shore and David Wills, recorded by American country music artist Garth Brooks on his breakthrough album No Fences in 1990. The song was not released as a single until November 2000, when it was released with a re-recorded vocal track. It peaked at #7 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart.
Content
On the surface, this song is about a cowboy's struggle between the love of the rodeo life and the love of a woman. He repeatedly promises to her that he will quit riding, but repeatedly breaks these promises because "wild horses keep dragging [him] away." As the song progresses he's preparing to "make her one more promise that [he] can't keep." It can be interpreted to be about a man who is repeatedly unfaithful and is forgiven, but knows his significant other will eventually stop forgiving him ("The way I love the rodeo / I guess I should let her go / before I hurt her more than she loves me").