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Anonymous Posted 17 years ago
Grammar

Questions about the song, "Desperado"

I got questions about the song "Desperado." Could somebody help me?

Lyrics from the song: "You've been out ridin' fences for so long - now."

Question 1---

Is it "You've been outriding fences" or "You've been out riding fences"?

Question 2---

If it's "riding fences", what does " ride fences" mean here?

What does "ride" mean here?

If it's "outriding fences", what does "outriding fences" mean?
  

Top answer

You have been out [on the ranch], riding fences. To 'ride fence' is to ride (on your horse) along the vast length of fencing that encloses an American cattle ranch with the purpose of checking its integrity and maintaining it.

— Mister Micawber

  • You have been out [on the ranch], riding fences.
  • To 'ride fence' is to ride (on your horse) along the vast length of fencing that encloses an American cattle ranch with the purpose of checking its integrity and maintaining it.
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14 Answers
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You have been out [on the ranch], riding fences.

To 'ride fence' is to ride (on your horse) along the vast length of fencing that encloses an American cattle ranch with the purpose of checking its integrity and maintaining it.
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Sounds like the voice of experience, MrM. Emotion: smile Do your feet get cold in the winter time?
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Naw. Just too many Westerns in my youth, pardner.
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Thanks for your answer.

But could I ask one more question?

What do "the Queen of diamonds" and "The Queen of hearts" represent here?

Do they imply anything?
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They don't need to imply anything, since cowboys play a lot of poker, but presumably they were chosen because the Queen of Diamonds suggests a woman that is hard and mercenary, while the Queen of Hearts suggests a woman that is warm and romantic.
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I believe the correct lyric is "You've been out RIGHTIN' fences" You don't RIDE a fence, you RIGHT one. Just google the term "FENCE RIGHTING" and that should settle the issue.
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No, Anonymous, Mr. M. was correct in his response 350 days ago. Cowboys "ride fences."
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AnonymousI believe the correct lyric is "You've been out RIGHTIN' fences" You don't RIDE a fence, you RIGHT one.
Anon,
"Righting fences" makes no sense. Riding fences here is used as a metaphor.
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dimsumexpress"Righting fences" makes no sense.
I wouldn't go so far as to say that, but I do strongly agree that the lyric is "riding fences."

I'd describe it as a collocation, rather than a metaphor. Even the metaphorical **** would be "sorrer" than the real one. (They used to "ride people out of town on a rail" for that reason.)

Farmers
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Avangi my pal,
The Eagles is one of my favorite band and two of my favorite songs are "The BEst of My Love" and "Desperado"

It is my interpretation of the lyrics that "riding fences" set a metaphoric mood between the "queen of diamond" meaning a woman who is cold and hard like a diamond, and the "queen of heart" symbolizing a woman who is warm and sentimental. If he was riding fence
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