The song Horse is Out of the Barn deals with the initial shock of a diagnosis of incurable cancer. The reality of incurability is repeated three different ways in the first three verses. Each heightens the hopelessness, but psychologically this bottoming out is a kind of drilling down to release a defiant and positive energy that the man may not have known was there. This man would be unlikely to draw those same conclusions after time has passed and the cancer has been brought under control.
The irony is that in the end, the horse out of the barn is the patient. The profound awakening that comes to anyone diagnosed with a serious or life-threatening illness is unmistakable. As their illusions and false sense of security are stripped away, many would describe themselves as awake and free for the first time.
When the horse is out of the barn
Its too late to close the door
The horse is out of the barn
That’s just a metaphor
Till they use it to explain
My condition and my state
So I can understand
They found it too late
Once the cancer’s in the bone
Once the cancer’s running free
There’s no way to bring it back
And restore my sanity
When the horse is out of the barn
Its too late to close the door
The horse is out of the barn
That’s just a metaphor
Till they use it to explain
The pickle that I’m in
I can fight to the finish
But I cannot win
Though they can control
They cannot cure
More than half my dreams
Are gone for sure
When the horse is out of the barn
Its too late to close the door
The horse is out of the barn
That’s just a metaphor
Till they use it to explain
What I try to deny
I will go down
Just don’t ask why
Though they can’t prevent
They can forestall
No one can erase
When the writing’s on the wall
So wake up wake up wake up
From your life long sleep
Life just got a little shorter
And a lot more deep
