"Only the Horses" is a song by American band Scissor Sisters. The track is the first single from their fourth studio album, Magic Hour. It premiered on April 6, 2012, on BBC Radio 1, and was released to various iTunes Stores as a single on April 13, 2012, in Europe and was released on May 13, 2012, in the United Kingdom.

"Only the Horses"
Single by Scissor Sisters
from the album Magic Hour
ReleasedApril 13, 2012
Recorded2011
Genre
Length3:39
LabelCasablanca
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Scissor Sisters singles chronology
"Invisible Light"
(2010)
"Only the Horses"
(2012)
"Baby Come Home"
(2012)

Scissor Sisters worked with producers Boys Noize and Calvin Harris on the track, after having met Harris while working with Kylie Minogue on her eleventh studio album, Aphrodite.[1]

Music video

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Directed by Lorenzo Fonda and produced by Ross Levine,[2] the music video for "Only the Horses" was released on April 19, 2012, and features a quartet of horses running through the desert in slow motion. Attached to the horses are long hempen ropes, and over the course of the video it becomes clear that the other ends of the ropes are attached to metal plates set in a decorated triangular panel. As the ropes run out of slack, the equestrian imagery is intercut with slow-motion reversed footage of paint cascading over people (the band members, with Jake Shears covered in pink, Del Marquis in yellow, BabyDaddy in green and Ana Matronic in blue). At the end of the video (quite evidently a homage to John Huston's, The Misfits), the taut ropes pull the plates from the panel and fountains of paint shoot out.[3][4]

Critical reception

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Lewis Corner of Digital Spy blog gave the song a positive review, stating:

"Only the horses can find us tonight/ Only the horses can bring us back home," Jake Shears belts over Calvin's usual mix of gleeful synths and fluorescent beats, though still retaining much of the band's camp and carefree vibrancy from when we first fell in love with them. The result is much like the song's interesting choice of a saviour; a number that canters along powerfully enough to last the distance.      .[5]

Track listing

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Single
No.TitleLength
1."Only the Horses"3:39
EP
No.TitleLength
1."Only the Horses"3:43
2."Only the Horses" (Calvin Harris Extended Mix)4:32
3."Only the Horses" (Max Sanna and Steve Pitron Remix)7:27
4."Magic Hour Medley"4:29
US Remixes EP
No.TitleLength
1."Only the Horses" (Max Sanna and Steve Pitron Remix)7:27
2."Only the Horses" (Tommie Sunshine Horsepower Remix)6:46
3."Only the Horses" (Louis Brodinski Remix)4:38
4."Only the Horses" (Cyantific and Dimension Remix)4:18
12-inch single
No.TitleLength
1."Only the Horses"3:42
2."Only the Horses" (Calvin Harris Extended Mix)4:28
3."Only the Horses" (Max Sanna and Steve Pitron Mix Edit)3:48
4."Only the Horses" (Max Sanna and Steve Pitron Club Mix)7:23
US DJ Promo CD 2[6]
No.TitleLength
1."Only the Horses" (Max Sanna and Steve Pitron Club Remix)7:22
2."Only the Horses" (Max Sanna and Steve Pitron Radio Remix)3:46
3."Only the Horses" (Rich Morel Vocal)7:08
4."Only the Horses" (Tommie Sunshine Horsepower Remix)6:42
5."Only the Horses" (Kabuki Cheerleader Remix)6:16
6."Only the Horses" (Kabuki Cheerleader WAR Dub)5:46
7."Only the Horses" (Cyantific And Dimension Remix)4:18

Charts

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Weekly charts

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Weekly chart performance for "Only the Horses"
Chart (2012) Peak
position
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[7] 37
Belgium Dance (Ultratop Flanders)[8] 21
Belgium (Ultratip Bubbling Under Wallonia)[9] 33
Global Dance Songs (Billboard)[10] 34
Ireland (IRMA)[11] 32
Italy (FIMI)[12] 5
Italy Airplay (EarOne)[13] 1
Japan (Japan Hot 100)[14] 21
Scotland (OCC)[15] 7
UK Singles (OCC)[16] 12
US Dance Club Songs (Billboard)[17] 5
US Dance Singles Sales (Billboard)[18] 8

Year-end charts

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Chart (2012) Position
Italy (FIMI)[19] 33
Italy Airplay (EarOne)[20] 3

Certifications

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Certifications for "Only the Horses"
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[21] Gold 900,000
Italy (FIMI)[22] Platinum 30,000*

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
Streaming-only figures based on certification alone.

Release history

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Release dates for "Only the Horses"
Country Release date Format Label
Australia April 13, 2012 Single[23] Polydor
Finland
France
Japan
New Zealand
Norway
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Australia May 13, 2012 EP[24]
Germany
Ireland
New Zealand
United Kingdom
United States May 15, 2012
  • Single digital download
  • Remixes EP

References

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  1. ^ Eames, Tom (April 6, 2012). "Scissor Sisters unveil Calvin Harris-produced single 'Only the Horses'". Digital Spy. Retrieved April 21, 2012.
  2. ^ "Scissor Sisters - Only The Horses (Behind The Scenes)". YouTube. April 19, 2012. Retrieved August 24, 2014.
  3. ^ Corner, Lewis (April 19, 2012). "Scissor Sisters unveil 'Only The Horses' music video - watch". Digital Spy. Retrieved April 21, 2012.
  4. ^ Corner, Lewis; Robert Copsey (April 17, 2012). "Exclusive: Scissor Sisters preview 'Only The Horses' music video - pictures". Digital Spy. Retrieved April 21, 2012.
  5. ^ Scissor Sisters: 'Only The Horses' - Single review. Digital Spy
  6. ^ ebay.com. "SCISSOR SISTERS ONLY THE HORSES 7TK PRO CD2 SANNA & PITRON MOREL". Retrieved 2012-09-02.
  7. ^ "Scissor Sisters – Only The Horses" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved June 11, 2022.
  8. ^ "Dance" (in Dutch). Ultratop Flanders. July 14, 2012. Retrieved June 11, 2022.
  9. ^ "Scissor Sisters – Only The Horses" (in French). Ultratip. Retrieved June 11, 2022.
  10. ^ "Scissor Sisters Chart History (Global Dance Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved June 11, 2022.
  11. ^ "Irish-charts.com – Discography Scissor Sisters". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved June 11, 2022.
  12. ^ "Scissor Sisters – Only The Horses". Top Digital Download. Retrieved June 11, 2022.
  13. ^ "Earone Airplay - Settimana #31 dal 27/07/2012 al 02/08/2012" (in Italian). Earone.
  14. ^ "Scissor Sisters Chart History (Japan Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved June 11, 2022.
  15. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 11, 2022.
  16. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 11, 2022.
  17. ^ "Scissor Sisters Chart History (Dance Club Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved June 11, 2022.
  18. ^ "Scissor Sisters Chart History (Dance Singles Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved June 11, 2022.
  19. ^ "Classifica annuale 2012 (dal 02.01.2012 al 30.12.2012)" (in Italian). FIMI. Retrieved June 11, 2022.
  20. ^ "Earone Top 100 of the year 2012" (in Italian). Earone.
  21. ^ "Danish single certifications – Scissor Sisters – Only the Horses". IFPI Danmark.
  22. ^ "Italian single certifications – Scissor Sisters – Only the Horses" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved 4 September 2012. Select "Tutti gli anni" in the "Anno" drop-down menu. Type "Only the Horses" in the "Filtra" field. Select "Singoli" under "Sezione".
  23. ^ "Only the Horses - Single". iTunes Store (Australia). Retrieved April 21, 2012.
  24. ^ "Only the Horses - EP". iTunes Store (United Kingdom). Retrieved April 21, 2012.
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