Tonight’s song is a journey through the desert, on a horse that doesn’t have a name.
Learn from Songs · Unit 6: The perfect aspect · B1
A Horse with No Name
A dreamy song about a journey through the desert: been to or gone to, the present perfect for experiences, the past simple for the details of a journey, and the present perfect continuous for how long (We’ve been travelling for nine days), with Marcos, a caravan to the oasis of Siwa, and a camel with no name.
SOPHIA
MARCOS
Why doesn’t it have a name?
SOPHIA
Nobody knows. The band have never explained it. Perhaps in the desert, names don’t matter.
PHILO
That sounds very philosophical for a horse.
Before you listen: the song
England, 1971
America were three young musicians, Dewey Bunnell, Gerry Beckley and Dan Peek, sons of American air force families living in England. Dewey Bunnell wrote this song when he was nineteen, on a rainy day in England, remembering the deserts of Arizona and New Mexico that he had seen as a child.
The song was first called “Desert Song”. In 1972 it went to number one in the USA. Many people thought it was sung by Neil Young, because the voice sounded so similar.
In the song, the singer describes a journey through the desert: the plants, the animals, the sand, the heat, the silence. After many days, the desert changes him. Bunnell said the horse was a way of escaping from the confusion of life into a quiet, peaceful place.
Out of the confusion, into the quiet.
Listen: the journey
PHILO
Listen once. What does the singer see in the desert? How does he feel?
SOPHIA
The song is repetitive, like walking. Listen for I’ve been and for the past simple. Answer Section A.
🐪 Listen to the song: “A Horse with No Name” (Dewey Bunnell, America, 1971).Listen to the official recording →
📜 Read the words while you listen: “A Horse with No Name”, America.Read the lyrics →
Been to or gone to?
DEMETRIA
Marcos has been to Siwa: he’s back! Marcos has gone to Siwa: he isn’t here.
SOPHIA
have been to = visited and returned. have gone to = went and is still there (or on the way). Where’s Dad? He’s gone to work. Have you ever been to Egypt?
Present perfect and past simple on a journey
MARCOS
I’ve crossed the desert! On the fifth night, I saw a shooting star.
SOPHIA
The present perfect says that you have had the experience (no time). The past simple tells the details: when, where, what happened.
How long: the present perfect continuous
PHILO
We’ve been travelling for nine days. I’ve been walking since dawn.
SOPHIA
have / has been + -ing for an activity that started in the past and is still going on, focusing on how long: How long have you been waiting? I’ve been learning English for three years.
Sophia’s comparison: the desert in the scriptures
PHILO
Our people wandered forty years in the desert. And the prophet Elijah fled into the wilderness, and heard God not in the wind, nor the earthquake, nor the fire, but in a still, small voice.
SOPHIA
And the desert fathers, later, would go there to find silence. People have always gone to the desert to escape confusion.
MARCOS
I just want to ride a camel.
Sophia’s summary
| Words and forms | Use | Example |
|---|---|---|
| have been to | visited and returned | I’ve been to Siwa. |
| have gone to | went and is still there | He’s gone to the market. |
| present perfect + past simple | experience + details | I’ve crossed the desert. I saw… |
| have been + -ing | how long, still continuing | We’ve been travelling for nine days. |
| desert, dune, oasis, sand, heat | vocabulary | We rested at the oasis. |
Practice
Listen to the song for Section A, then do the rest. Press “Check my answers” at the end. You can try again as many times as you like.
A · Listen: the song
Listen to the song and choose the best answer.
1. Where does the song take place?
2. What is strange about the horse?
3. How does the music sound?
4. Where did Dewey Bunnell write it?
5. What did he say the horse represents?
6. Who did people think was singing?
B · Grammar and vocabulary
Write the missing word or words.
7. He’s to Siwa. He’s back now.
8. Where’s Marcos? He’s to the desert.
9. We’ve been for nine days. (travel)
10. On the fifth night, I a shooting star. (see)
11. How long have you been ? (wait)
12. Have you ever a camel? (ride)
C · Right or wrong?
Is the sentence correct English?
13. “I’ve been to Rome last year.”
14. “She’s gone to the shops. She’ll be back soon.”
15. “I’m waiting for two hours.”
16. “We’ve been walking since dawn.”
Talk and write
Discussion and writing
Travel experiences. Ask your partner: Have you ever been to…? When did you go? How long did you stay? Then: How long have you been learning English?
Discuss. 1. Why do people go to the desert, or to other empty places? 2. Is silence important? 3. Why do you think the horse has no name?
Write (100–120 words). A journey. Describe a real or imaginary journey: what you have seen and done (present perfect), the details (past simple), and how long you have been travelling.
Now play the gamebook: Marcos crosses the desert to Siwa on a camel with no name.Play the gamebook →