Pick of the Week: Jesse Welles “Horses”

By Fenton Wright, Staff Writer

Jesse Welles’ “Horses” is a beautiful reminder of the injustices and lack of love that we as a society choose to ignore. “Horses” makes us want to learn to love one another again. In a time where it is hard to see light at the end of the tunnel or any form of hope, Welles reminds us that hope and love have to come from each one of us.

Singing About Love

“Horses,” and all of Jesse Welles’ songs, sound straight out of the folk-revival of the 60s. The entirety of this song is a wake up call to us all. Welles is highlighting all of the things that we ignore, and the lack of love and care that we hold for people outside of our loved ones. With lines like, “So I’m singing this song about all the people you’ve come to hate,” he invites us to think about why we dislike these people in the first place. 

He reminds us that we are all going to die and that there is no reason for us to hold grudges against one another. Welles takes us into his own previous misconceptions of the world. He says, “You know I really thought that there’d be power in thinking half of y’all was just born fools, thought I was gathering oats for my horses, I was getting by whipping my mules.” I take this to mean that Welles thought he was living and loving correctly, but instead he was using the world or his horses rather than providing for them.

Underlying Welles’ impactful lyrics is a beautiful instrumental. There is a rhythmic and catchy strum of his guitar alongside an amazing violin that calls back to the song “Hurricane,” by Bob Dylan. These carry us through the song, while Welles, and his lyrical genius, urges us to 

A New Face of Folk

While Welles may remind us of a younger Bob Dylan and other classic folk artists with his voice, subject of his songs, and appearance, he distinctly is his own person. Most of his music focuses on what is in the news. Writing songs based off of the news is how Welles rose to fame. He began posting his music to Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and any other platform that would allow him to. Whatever is currently happening in the world, Welles has some kind of commentary on it. All of these attributes combined have led some to dub him the new “face of folk music,” as his audience continues to expand.

On the Horizon

After listening to “Horses,” you are going to want to listen to more Jesse Welles. Earlier this year, Welles released his third studio album, Middle. On top of that, Welles releases music regularly on his social media accounts. Also, later this year he will be performing at the iconic Newport Folk Festival in July. His genius continues to amaze us and it will be a pleasure to see him continue to develop his craft.

Every Monday, our music staff brings you a new Pick of The Week, detailing some of our favorite songs. Check out our previous Picks of the Week here, and make sure to tune in to WERS 88.9FM!