A Horse with No Name
A Horse with No Name by America is 67 BPM — Adagio (slow).
Half-time 34 BPM · Double-time 134 BPM · released 1972
Song DNA
Near the stillest end of everything we measure. The track moves moderately between quiet and loud and never jolts you — a even track with gentle vocals riding over it at a slow pace. Even and easy to follow, it makes good background. Across the library, it reads gentler than 97% of everything we’ve measured.
Cultural Context
A classic track from the early 70s, known for its soothing melodies.
Listening Prompt
Picture the vast landscapes as you listen.
What to Expect
America's 1972 recording holds an unusually narrow dynamic range of just 4 — it stays in a tight volume band from start to finish, which means there's almost no risk of a loud moment catching you unprepared. No sudden changes were detected and the texture is smooth: this is about as structurally non-threatening as a recorded track gets. High predictability means the pattern repeats in a way your nervous system can learn quickly and relax into. Soft vocals keep the upper-frequency intensity low and steady throughout. At 67 beats per minute, the tempo is slow — closer to a resting heartbeat than anything that generates urgency. Misophonia triggers are unassessed. The combination of a safe sensory level, calm and contemplative moods, and recommendations for anxiety relief and meditation makes the intent of this recording clear: it's built for stillness. If you need somewhere to put your attention that won't ask much of your sensory system, this is a reliable choice.
Hear it the way it was made
The right gear changes everything.
Moods: calm, contemplative, intimate
"A Horse with No Name" sits at 67 BPM. Built for stillness.
This is well below typical speech rhythm. The body reads slow tempo as permission to rest. Smooth texture and soft vocals keep the foreground spare. Good candidates for use: falling asleep, processing a hard day, slow mornings, study sessions where the music must not pull at you. Avoid for any task that needs alertness — the piece works against it.
How this song sits on each sensory axis
A dynamic range of 4/10 is within the normal pop-mix band. There is variation between verse and chorus, but it's the kind of variation most listeners encounter routinely.
Sudden changes: none. Transitions are musically signaled — nothing will surprise you if you're only half-listening.
Texture: smooth.
Predictability is high — the song telegraphs what it will do next. A sensory-sensitive listener can usually guess where it's going without close attention.
Vocal style: soft vocals.
1972 context
Released in 1972. We have 269 songs from that year in our library, averaging a dynamic range of 6.0/10. This track is quieter / less dynamic than the year average. Explore more from the 1970s.
Explore by mood and tradition
Guides that may help
How fast is "A Horse with No Name"?
67 BPM — Very slow (ballad / ambient)
Too slow for most running; good for warm-up walks or cool-down.
Warm-up, cool-down, yoga, stretching.
Sleep, meditation, reading, focus work.
Browse more songs at 67 BPM.
When "A Horse with No Name" works, and when it doesn't
Use-case verdicts computed from the song's tempo, dynamics, and sensory profile.
Yes — low-variance volume, no surprises, steady tempo. The ideal study-music profile.
No — 67 BPM is too slow for sustained cardio.
Maybe — calm overall, but tempo is a bit high for deep sleep. Better for winding down than falling asleep.
Yes — predictable enough for safe driving attention, interesting enough to stay engaged.
Yes — sits in the background without demanding attention.
Not really — it's pleasant but doesn't hit hard enough for cathartic listening.
Related reading
Editorial guides that cover this song's use cases, moods, or artist.
Jazz for Anxiety Relief: Which Subgenres Help and Which Overwhelm
Jazz for Anxiety Relief: Which Subgenres Help and Which Overwhelm — A guide for sensory-sensitive listeners on musiciwant.com
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Why this rating
We rate this song Safe because its dynamic range stays within our low-variance band, there are no unsignaled changes, and the texture and vocal style are both in the low-fatigue range. Our methodology uses an AND rule for Safe — a song has to clear every dimension to earn the rating.
See how “A Horse with No Name” sits against your own sensitivities, or use it as a waypoint in a calmer set.
Listen on
Spotify and YouTube links go direct to the track when we have the ID; otherwise they search for it. Embed this sensory profile on your site →
Rating last reviewed: 2026-06-20. Reviewed by the Music I Want editorial team against the documented methodology.
Think this rating is wrong? Contact the editor — every message is read and ratings get revised.
By the numbers: how this song compares
Computed from this song’s place among the 19,209 songs we’ve measured.
Where it sits in 19,000 songs
This sits near the calm end of everything we've measured — gentler than 97% of the 19,209 songs in the library. Its intensity reading of 15/100 comes from a dynamic range of 4/10, smooth texture, no sudden shifts, and soft vocals. Relatively few songs occupy this exact corner of the spectrum.
What makes it unusual
What stands out most about this song is deep calm: more extreme on that axis than 97% of everything we've measured. At the far opposite end of the library sit the songs built on full chaos — sudden changes, huge quiet-to-loud swings, and relentless energy — the kind of track this one is the counterpoint to.
Feels almost identical to
Closest matches by feel across all 19,209 measured songs — not by genre or artist, by how they actually move.
What it’s good for
Scored from this song’s tempo, intensity, dynamics and texture — not crowd votes.
1972 in context
The 269 songs we’ve measured from 1972 average a dynamic range of 6.0/10. At 4/10, this track is gentler and steadier than its year.
Mixes smoothly with
Within a few BPM and close in feel — they flow without a jarring transition.
The fingerprint
The 8-dimension measurement behind every rating on this page.
Frequently asked about "A Horse with No Name"
Quick answers pulled from the song's sensory analysis.
What is the BPM of "A Horse with No Name" by America?
"A Horse with No Name" by America has a tempo of 67 BPM (Adagio (slow)). At half-time that is 34 BPM, and at double-time 134 BPM.
What is the sensory intensity of "A Horse with No Name" by America?
"A Horse with No Name" by America rates as Low-Intensity. Dynamic range 4/10, no sudden changes, smooth texture. Our Low-Intensity rating means no single dimension triggers the higher-intensity thresholds.
How loud is "A Horse with No Name" — what is its dynamic range?
"A Horse with No Name" has a dynamic range of 4/10. Within normal pop-mix variation. Movement between verse and chorus but nothing dramatic.
Does "A Horse with No Name" have sudden or surprising changes?
No. "A Horse with No Name" has no sudden unsignaled changes. Every transition is musically telegraphed.
What is "A Horse with No Name" best for?
In our library "A Horse with No Name" is recommended for: anxiety relief, meditation. These tags are assigned only where the song's sensory profile genuinely supports the use case.
When was "A Horse with No Name" released?
"A Horse with No Name" is from 1972, on the album "America". It appears in our 1970s catalog.
What is the emotional mood of "A Horse with No Name"?
We tag "A Horse with No Name" as calm, contemplative, intimate. Moods are tonal descriptors based on how the song reads emotionally — separate from the sensory intensity axes.
What is the vocal style of "A Horse with No Name"?
The vocal style is soft vocals.
Is "A Horse with No Name" good for running?
Not really — at 67 BPM it's below most running cadences. Better for warm-up, cool-down, or walking. Recreational runners typically step at 140-175 BPM.
Is "A Horse with No Name" good for studying?
Yes — low dynamic range (4/10) and no sudden changes means the song stays in the background without pulling focus.
Can I use "A Horse with No Name" for sleep?
Not recommended for sleep. Dynamic range is too high — quiet moments will be ambushed by louder ones.
Should I listen to "A Horse with No Name"?
If you want gentle, low-arousal music, "A Horse with No Name" is a solid pick — Low-Intensity across every sensory dimension.
Songs with the same DNA
smooth texture, similar intensity — across any genre or era.
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