“Border Song” – Elton John

[media=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bLLbJfwbCQ]

Gospel-influenced ballad about alienation and a plea to “let us live in peace”, released as a single by Elton John in 1970.

People sometimes say a piece of music is “underrated” when the evidence suggests otherwise. But in the case of “Border Song”, it does appear to be true. At least it was underappreciated in its time, failing to chart in many countries, including John’s native UK. In the US, the record only made it to #92 on the singles chart. It was a modest success in the Netherlands (#25) and Canada (#34).

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JesseInTX · 51-55, M

I wouldn’t say underrated about this song, but more under appreciated at the time. It’s a brilliant song but sometimes record executives and artists miss when releasing singles. Especially with a new artists first release.

An example of that from this same album is the second single was “Take Me to the Pilot”. The B-side? “Your Song”. Both brilliant pieces of music.

Rutterman · 46-50, M

@JesseInTX "Your Song" was a huge hit (and deservedly so), frequently played to this day. Pretty much everyone has heard it, I'm guessing. I almost never hear "Border Song". I find that hard to understand despite its lack of success when first released. It's inspirational and has an eternally relevant message, which one might think would cause its popularity to increase over time.

JesseInTX · 51-55, M

@Rutterman I think it’s just about different times. I’m a little older than you but I remember getting that 12” vinyl and sitting in my room with headphones or on the speakers with friends and listening to an album start to finish. The singles on the radio were a bridge to the rest of the album. I shunned cassettes for years until I learned it was easier to learn guitar parts by hitting rewind instead of moving the needle.

I was also blessed with an uncle who had the same love of music I did and gifted me many LPs. I had originals like Led Zeppelin 4, the White Album, and others I hung onto for years that were lost in the Harvey flood.

These days with streaming and single song downloads people never hear the “rest” of the album and sadly too many “artists” focus on what will sell as opposed to the whole of the art.

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Rutterman · 46-50, M

@JesseInTX Nice one. In fact, the album it's from has at least a couple of John's best songs. 👍