Border Song

Also known as "Holy Moses," this gospel-inflected song was written by the fledgling team of Elton John and Bernie Taupin; it was produced by Gus Dudgeon. Released as the first single from Elton's second album, it spent one week on the Hot 100, reaching #92 in August 1970. For the next 25 years, Elton had a song on the chart every year, starting with with his next single, "Your Song," which propelled him to stardom when it went to #8 in 1971.

In the 1975 publication A Conversation with Elton John and Bernie Taupin, by Paul Gambaccini, Elton said he wrote the last verse because it was only two verses long, and needed a third. His contribution was "very mundane" he added. Gambacinni asked: "Is that the only verse of a song you've written?" To which Elton replied: "Oh, yes." This is not quite true; Elton wrote songs on his own before he met Bernie but was never satisfied with his lyrics.

In the same book, when it was pointed out that some people have suggested "Border Song" is anti-Semitic, Bernie laughed: "Don't ask me why, I don't know. Most of my friends are Jewish. I married one." He did indeed, and his first wife was the inspiration for the song "Tiny Dancer." A quarter of a century later, Elton had a more plausible explanation for the song's inspiration. In His Song: The Musical Journey of Elton John, he told Elizabeth Rosenthal it was about the alienation confirmed country boy Bernie felt when he was in London. The same alienation inspired him to pen the words to "Tell Me When The Whistle Blows" from the 1975 Captain Fantastic album.