Elton John, “Island Girl” | Controversial Tunes 😈🎶

In the 17^th edition of Controversial Tunes (2022), we explore the controversy behind the song, “Island Girl” by Elton John. 

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Controversial Tunes 😈🎶 is a column that provides background information and insight into songs that raised eyebrows and totally stirred the pot.  The records that grace Controversial Tunes are old and new alike, with all genres of music welcome.  In the 17^th edition of Controversial Tunes (2022), we explore the controversy behind the song, 🎵 “Island Girl”  by 🎙 Elton John.

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Theme & Lyrics ✍ 

Believe it or not, not every number one hit sticks.  Yes, it’s a big deal for a song to top the Billboard Hot 100; it’s history-making.  Still, for as many number one hits that have occurred, some of them are forgotten.  That’s how Rolling Stone labels 🎵 “Island Girl”, an 🎙 Elton John record from his 1975 album, 💿 Rock of the Westies.  Rolling Stone cites two reasons “Island Girl” is forgotten (1) John hasn’t performed it in 30 years, and (2) problematic lyrics.  Since this column is all about Controversial Tunes 😈🎶, we’ll explore those problematic lyrics.

The problem is that 🎼 ✍ Bernie Taupin, John’s long-time lyricist, went risqué with “Island Girl.” This reggae joint features Jamaican characters. Okay… reggae hails from the islands, so, makes sense. Where things get hairy is that she moves to the United States – specifically New York – to prostitute. Yikes! “Oh, she’s a big girl, she’s standin’ six-foot-three / Turnin’ tricks for the dudes in the big city.” Can you say, gah-dayum!  After that first verse assertion, John delivers a problematic chorus:

“Island girl

What you wantin’ with your white man’s world?

Island girl

Black boy want you in his island world

He want to take you from your racket boss

He want to save you, but the cause is lost…”

Jesus! So, we have ultra-controversial lyrics with the ‘R’ word – racism! Also, pre-dating the rappers, John and Taupin essentially inform us, you can’t save a hoe! Nice! Anyways, there’s also the reference to her skin tone in the second verse, which is a bit, um, sketchy for a British Caucasian male to be singing about (“Well, she’s black as coal, but she burn like fire”). Also, she’s one bad gal, apparently (“You feel her scratch your back just like a rake / Oh, he one more gone, he one more John who makes the mistake”). Ooh, wee, Elton!

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Final Thoughts 💭

So, what does one make of 🎵 “Island Girl”? Well, it’s something, to say the least!  This isn’t the best, most classic Elton John song, but at that time, in music, I can see why it topped the charts.  That said, those lyrics, which should’ve been a no-no in the mid-1970s would not fly in the least today.  It seems that Elton John understands that.  Furthermore, he also knows this isn’t the top of his illustrious catalog, number one hit or not.

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🎙 Elton John • 💿 Rock of the Westies • 🏷 The Island Def Jam Music Group • 🗓 1975

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Elton John, “Island Girl”: Controversial Tunes 😈🎶 No. 17 (2022) [📷: Brent Faulkner, cottonbro, Darkmoon_Art,  TheDigitalArtist, inna mikitas, Isabela Catão, The Island Def Jam Music Group,  Jonathan Nenemann, The Musical Hype, Pexels, Pixabay, Tazz Vaughn, Victoria Borodinova, zzzvector]

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