Island Girl by Elton John (1975)

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Island Girl Cover

Island Girl is a single from Elton John’s album Rock of the Westies, released on 29 September 1975. The rock-disco song was written by John collaborated with Bernie Taupin. Island Girl in its three weeks reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in the U.S.[1] and number 14 in the UK in 1975. In 1995, the song received certification Gold in 1975 and Platinum i by the RIAA in the U.S.

The lyrics are about a Jamaican prostitute living in New York and Jamaican man who wants to take her back. [1]

Controversy

Island Girl is considered as an uninspiring reggae tune about Jamaican prostitutes in New York City. [2]

According to rd.com the song considered as a racist one, as the diction used is terrible such in the line “Black boy want you in his island world”, to convey the story about two people who are not white, a Jamaican man who falls in love with a Jamaican transvestite.

Rock critic Robert Christgau noted, “The faked-up Caribbean inflections, both oral and instrumental…imply a naive racism belied by the impassive but sage cruelty of the lyric’s conclusion—that is, the ‘inappropriateness’ of the music ultimately elaborates the song’s irony.”

Adding by Michael E. Cormier who was less diplomatic on the Am I Right website: “This song reeks of racism. Kinda makes you wonder if Elton’s lyricist, Bernie Taupin, had any unresolved race issues when he wrote the words to this song.” By the way, this is why you should stop saying “I don’t see color.” [3]

Again, the story tells in Island Girl in which about sex worker, a tall Jamaican woman worked at a streetcorner near Times Square. Elton narrator is a john who wants to rescue the girl from her job and take her back to her homeland, yet she is not interested. The chorus in any case : “Island girl, what you wanting with your white man’s world? / Island girl, black boy want you in his island world.”

Island Girl’s general physical description consists in this song: “Oh, she’s a big girl, she’s standing six foot three.” And also it describes how it feels to have sexual intercourse with a particular island girl: “Well, she’s black as coal, but she burn like a fire / And she wrap herself around you like a well-worn tire.” [4]

References