The Eagles weren’t scared to speak like adults. Even though they grew up in the flower power era of the late 1960s. Their debut in 1972 showed them already working as a songwriting machine, writing songs about topics far more serious than being stoned 24 hours per day. As America entered a dark period in its history. Don Henley used the song ‘On the Border‘ to mock the recently ousted president.
Henley couldn’t resist criticizing the American system. The Eagles explored a common theme about the nature of America’s ideal identity during the creation of some of their best albums. Including a couple of songs about the Wild West on albums like Desperado.
For the first half of the band’s history, it appeared like they were doing everything they could to avoid discussing controversial topics. During a time of perpetual war and nuclear apocalypse. Songs like ‘Take It Easy‘ created a false sense of security, only to reveal new problems.
Following the main impact of the Kennedy assassination in the early 1960s, Richard Nixon resigned as a result of the Watergate affair. While many rockers were still more likely to talk about the Vietnam War at the time. Henley was more concerned with what was occurring in his own country when writing his songs.
Whereas Desperado harkened back to the days of gunslingers. On the Border allowed the band to experiment with modern sounds, including a few country songs like ‘Midnight Flyer‘ with bouncy rockers like ‘Already Gone‘. Henley had something other than music in mind for the title track. And he was willing to go to any length to put Nixon in his place.
‘On the Border’ stands out as more melodramatic, showcasing the band’s soulful abilities compared to other songs. The song reaches its climax as it depicts the characters caught on the edge of a wasteland. The final few seconds provide a little epigraph for how Nixon sounded to the Eagles.
In the final seconds of the song, Henley said, ‘Say goodnight, Dick’. Although The Smothers Brothers popularized the term, Henley composed it in a state of rage. He explained, “We were addressing Nixon, because at the time it was pretty clear that he was on his way out, so that was our little kiss-off to Tricky Dick“.
That wouldn’t be the last time Henley wore his self-righteous headgear. He may have been on the right side of history by putting someone in their place. Hotel California would be his magnum opus, discussing the risks of being a rock and roll star while also being one of the most well-known musicians. Henley had his style of crafting carefree music and the occasional love song. But he wasn’t hesitant to preach from the pulpit when necessary.
