Eagles – On The Border

About The Song

“On the Border” appears on the Eagles’ third studio album On the Border (Asylum, March 22, 1974). The track was album-only in 1974 (not issued as a U.S. single) and takes its title from the LP. Songwriting is credited to Glenn Frey, Don Henley, and Bernie Leadon.

Production is by Bill Szymczyk during the U.S. sessions for the album after the group shifted from initial work with Glyn Johns. Recording for the LP was completed at Criteria Studios (Miami) and the Record Plant (Los Angeles); the title track is among the Szymczyk-produced cuts from those sessions.

Lead vocal on “On the Border” is by Don Henley. Contemporary and later discography tallies list Henley as the lead singer on the title track within the album’s track-by-track vocal breakdown.

Thematically, the song was written in the wake of the Watergate era and reflects concerns about government overreach and privacy. A low-level spoken tag at the very end captures Glenn Frey whispering “Say goodnight, Dick,” a period catchphrase here aimed at President Richard Nixon.

Liner-note curios for this cut include a credit to “T.N.T.S.” for additional vocals—a joking reference connected with producer Bill Szymczyk’s favored Tanqueray-and-tonic—which the band later described as part of the hand-clap and background-vocal overdub session.

Personnel on the album during this period: Glenn Frey (vocals, guitars, piano), Don Henley (vocals, drums), Bernie Leadon (vocals, guitars, banjo, steel), Randy Meisner (vocals, bass). Don Felder entered the project part-way through the LP and is credited as a “late arrival,” though his documented performances on the album are on other tracks.

Within the album sequence, “On the Border” represents the harder-edged direction the band pursued in 1974 under Szymczyk, contrasting with the two Johns-produced tracks retained for the LP. The title track remained an FM staple but was not part of the album’s single campaign, which focused on “Already Gone,” “James Dean,” and “Best of My Love.”

Video

Lyric

Cruisin’ down the center of a two way street
Wond’rin’ who is really in the driver’s seat
Mindin’ my bus’ness along comes big brother
Says, “Son, you better get on one side or the other.”

I’m out on the border, I’m walkin’ the line
Don’t you tell me ’bout your law and order
I’m try’n’ to change this water to wine.

After a hard day, I’m safe at home
Foolin’ with my baby on the telephone
Out of nowhere somebody cuts in and
Says, “Hmm, you in some trouble boy, we know where you’re been.”

I’m out on the border
I thought this was a private line
Don’t you tell me ’bout your law and order
I’m try’n’ to change this water to wine

Never mind your name, just give us your number, mm
Never mind your face, just show us your card, mm
And we wanna know whose wing are you under
You better step to the right or we can make it hard

I’m stuck on the border
All I wanted was some peace of mind
Don’t you tell me ’bout your law and order
I’m try’n’ to change this water to wine

On the border
On the border
On the border
On the border
On the border
Leave me be , I’m just walkin’ this line
On the border
On the border
All I wanted was some peace of mind, peace of mind
I’m out on the border
On the border
Can’t you see I’m tryin to change this water to wine
Don’t you tell me ’bout your law and order
Sick and tired of all your law and order
Sick and tired of it