Elton John and Brandi Carlile have released their new song Swing For The Fences, which is “an anthem for young gay kids”.
“Swing For The Fences was a little gem I took into the studio with me: I’m a gay woman, Elton’s a gay man and we both have families, and our dreams have come true,” Carlile said.
“I was thinking, wouldn’t it be cool to write an anthem for young gay kids out there that calls them into a bigger, more elegant, more fabulous life. Just like ‘go, go! don’t let anything hold you back!’”
John added: ‘When we recorded Swing For The Fences, it was the moment that crystallised where the album was going. It was hard to get to that point, but we knew we had to rise to the occasion and we all just felt this massive sense of joy and euphoria. After our initial difficulties, all the uncertainties started to dissipate when this song came together. It just sounded great.”
This life-affirming, joyous track is the latest offering from Elton and Brandi’s recently announced collaborative studio album, Who Believes In Angels?, set for release on April 4.
The concept for the album was devised by close friends and regular collaborators Elton John, eleven-time Grammy-winning US superstar Brandi Carlile and multiple Grammy Award-winning producer and songwriter Andrew Watt. Entering Los Angeles’ Sunset Sound Studios in October 2023 with a completely blank slate, they pushed each other out of their comfort zones to write and record an album completely from scratch in just 20 days.
“This record was one of the toughest I’ve ever made, but it was also one of the greatest musical experiences of my life,” John said. “It has given me a place where I know I can move forward. Who Believes In Angels? feels like going into another era and I’m pushing the door open to come into the future. I have everything I’ve done behind me and it’s been brilliant, amazing. But this is the new start for me. As far as I’m concerned, this is the start of my career Mark two.”
