For My Sunday Song #86, “Dark Horses” by Switchfoot is my choice.  The song is off their ‘Vice Verses’ and the single was released on July 20, 2011.  It reached #1 on the Billboard Christian Rock Songs and #1 on the Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (I don’t really know this chart very well).  It went to #5 on the Rock Alternative Charts as well.  Needless to say, it did very well for the band.

What I like about Switchfoot is they have Christian roots, but can pass as a mainstream act as well.  They are able to get the message out and most people don’t even realize they are getting a positive, heartfelt message of some kind whether it is religious or some point they want to get across.  I love how he can turn that message into such great music.

“Dark Horses” might be a familiar term to those in the sporting world.  A dark horse is a term used to describe a person, team or horse that is not well-known but rises to the top.  The song is talking about the homeless children that aren’t well known, but they have something to offer if they were just given the chance.  Jon & Tim Foreman are wanting to spread the word and put the focus on helping these homeless kids so they have that chance to shine.  For Jon, these kids are the kids he sees on the streets of his home town in San Diego and he works with the organization Stand Up For Kids.  I agree with the band and we shouldn’t write them off, they deserve a chance to shine and succeed just as much as anyone.

The song opens with a killer guitar riff and might be one of the heavier songs they have done.  It is easy to see how it crossed over to Alt Rock stations as it as good or better than any other act on the stations at the time.  It is a straight up rock song with a catchy chorus and almost anthemic in tone.  It might surprise you that Christian acts can rock out and write quality music and not many write them as well as Foreman.  Check out the song and listen to the message.  Help out the homeless kids in your area as we don’t do enough (myself included).

Enjoy and Happy Sunday!!

“Dark Horses”