Probably "Philadelphia Freedom" next, but if you went for "Daniel" or "The Bitch Is Back" next, that would be almost as good. You should hear all 3 songs eventually.
When Captain Fantastic came out in 1975 they played "Someone Saved My Life Tonight" on NYC FM radio stations constantly. I knew every single word to this song. Had the album too, it was very popular.
Taupin's lyric refers to a time in 1968, before John was popular as a musician, when John was engaged to be married to girlfriend Linda Woodrow. John and Woodrow were sharing a flat with Taupin in Furlong Road in Highbury, London, hence the opening line "When I think of those East End lights." John did not love his girlfriend, and felt trapped by the relationship. Feeling desperate, John contemplated suicide, and even made a half-hearted attempt at asphyxiating himself with a gas oven in his home. He took refuge in his friends, especially Long John Baldry, who convinced John to abandon his plans to marry, in order to salvage and maintain his musical career. His parents arrived the next day, in a van, to take him home. As a sign of respect and gratitude to Baldry, Taupin wrote him into the song as the "someone" in the title, and also as "Sugar Bear".
Yes that was how it went. He did the right thing for them both. Nonetheless, am I the only one to spare a thought for his ex fiancée, having the break up celebrated to the whole world by Elton? It gave us a brilliant song, but part of me wonders what she must have felt whenever she heard it being played.
THANKS for posting!! Because it’s the album version, those of us can, 50 yrs later, KNOW every word, inflection, and nuance of this song. And it feels like it was just released yesterday. #TheFabricOfOurLives!!
Bernie writes the lyrics then gives them to Elton who writes the music to bring the lyrics to musical life. They've been collaborating since the 60s, and Elton says they've never had a fight.
A karmic debt repaid, then, because the song is based upon Elton's real-life suicide attempt as a young man when his girlfriend tried to pressure him into marrying her. The cool thing about this song is that Bernie Taupin and Elton John were so in sync with each other that Bernie could write a set of lyrics about Elton's suicide attempt and then Elton, without batting an eye, put it to music and recorded it with his band. What's more, he then insisted that his record label (MCA) release it as a single despite the fact that it was 6 minutes and 45 seconds long.
Bernie writes the lyrics. Elton composed that great music and melody. That song is all about that beautiful music as well as the lyrics. They are a song writing partnership. Bernie only writes the lyrics. Elton writes the music. Bernie doesn’t play any instruments. Bernie doesn’t sing at all. This seems hard for people to understand today. But having a lyric writer and a musical composer is an old school way of writing songs that doesn’t exist anymore except in musical theater.
The album 'Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy' was an autobiographical album of how Elton and Bernie got started. This song is based on a time that Elton tried to commit 'suicide' and he was stopped. He had gotten engaged to be married and couldn't go through with it. His friend, Long John Baldry 'Sugar Bear' talked him out of it also. Bernie wrote these lyrics for that time in their life. As to how they worked, Bernie would write the lyrics, and pass them to Elton, either in person with some song/albums when he was there at the recording studio, or send them by mail, and then electronically when that capability came about. Elton then on his own would put the melody to the lyrics, and record with the band.
I forget if it was Bernie or someone else came in and saw Elton with his head in an oven but it was resting on a pillow and instead of shock being the first reaction it was how absurd it was and the person actually laughed. Fortunately he got help and began to understand more about himself and he has made so much more great music for us all.
This is about Elton how he almost got married... Nearly had me roped and tied altar bound hypnotized .... Saved in time, thank God my music's still alive...
Based on your questions about how he writes, it seems very clear that you still haven't seen ROCKET MAN! Absolutely worth a watch, especially once you've already listened to all the songs featured in the film
This is my very first album that I purchased with my own money. I also remember the price, it was a whopping $4.98. It had a booklet inside the cover with the lyrics to every song on the album!! I think I was around 10-12 years old! 70’s had the best music.
we had as kids also.i found an original.cooy g.c. at an estate sale has the booklet and mini poster of the cover think original shrink was 4.98 sticker i paid 10 at the sale store would have been at least 20 original.pressing has the cover art on the label.
This is Elton’s masterpiece. The entire album is an autobiography of his and Bernie’s early partnership. It’s not the most commercial but it is totally brilliant. This song starts in a place of dark despair and finishes in euphoric gratitude. It’s cathartic. Also the bass and drums are flawless. It’s my favorite song of all time.
There isn't much better than 1970's Elton John, he was such a great singer/pianist/songwriter. Also, his band members were masters of their instruments and may have been overlooked at times but were never discounted. They were amazing musicians and complemented Elton perfectly.
Bernie writes lyrics then gives to Elton, then magic happens. The Making of Goodbye Yellowbrick Road is a fantastic documentary. All your questions about, Bernie, Elton and the band is answered. You won’t be sorry.
Bernie hands the lyrics to Elton and he writes the music to it on the studio and records it that day. He writes the music within 30 minutes or less. Your Song took 15 minutes. It like magic!
When this incredible gem hit the radio, it INSTANTLY became my favorite song. I remember it was sort of amazing, as radio stations rarely played any song that lasted more than three minutes....and, yeah, it's an Elton John/Bernie Taupin masterpiece. I can't believe it's been nearly half a century...!! I'll be 60 years old in October of 2024. Where does the time go?!? 😃
This entire album is the BEST! I know Goodbye Yellowbrick Road was his monster album from this period, but Captain Fantastic was always my favorite, right behind Madman Across the Water. Captain Fantastic is one of those "complete package" albums/art pieces. If you guys can find a vinyl copy with the gatefold album cover and the lyric/artwork booklet, you will be amazed. The art and music are so perfect in this album!
I didn’t fully realize what an amazing musician he is till I saw him live. My daughter even said that she would have been happy if all he’d done was play piano all night.
I still have the hardback book called "Five Years of Fun" which I saved up for and bought for $5. It highlights Elton's first five years in the business from 1970 to 1975. I just counted all the old vinyl albums in my collection and I have a total of 267 of them. And yes, I also have 38 8-Track tapes as well.
I still have my original Captain Fantastic album. It had terrific artwork and included two booklets with it. It was a terrific album. "Writing", "Tower of Babel", and "Better Off Dead" were my favorites. But when all is said, they were ALL great songs.
I heard this song on the radio in middle school and knew my mom knew a lot of Elton's songs. I "sang" rather poorly the piano chords for her and she thought it was "Madman Across the Water," so I bought that album on CD and thus began my lifelong obsession with Elton and Bernie. Eventually figured out this was the song I meant. ❤
One of my fave Elton John songs. Never knew the meaning until recently, but always felt it was deeply personal and meant a lot to both Elton and Bernie. What a fantastic body of work. Thanks guys for this reaction. New to your channel and catching up on old stuff.
Elton takes that falsetto from his influences by 50s music and turns it into something different. The fade ins an fade out of the background vocal, the voice doubling on key parts. Just masterful recording let alone the music.
Have been waiting for you lads to react to this absolute MASTERPIECE literally for years now... and you didn't fail! Every layer of this song is perfection... deep, involving lyrics... ear-candy musicianship... the song ebbing and flowing till the glorious cascading waterfall at the end that completely washes over the listener. I've heard this song thousands of times and I never tire of it. There is always something more to discover... another stroke of genius around the corner. Thanks for letting me relive experiencing this wondrous song all over again.
Back in the day Elton was my favorite artist. I was in the US Navy in 1983 and some of my shipmates and I got to see him (with Quarterflash) at the Greek Theater at UC Berzerkley. Only $20😎 "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" album was his masterpiece. Recommended Elton John rock song, "Saturday night's alright for fighting".
This album came out in 1975 when I was in fifth grade. I’m pretty sure it was the first one I’d bought with my own money and I played it over and over. Every word, every song. Also, because we were 11 and it was 1975, I couldn’t believe he sang “dammit” in a song and we heard it ON THE RADIO! You didn’t hear cuss words on the radio back then. My cousins and I weren’t sure if it counted as cussing if we sang “dammit” since it was in the song. It was a different world.
Speaking to the writing process in the John/Taupin partnership, in almost *all* cases, the lyrics came first. When they're getting ready to do an album, Bernie writes the lyrics and gets them to Elton (one way or another). Elton then sits down with the stack of lyrics, picks one out he likes, and then, as he says, "a little movie plays in my head", and he starts plotting out chords. Generally speaking, the song comes out pretty quickly. If he doesn't get it within 30 minutes to an hour, he abandons it or comes back to it later. When they first formed their partnership in the '60s, Bernie would send Elton lyrics by mail, and then Elton would send tapes back. For a while in the '60s, they lived together, and then when they made it big, Bernie would write lyrics in his bedroom at the studio and have his wife bring them down to Elton. These days, Bernie, who lives in America, generally e-mails lyrics to Elton. Bernie *can* play and has done a couple of albums of his own, but he doesn't ever offer musical input on the songs he writes with Elton. Elton is a horrible lyric writer (check out his lyrics to the obscure B-Side "Flinstone Boy", or the 1965 Bluesology single, "Come Back Baby", both of which Elton wrote the words for, if you want proof). Probably the best lyrical contribution Elton has ever made to a song was the third verse he added to "Border Song", the first charted Elton John single from 1970's self-titled album (the same one "Your Song" came from). There have only been a couple of songs where the music came first, the most significant of which were "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" and "Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word". In these cases, Elton contributed a couple of lyric ideas, and Bernie finished it off. As for the song, this one comes from the autobiographical concept album Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy, which detailed the songwriting partners' early days together (roughly 1967-69). "Someone Saved", the album's only single, recounts an unfortunate relationship Elton had with a woman, Linda Woodrow, in around 1968. They shared a London flat with Bernie, and Linda thought Elton should get a "proper job" and give music up. The "someone" who saved Elton was Long John Baldry, a blues musician who had used Bluesology, the band Elton had previously been a part of, as a backing band. Baldry was gay, and recognized that Elton shared his sexual orientation. Late one night, during a drunken bender, Baldry convinced Elton to call off his engagement to Linda, telling him "you're as gay as I am". Elton went home and broke it off with Linda, and his parents came and picked him and Bernie up the next morning. Baldry having "saved [Elton's] life" could also elude to Elton's suicide attempt during his engagement to Linda. He stuck his head in the gas oven in their kitchen, but he left the windows open and had a pillow so he'd be more comfortable. Bernie walked in and, in true English fashion, laughed at Elton and told him to knock it off (Elton would later laugh at the ridiculousness of his leaving the windows open and putting down the pillow). Elton would later attempt suicide again mere months after the release of "Someone Saved" when he swallowed a whole bunch of valium and dove into a pool with all his family and friends watching. Two days later, he went onstage at Dodgers Stadium in Los Angeles and played two shows to 55,000 people each.
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What us know what to hit next from Elton!! 🔥🔥
This clip/reaction was from the patreon vaults !
Philadelphia Freedom
We all fall in love / Curtains
"Lucy in the sky with diamonds".....!!!! (Better than the Beatles)
Probably "Philadelphia Freedom" next, but if you went for "Daniel" or "The Bitch Is Back" next, that would be almost as good. You should hear all 3 songs eventually.
Not sure if you've done it, but Empty Garden. It's his beautiful tribute to John Lennon
This entire album is amazing. Like so many of its time, it needed to be listened from beginning to end. And we did, over and over.
Yes. Peak Elton. His last great album (IMHO).
So did I !!!
When Captain Fantastic came out in 1975 they played "Someone Saved My Life Tonight" on NYC FM radio stations constantly. I knew every single word to this song. Had the album too, it was very popular.
WNEW, WPIX, WPLJ…I remember it well. What a musical era.
As a kid, I remember staring at the geeky album cover for long spells. Great era for EJ and BT songs!
Taupin's lyric refers to a time in 1968, before John was popular as a musician, when John was engaged to be married to girlfriend Linda Woodrow. John and Woodrow were sharing a flat with Taupin in Furlong Road in Highbury, London, hence the opening line "When I think of those East End lights." John did not love his girlfriend, and felt trapped by the relationship. Feeling desperate, John contemplated suicide, and even made a half-hearted attempt at asphyxiating himself with a gas oven in his home. He took refuge in his friends, especially Long John Baldry, who convinced John to abandon his plans to marry, in order to salvage and maintain his musical career. His parents arrived the next day, in a van, to take him home. As a sign of respect and gratitude to Baldry, Taupin wrote him into the song as the "someone" in the title, and also as "Sugar Bear".
Yes that was how it went. He did the right thing for them both. Nonetheless, am I the only one to spare a thought for his ex fiancée, having the break up celebrated to the whole world by Elton? It gave us a brilliant song, but part of me wonders what she must have felt whenever she heard it being played.
This song has meant so much to me.
@@justinneill5003I think it was a relationship all about her, as some can be. There's a 'me' in it and it doesn't extend to a 'you'.
Long John Baldry was known as 'Sugar Bear'- a nickname, as probably in a sweet guy.
THANKS for posting!! Because it’s the album version, those of us can, 50 yrs later, KNOW every word, inflection, and nuance of this song. And it feels like it was just released yesterday. #TheFabricOfOurLives!!
We are absolutely with you. Brother!
So accurate… ❤
This for me is a goosebump song.
Saw him perform in NYC in the 1970s. Incredible performance. He opened with “Funeral for A Friend.”
Thank God his music is still alive. . . ..
I'm always reminded that the piano is a percussion instrument when I hear Elton play.
Yes, and Elton's main drummer, Nigel Olsson, drives the point home.
@@TB-fk8ho Can't leave Ray Cooper out of the conversation.
Bernie writes the lyrics then gives them to Elton who writes the music to bring the lyrics to musical life. They've been collaborating since the 60s, and Elton says they've never had a fight.
Two of the best songwriters!
@@jillwilliams3784Elton John only does melodies not songs
Spectacularly
@@personalcheeses8073that’s still the song mate
Not only does Elton write the music afterwards he does it at an amazing pace, like often in one sitting.
This song really did save my life one night, when I was 14 and thinking about opting out. Thank you Elton
A karmic debt repaid, then, because the song is based upon Elton's real-life suicide attempt as a young man when his girlfriend tried to pressure him into marrying her.
The cool thing about this song is that Bernie Taupin and Elton John were so in sync with each other that Bernie could write a set of lyrics about Elton's suicide attempt and then Elton, without batting an eye, put it to music and recorded it with his band. What's more, he then insisted that his record label (MCA) release it as a single despite the fact that it was 6 minutes and 45 seconds long.
I love You, I love your here to tell about it
Life is so Special and Music is a soul saver
You mean thank you Bernie Taupin
Bernie Taupin is a great songwriter!
Yes and he doesn't get the recognition he deserves.
I really love that Elton is still loyal to him.
I just read today that George Harrison would disagree with that, which stunned me.
Taupin wrote lyrics, not the tunes.
That's what the comment says "Great songwriter"
Bernie was 'The Brown Dirt Cowboy"
My dad had this record…and the artwork always fascinated me!
Bernie writes the lyrics. Elton composed that great music and melody. That song is all about that beautiful music as well as the lyrics. They are a song writing partnership. Bernie only writes the lyrics. Elton writes the music. Bernie doesn’t play any instruments. Bernie doesn’t sing at all. This seems hard for people to understand today. But having a lyric writer and a musical composer is an old school way of writing songs that doesn’t exist anymore except in musical theater.
My favorite song when I was a kid. Did not understand the mature topic until I listened to it through adult ears. Still in my top 10.
1975 I was 9 years old. This is one of my favorite songs. His songs from the 70's are the best.
Growing up in the mid seventies was the BEST ever! All these great Bands and songs! Ugh! The greatest!
The album 'Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy' was an autobiographical album of how Elton and Bernie got started. This song is based on a time that Elton tried to commit 'suicide' and he was stopped. He had gotten engaged to be married and couldn't go through with it. His friend, Long John Baldry 'Sugar Bear' talked him out of it also. Bernie wrote these lyrics for that time in their life. As to how they worked, Bernie would write the lyrics, and pass them to Elton, either in person with some song/albums when he was there at the recording studio, or send them by mail, and then electronically when that capability came about. Elton then on his own would put the melody to the lyrics, and record with the band.
I forget if it was Bernie or someone else came in and saw Elton with his head in an oven but it was resting on a pillow and instead of shock being the first reaction it was how absurd it was and the person actually laughed. Fortunately he got help and began to understand more about himself and he has made so much more great music for us all.
This song will remain timeless. So moving and beautiful vocals. Chills.
This is the record to listen to
One of my favorite tracks to sing in the car lol.
Top 10 artist of all-time for me personally
Top 1 or 2 for me
My favorite Elton song.
Bernie and Elton are in different rooms. Bernie writes the lyrics and gives them to Elton who does the music. Amazing!
Sometimes he would write the lyrics and simply leave it on the piano for Elton to find.
differant cities usually...
This is about Elton how he almost got married... Nearly had me roped and tied altar bound hypnotized .... Saved in time, thank God my music's still alive...
Mad Man Across the Water
THE ASSOCIATION. ALONG COMES MARY. NEVER MY LOVE. CHERISH. WINDY.
Never My love is such a good one
Requiem for the Masses--the best anti-war song
Based on your questions about how he writes, it seems very clear that you still haven't seen ROCKET MAN! Absolutely worth a watch, especially once you've already listened to all the songs featured in the film
Bernie writes a poem in whole and hands it off. Elton spins it into a song.
One of my favorite Elton songs. Love the slow build and chills when the band kicks in. "t's 4 o'clock in the morning damn it"
The backup vocals on this one are stunning.
This is my very first album that I purchased with my own money. I also remember the price, it was a whopping $4.98. It had a booklet inside the cover with the lyrics to every song on the album!! I think I was around 10-12 years old! 70’s had the best music.
we had as kids also.i found an original.cooy g.c. at an estate sale has the booklet and mini poster of the cover think original shrink was 4.98 sticker i paid 10 at the sale store would have been at least 20 original.pressing has the cover art on the label.
I never bought the album but our library let me check it out about a hundred times😊 and portable record player too l
This is my all time fav Elton John song. The story behind the lyrics makes it an even better song.
Worst seats but best concert I've ever seen. He is the ultimate performer.
As a teen, I played this and sang along over and over. It's one of my favorites if not my favorite of Elton's.
My favorite Elton John song.
Mona Lisas & Mad Hatters.
Bernie wrote lyrics, handed them off to Elton, then Elton put them to music. Magic
This is Elton’s masterpiece. The entire album is an autobiography of his and Bernie’s early partnership. It’s not the most commercial but it is totally brilliant. This song starts in a place of dark despair and finishes in euphoric gratitude. It’s cathartic. Also the bass and drums are flawless. It’s my favorite song of all time.
one of my favorite Elton John songs.
This whole album is brilliant!
I really forget how great Elton was back then..sometimes I think about how lucky I was to have real timed the 70s and 80s music, it was so badass.
EPIC !!!!!!!!!!The lyrics, the music!
There isn't much better than 1970's Elton John, he was such a great singer/pianist/songwriter. Also, his band members were masters of their instruments and may have been overlooked at times but were never discounted. They were amazing musicians and complemented Elton perfectly.
Dan Ingraham, and old disk jockey in NY, used to sing, Someone shaved my wife tonight. A great song regardless.
MADMAN ACROSS THE WATER!!
Yellow Brick Road album is flawless
People forget but Elton in the 70’s was huge…I believe he had like 5 straight number one albums in a row….great music in those years
Not many forgot.
I love 'Curtains' from this album. Just beautiful.
This song sinks deep in your marrow. One of Elton's top five in my book. Just searing honesty and vulnerability being expressed here lyrically.
Bernie writes lyrics then gives to Elton, then magic happens. The Making of Goodbye Yellowbrick Road is a fantastic documentary. All your questions about, Bernie, Elton and the band is answered. You won’t be sorry.
Bernie hands the lyrics to Elton and he writes the music to it on the studio and records it that day. He writes the music within 30 minutes or less. Your Song took 15 minutes. It like magic!
Those drums were tuned to perfection!!
I read somewhere it refers to Sugar Bear who is Long John Baldry who get Elton to come out.
“I’ve Seen That Movie, Too” is a great deep track from Elton.
When this incredible gem hit the radio, it INSTANTLY became my favorite song. I remember it was sort of amazing, as radio stations rarely played any song that lasted more than three minutes....and, yeah, it's an Elton John/Bernie Taupin masterpiece. I can't believe it's been nearly half a century...!! I'll be 60 years old in October of 2024. Where does the time go?!? 😃
IM N TEARS!!!!! magnificent
Have you NEVER heard this ????!!!
Nigel, Dee, Davey and Ray are the most under rated band ever!!!!
Probably one of the best vocal melodies ever written. Up there with hey Jude.
Bernie literally writes it on his own, posts it to Elton , who goes, oh yeah, i know how to put that to piano... two geniuses ..
Yes, he's an absolute great songwriter and his lyrics are timeless.
Bernie wrote the lyrics, Elton wrote the music. That was the way they worked.
I had this album on 8 track, in my red jaguar xj6 back in 1982, happy days
This entire album is the BEST! I know Goodbye Yellowbrick Road was his monster album from this period, but Captain Fantastic was always my favorite, right behind Madman Across the Water. Captain Fantastic is one of those "complete package" albums/art pieces. If you guys can find a vinyl copy with the gatefold album cover and the lyric/artwork booklet, you will be amazed. The art and music are so perfect in this album!
yeh was telling other viewer i found the originsl at an estate sale has mini poster also one you never see local.indies at least local
I agree! This album is a no skip, amazing album.
This is my second favorite from Elton, if you've never heard " Tumbleweed Connection " give that one a listen, that's my favorite by him.
This album has always been a favorite tho this not my favorite song from it....I'd go with When the Whistle Blows
Ttivia....that is Eltons persinal favorite of all his songs
Saw him live 5 times. He ages like a fine wine. I even named my son Daniel.❤❤ Lyrics first then Elton writes the music. Genius's both.
I didn’t fully realize what an amazing musician he is till I saw him live. My daughter even said that she would have been happy if all he’d done was play piano all night.
Oh man Elton - when he was best he was out of this world.
Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me…when the drum line & vocals hit…sublime music at its best
I still have the hardback book called "Five Years of Fun" which I saved up for and bought for $5. It highlights Elton's first five years in the business from 1970 to 1975. I just counted all the old vinyl albums in my collection and I have a total of 267 of them. And yes, I also have 38 8-Track tapes as well.
I still have my original Captain Fantastic album. It had terrific artwork and included two booklets with it. It was a terrific album. "Writing", "Tower of Babel", and "Better Off Dead" were my favorites. But when all is said, they were ALL great songs.
I heard this song on the radio in middle school and knew my mom knew a lot of Elton's songs. I "sang" rather poorly the piano chords for her and she thought it was "Madman Across the Water," so I bought that album on CD and thus began my lifelong obsession with Elton and Bernie. Eventually figured out this was the song I meant. ❤
My number one all time favorite singer 👨🎤.
11:53 !
Bernie and Elton were magic together! Such a beautiful and powerful song.
Many thanks to Andy and Alex! 💎 This one is top-tier for me.
I close my eyes, and this song takes me back to a different time 🤗 I'm so glad my childhood was during the 70's and 80s!
Same here. Life was good.
I feel the same exact way
One of my fave Elton John songs. Never knew the meaning until recently, but always felt it was deeply personal and meant a lot to both Elton and Bernie. What a fantastic body of work.
Thanks guys for this reaction. New to your channel and catching up on old stuff.
This entire album is flawless and fire
You need to hit the amazing record that song was on, "Captain Fantastic And The Brown Dirt Cowboy". My favorite of his.
'Funeral for a Friend / Love Lies Bleeding' is a MUST reaction!
They've already done it.
One of the best rom Reginald Dwight
The most iconic and eclectic albmn that propelled Elton John to superstar status is IMHO, is Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. It is a must listen.
They've done an album reaction to it already.
RIP English
Nigel Olson on drums is so good
First Elton song I really noticed as a young teenage drummer that I wanted to play back in the day.
... and the production guys! The drummer is Nigel Olson, he was the drummer that played on Uriah Heeps first album!
Excellent info about Nigel! Thank you for sharing.
Elton takes that falsetto from his influences by 50s music and turns it into something different. The fade ins an fade out of the background vocal, the voice doubling on key parts. Just masterful recording let alone the music.
Have been waiting for you lads to react to this absolute MASTERPIECE literally for years now... and you didn't fail! Every layer of this song is perfection... deep, involving lyrics... ear-candy musicianship... the song ebbing and flowing till the glorious cascading waterfall at the end that completely washes over the listener. I've heard this song thousands of times and I never tire of it. There is always something more to discover... another stroke of genius around the corner. Thanks for letting me relive experiencing this wondrous song all over again.
Back in the day Elton was my favorite artist. I was in the US Navy in 1983 and some of my shipmates and I got to see him (with Quarterflash) at the Greek Theater at UC Berzerkley.
Only $20😎
"Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" album was his masterpiece.
Recommended Elton John rock song, "Saturday night's alright for fighting".
Madman across the water !
Bernie writes it all. He gives them to Elton and he then puts music to it.
One of my all time favorite EJ songs.
I’m almost 57, and he had hits when I was in 2nd grade. Amazing.
This album came out in 1975 when I was in fifth grade. I’m pretty sure it was the first one I’d bought with my own money and I played it over and over. Every word, every song.
Also, because we were 11 and it was 1975, I couldn’t believe he sang “dammit” in a song and we heard it ON THE RADIO! You didn’t hear cuss words on the radio back then. My cousins and I weren’t sure if it counted as cussing if we sang “dammit” since it was in the song. It was a different world.
This is my favorite Elton John song. It's fantastic. I had this album, and I would spend hours looking at the cover art.
can't go wrong with Elton John. ❤
I can't think of many songs at this slow pace that go so hard! The percussion is savage, hitting you over the head with the urgency of the situation.
I used to own the Captain Fantastic pinball machine.
The album cover art was the pinball machine's lighted back glass.
Speaking to the writing process in the John/Taupin partnership, in almost *all* cases, the lyrics came first. When they're getting ready to do an album, Bernie writes the lyrics and gets them to Elton (one way or another). Elton then sits down with the stack of lyrics, picks one out he likes, and then, as he says, "a little movie plays in my head", and he starts plotting out chords. Generally speaking, the song comes out pretty quickly. If he doesn't get it within 30 minutes to an hour, he abandons it or comes back to it later. When they first formed their partnership in the '60s, Bernie would send Elton lyrics by mail, and then Elton would send tapes back. For a while in the '60s, they lived together, and then when they made it big, Bernie would write lyrics in his bedroom at the studio and have his wife bring them down to Elton. These days, Bernie, who lives in America, generally e-mails lyrics to Elton.
Bernie *can* play and has done a couple of albums of his own, but he doesn't ever offer musical input on the songs he writes with Elton. Elton is a horrible lyric writer (check out his lyrics to the obscure B-Side "Flinstone Boy", or the 1965 Bluesology single, "Come Back Baby", both of which Elton wrote the words for, if you want proof). Probably the best lyrical contribution Elton has ever made to a song was the third verse he added to "Border Song", the first charted Elton John single from 1970's self-titled album (the same one "Your Song" came from).
There have only been a couple of songs where the music came first, the most significant of which were "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" and "Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word". In these cases, Elton contributed a couple of lyric ideas, and Bernie finished it off.
As for the song, this one comes from the autobiographical concept album Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy, which detailed the songwriting partners' early days together (roughly 1967-69). "Someone Saved", the album's only single, recounts an unfortunate relationship Elton had with a woman, Linda Woodrow, in around 1968. They shared a London flat with Bernie, and Linda thought Elton should get a "proper job" and give music up. The "someone" who saved Elton was Long John Baldry, a blues musician who had used Bluesology, the band Elton had previously been a part of, as a backing band. Baldry was gay, and recognized that Elton shared his sexual orientation. Late one night, during a drunken bender, Baldry convinced Elton to call off his engagement to Linda, telling him "you're as gay as I am". Elton went home and broke it off with Linda, and his parents came and picked him and Bernie up the next morning. Baldry having "saved [Elton's] life" could also elude to Elton's suicide attempt during his engagement to Linda. He stuck his head in the gas oven in their kitchen, but he left the windows open and had a pillow so he'd be more comfortable. Bernie walked in and, in true English fashion, laughed at Elton and told him to knock it off (Elton would later laugh at the ridiculousness of his leaving the windows open and putting down the pillow). Elton would later attempt suicide again mere months after the release of "Someone Saved" when he swallowed a whole bunch of valium and dove into a pool with all his family and friends watching. Two days later, he went onstage at Dodgers Stadium in Los Angeles and played two shows to 55,000 people each.
I loved reading through the book that came with the album back then. Still have both!
This is the first album I ever owned. And EJ was the first concert I ever attended, in 1975. Fan for life!
Bernie would write the lyrics and mail them to Elton who would then put them to music. Magic!
Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters…
my favorite song by Elton John.🩷