John was raised in the Pinner suburb of London and learned to play piano at an early age, forming the blues band Bluesology in 1962. After leaving Bluesology in 1967 to embark on a solo career, John met Taupin after they both answered an advert for songwriters. For two years, they wrote songs for other artists, and John worked as a session musician for artists. John released his debut album Empty Sky in 1969, and a year later formed the Elton John Band and released his first hit single, "Your Song".
John's critical success was at its peak in the 1970s when he released a streak of chart-topping albums in the US and UK, which began with Honky Château (1972) and culminated with Rock of the Westies (1975). John continued his success in the 1980s and 1990s, having several hit singles and albums in both decades, and has continued to record new music since then. He has also had success in musical films and theatre, composing music for The Lion King, Aida, and Billy Elliot the Musical. In 2018, John began his ongoing farewell tour Farewell Yellow Brick Road, which is scheduled to conclude in 2023. The 2019 biopic Rocketman dramatized his life and career.
Outside of music, John is an HIV/AIDS charity fundraiser and has been involved in the fight against AIDS since the late 1980s. He established the Elton John AIDS Foundation in 1992, which has raised over £300 million since its inception, and a year later he began hosting his annual Foundation Academy Awards Party, which has since become one of the biggest high-profile Oscar parties in the Hollywood film industry. John was the chairman and director of Watford F.C, from 1976 to 1987, and again from 1997 to 2002, and is an honorary life president of the club. From the late 1970s to the late 1980s, John developed a severe addiction problem to drugs and alcohol but has been sober since 1990. He entered into a civil partnership with Canadian filmmaker David Furnish in 2005; they married after same-sex marriage became legal in England and Wales in 2014.
John has sold over 300 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling artists of all time. He has more than fifty Top 40 hits on the UK Singles Chart and US Billboard Hot 100, including nine number-ones in the UK and US, as well as seven consecutive number-one albums in the US. His tribute single "Candle in the Wind 1997", a rewritten version of his 1974 single in dedication to Princess Diana, sold over 33 million copies worldwide and is the best-selling chart single of all time. In 2021, John became the first solo artist with UK Top 10 singles across six decades.
John has received numerous awards, including five Grammy Awards, five Brit Awards; including for Outstanding Contribution to Music; two Academy Awards, two Golden Globes, a Tony Award, a Laurence Olivier Award, a Disney Legend Award, and the Kennedy Center Honor. He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1992 and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994 and is a fellow of The Ivors Academy. He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for services to music and charitable services in 1998 and was appointed a member of the Order of the Companions of Honour by King Charles III (then Prince of Wales) in 2020.
Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elton_John
Solo studio albums
Empty Sky (1969)
Elton John (1970)
Tumbleweed Connection (1970)
Madman Across the Water (1971)
Honky Château (1972)
Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player (1973)
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (1973)
Caribou (1974)
Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy (1975)
Rock of the Westies (1975)
Blue Moves (1976)
A Single Man (1978)
Victim of Love (1979)
21 at 33 (1980)
The Fox (1981)
Jump Up! (1982)
Too Low for Zero (1983)
Breaking Hearts (1984)
Ice on Fire (1985)
Leather Jackets (1986)
Reg Strikes Back (1988)
Sleeping with the Past (1989)
The One (1992)
Made in England (1995)
The Big Picture (1997)
Songs from the West Coast (2001)
Peachtree Road (2004)
The Captain & the Kid (2006)
The Diving Board (2013)
Wonderful Crazy Night (2016)
Regimental Sgt. Zippo (2021)
16th Century Man
Elton John Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Breathe the Iberian atmosphere
Just because we are Hispanic
Doesn't mean we're oceanic
Quite frankly we've had water up to here
We've made waves to last a lifetime
We've been saturated, almost drowned
We are human, not amphibian
We'll seek our fortunes on Spain's solid ground
There's no future in the new world
Only fools believe the tales
Of the gold of El Dorado
Only suckers set their sails
We have seen the way the tide is turning
Cortez is a charlatan
We are on the ball, discerning
We're anti-diluvian
Two very fine examples of
Sixteenth century man
Two very modern samples of
Sixteenth, sixteenth century man
There are women who are lining
Every avenue in every port
Now at last we'll get to grips with
The things they never equip ships with
We have sailed into our last resort
There's no gold mine in the new world
It's a trick to get recruits
On the boat to El Dorado
We're returning to our roots
We're going back to land locked ladies
Cortez never letz them board
All in all the point we've made is
We don't want to go abroad
Two very fine examples of
Sixteenth century man
Two terra firma samples of
Sixteenth, sixteenth century man
Two very fine examples of
Two terra firma samples of
Sixteenth century man
Elton John's "16th Century Man" appears to be a commentary on colonialism and the notion of seeking wealth and adventure in new lands. The lyrics suggest a sense of disillusionment with the idea of leaving one's homeland in search of riches, and instead emphasize the value of one's heritage and roots. The opening lines speak of the singer's joy at being back in their homeland, in the "Iberian atmosphere," and how being Hispanic doesn't automatically mean they are "oceanic," or drawn to the sea. The next lines point to the idea that they have had enough of the dangers and uncertainty of life on the sea, and that despite being Spanish, they are human and not amphibian.
The second verse builds on the idea that the notion of discovering new lands and new sources of wealth is a myth. The references to El Dorado and Cortez suggest that these are symbols of the misguided beliefs of those who set out to conquer or plunder new lands. The singers make a point of saying that "We are on the ball, discerning / We're anti-diluvian," which suggests a sense of wisdom and foresight that they believe sets them apart from those who are still chasing after dreams of gold and glory. The final verse suggests that the singers are turning away from this way of life altogether, and seeking instead to stay on solid ground and find value and meaning in the familiar things and people around them.
Line by Line Meaning
Oh it's great to see our homeland
We are happy to be back in our native land
Breathe the Iberian atmosphere
We enjoy breathing the air of the Iberian Peninsula
Just because we are Hispanic
We are of Spanish descent
Doesn't mean we're oceanic
But that doesn't make us people of the sea
Quite frankly we've had water up to here
We have had enough of being at sea
We've made waves to last a lifetime
We have made significant impacts that will last forever
We've been saturated, almost drowned
We have faced many challenges and struggles in our time at sea
We are Spanish, not Caribbean
We are natives of Spain, not the Caribbean
We are human, not amphibian
We are people, not creatures of the sea
We'll seek our fortunes on Spain's solid ground
We will try to find our success and happiness on land in Spain
There's no future in the new world
There is no potential for success in the Americas
Only fools believe the tales
Only foolish people would believe the stories of the new world's riches
Of the gold of El Dorado
Of the legendary city of gold known as El Dorado
Only suckers set their sails
Only gullible people would set sail for El Dorado
We have seen the way the tide is turning
We have understood how the situation is changing
Cortez is a charlatan
The Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortez is a fraud
We are on the ball, discerning
We are sharp and perceptive about the reality of the new world
We're anti-diluvian
We prefer the old world and the way things were done, not the new world
Two very fine examples of
We represent
Sixteenth century man
People of the 16th century
There are women who are lining
Women are waiting for us
Every avenue in every port
In every street and district of every port city
Now at last we'll get to grips with
We will finally be able to engage with
The things they never equip ships with
The things ships don't come equipped with, such as women
We have sailed into our last resort
We have arrived at our final option
There's no gold mine in the new world
There is no source of wealth to be found in the Americas
It's a trick to get recruits
The myth of El Dorado is just a ploy to attract people to the new world
On the boat to El Dorado
Headed to the city of gold
We're returning to our roots
We're going back to where we belong
We're going back to land locked ladies
We're going back to women who live on land
Cortez never let's them board
Cortez doesn't allow them on his ships
All in all the point we've made is
The overall message we are conveying is
We don't want to go abroad
We don't want to travel overseas
Two terra firma samples of
Two people who prefer solid ground
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: ELTON JOHN, TIM RICE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Peter Harthen
on Sacrifice
not like todays crap
Peter Harthen
on Sacrifice
Even at 56 years old, this music still sounds so good to me, how music should sound.....