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)
And The House Fell Down
Elton John Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'm more paranoid with every little sound
Like the leaf blower blowing the leaves around
And a siren wailing on the other side of town
Oh the TVs on and the colors really hurt my head
If I could think straight I'd wish that I was dead
Or curled up naked in my lover's bed
[Chorus:]
And I don't recall who said it at this time
That your enemies grow strong on what you leave behind
I built it up and the wolf he came around
He huffed and puffed and the house fell down
With a rolled up note I'm hovering on that line
Three days on a diet of cocaine and wine
And a little weed just to level me sometime
I put the clock in the drawer 'cause I've cancelled out the time
[Chorus]
So don't knock on my door, don't try to call
I'm holed up in this room talking to the wall
When you're high as this you think you know it all
When you're this deep in there's no place else to fall
[Chorus]
And still that saying gets inside my mind
That your enemies grow strong on what you leave behind
I built it up and the wolf he came around
He huffed and puffed and the house fell down
The lyrics of Elton John's song "And The House Fell Down" depict the downward spiral of a person who has lost control of their life due to drug addiction. The singer begins by describing their heightened paranoia, unable to differentiate between reality and their own imagination. The noises of the outside world disturb them, from a leaf blower to the siren of an ambulance. The singer is unable to find solace in their surroundings, even their TV causes them physical pain. The only relief they seek is in the arms of their lover, but they are unable to do so, hanging over a figurative Hell.
The chorus of the song makes an allusion to the story of the Three Little Pigs, with the wolf representing the singer's addiction. They built up their life, but their addiction came around like a wolf and completely knocked it down. The second verse describes the extent of the singer's addiction, with them hovering on the brink of self-destruction, existing only on a diet of drugs and alcohol, with the clock representing the lack of importance of time in their world.
The final verse of the song suggests that the singer is at the lowest point of their addiction, secluded in their room, talking to the wall. The singer believes that when one is in such a deep state of addiction, they believe they know everything, but in reality, they are falling apart. The chorus is repeated, reinforcing its message that one's enemies, in this case, addiction, grows stronger on what we leave behind, and the wolf of addiction will come to destroy us.
Overall, "And The House Fell Down" is a powerful commentary on the destructive nature of addiction, affecting not only the addict but those around them, bringing everything down with them.
Line by Line Meaning
The sun is up and the shades are all pulled down
It's a beautiful day outside, but I'm too paranoid to let any light in.
I'm more paranoid with every little sound
Every little noise scares me more than the last.
Like the leaf blower blowing the leaves around
Even mundane sounds like a leaf blower make me anxious.
And a siren wailing on the other side of town
The sound of a siren from far away makes me uneasy.
Oh the TVs on and the colors really hurt my head
The bright colors on the TV are overwhelming and uncomfortable.
If I could think straight I'd wish that I was dead
I feel so out of control that death seems preferable to me.
Or curled up naked in my lover's bed
Feeling safe and loved by my partner would be the best thing for me.
Instead I'm hanging over Hell suspended by a single thread
I feel like I'm barely holding on to my sanity and could fall apart at any moment.
And I don't recall who said it at this time
I'm not sure where this idea came from.
That your enemies grow strong on what you leave behind
People can use your mistakes and weaknesses to hurt you in the future.
I built it up and the wolf he came around
I created a life for myself but someone or something else destroyed it.
He huffed and puffed and the house fell down
The person or situation that destroyed my life did so with ease and left me with nothing.
With a rolled up note I'm hovering on that line
I'm on the edge of addiction and possible overdose.
Three days on a diet of cocaine and wine
I'm using drugs and alcohol to cope with my problems instead of facing them.
And a little weed just to level me sometime
I'm using marijuana to try and even out the negative effects of the other substances I'm using.
I put the clock in the drawer 'cause I've cancelled out the time
I've lost track of time because of my drug use.
So don't knock on my door, don't try to call
I don't want to be bothered or interrupted by anyone.
I'm holed up in this room talking to the wall
I'm so lonely that I'm talking to myself.
When you're high as this you think you know it all
My drug use makes me feel invincible and like I have everything figured out.
When you're this deep in there's no place else to fall
At this point, my drug use has taken over my life and I'm too far gone to recover easily.
And still that saying gets inside my mind
The idea that people can use your weaknesses against you still bothers me.
That your enemies grow strong on what you leave behind
If you make mistakes, people can use them to hurt you in the future.
I built it up and the wolf he came around
I created something good for myself, but someone or something destroyed it.
He huffed and puffed and the house fell down
The person or situation that ruined my life did so with ease and completely destroyed everything I had built.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: BERNIE TAUPIN, ELTON JOHN
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.....