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)
Billy Bones And The White Bird
Elton John Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Take the wheel I think this ship is sinking
Jamaica seems so far and I've been thinking
Old Billy Bones has gone to sea and quit his dockside drinking
Check it out, check it out, check it out
And when I'm dead who'll fly the White Bird home
I'm not the ancient mariner your children know
`Cause Billy Bones just wants to know who'll fly the White Bird home
Oh your majesty, your majesty
I heard the boson cry
Old Billy Bones has washed ashore
Upon a foreign tide
Elton John's song Billy Bones and the White Bird tells a story of a ship in trouble while sailing in the sea. The first two lines "Take the wheel I hear the timbers creaking, Take the wheel I think this ship is sinking" imply that the ship is in a dire situation and the captain or the crew is asking for someone else to take the reins. The lyrics "Jamaica seems so far and I've been thinking, Old Billy Bones has gone to sea and quit his dockside drinking" suggests that the ship is far away from a safe harbor and that the person they would rely on, Old Billy Bones, is not present. This could indicate that Old Billy Bones is a skilled sailor, but also that the crew is not able to handle the situation on their own.
The chorus "And when I'm dead who'll fly the White Bird home, I'm not the ancient mariner your children know, And the sea's the field these old jack tars have sown, `Cause Billy Bones just wants to know who'll fly the White Bird home" tells the story of a sailor who is reflecting on his life and the legacy he is leaving behind. The reference to the "White Bird" is not clear, but it could be a reference to the idea of freedom or hope, as birds often symbolize these concepts in literature. The sailor worries about who will carry on his legacy and continue to journey towards this idea of freedom or hope after he is gone. The final verse "Oh your majesty, your majesty, I heard the boson cry, Old Billy Bones has washed ashore, Upon a foreign tide" indicates that Old Billy Bones has met his end and that the ship is without its skilled sailor.
Line by Line Meaning
Take the wheel I hear the timbers creaking
I need you to take control of this situation because I can hear the ship falling apart and we're in danger.
Take the wheel I think this ship is sinking
I'm pretty sure this ship is about to go down, and we need someone to steer it to safety.
Jamaica seems so far and I've been thinking
We're pretty far from safety, and I've been considering our options.
Old Billy Bones has gone to sea and quit his dockside drinking
One of our crew members, Billy Bones, has stopped drinking on land and has gone out to sea with us.
Check it out, check it out, check it out
Stop what you're doing and pay attention to what I'm about to say.
And when I'm dead who'll fly the White Bird home
After I die, who will take care of things and make sure everything is okay?
I'm not the ancient mariner your children know
I'm not some mythical figure that your kids have heard of in stories.
And the sea's the field these old jack tars have sown
The sea is where we've made our living and where we live our lives.
Cause Billy Bones just wants to know who'll fly the White Bird home
Billy Bones is worried about who will take responsibility and lead after we're gone.
Oh your majesty, your majesty
Addressing someone of royalty, trying to get their attention.
I heard the boson cry
One of the crew members, the boson, was yelling or calling for help.
Old Billy Bones has washed ashore
Billy Bones did not make it, he has washed up on shore.
Upon a foreign tide
He washed up on shore in an unknown location far from where we last saw him.
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.....