Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a … Read Full Bio ↴Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist, and composer. Collaborating with lyricist Bernie Taupin since 1967, John is one of the most successful artists of all time, having sold over 300 million records worldwide in a seven-decade career in music. He is acclaimed by critics and musicians, particularly for his work during the 1970s, and his lasting impact on the music industry. John's music and showmanship have had a significant impact on popular music. His songwriting partnership with Taupin is one of the most successful in history.

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)

Born To Lose
Elton John Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Born to lose
I've lived my life in vain
Every dream has only brought me pain
All my life I've always been so blue
Born to lose
And now I'm losing you

Born to lose

Oh it seems so hard to bear
When I wake and find that you're not there
Ooh you've grown tired and now you say we're through
I'm born to lose
And now I'm losing you

Born to lose
I've lived my life in vain
Every dream has only brought me pain
All my life I've always been so blue
Born to lose
And now I'm losing you

Born to lose
And now Elton I'm losing you

Overall Meaning

Elton John's Born To Lose is a hauntingly tragic ballad that delves into the theme of unrelenting misfortune and the despair it causes in one's life. The lyrics suggest that just like the title of the song suggests, the singer was always destined for failure in life. Every dream he had was futile and only brought him more pain. He has always been blue, or depressed, and now he's losing the one person in his life who gave him hope and happiness. The repetition of the phrase "Born to lose" emphasizes the hopelessness and inevitability of the situation that the singer finds himself in.

The song captures the deep sadness and heart-wrenching despair that comes with loving someone who no longer loves you back. The second verse, in particular, highlights the agony of waking up to the realization that the love of your life no longer wants to be with you. The line "Ooh you've grown tired and now you say we're through" shows how love can be fleeting, and just like everything else in his life, the singer was meant to lose it.

Overall, Born To Lose is a powerful portrait of unyielding fate that can leave us with nothing but heartbreak and despair.

Line by Line Meaning

Born to lose
I was destined for failure from the beginning

I've lived my life in vain
I have not accomplished anything meaningful in my life

Every dream has only brought me pain
Trying to achieve my desires has always resulted in suffering

All my life I've always been so blue
I have always been sad and melancholic

Born to lose
My life is full of failures and setbacks

And now I'm losing you
Losing you, my dear one, makes my life even more meaningless

Oh it seems so hard to bear
It is unbearable to endure the pain of losing you

When I wake and find that you're not there
Realizing that you are no longer with me when I wake up is a shock

Ooh you've grown tired and now you say we're through
You are tired of me and you have decided to end our relationship

And now Elton I'm losing you
This line doesn't exist in the original song