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)
Cold Highway
Elton John Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
When no one's looking out you understand
Your world was a wheel but the cog ceased to turn
The bottom fell out and our fingers got burned
And there's a cold, cold highway that the wind whistles down
Where the corners turn blind like the graveyard ground
Oh your black icy snare once cut down my friend
Every new version of the way of life
Leaves you reckless and searching for stars in the night
But whose kid are you when they finally decide
The lifestyle you led and the way that you died
But they're oh so simple, they're still trying to tell
The difference for you between heaven and hell
To glorify something, your legends are found
But all they bought you was a hole in the ground
Years rolling by just like a dream
I'm partly human and I'm partly machine
They've lost you and fate put your name on a stone
Perhaps now my friend they might leave you alone
In Cold Highway, Elton John reflects on the loss of a friend who lived recklessly and died untimely. The opening lines express the helplessness that we feel when a loved one takes a path that leads to destruction. The singer's friend slipped out of their hands, and there was nothing that they could do. The world, which was once a wheel, stopped turning for the friend, and our fingers got burned when we tried to hold on. This could be interpreted as referring to the singer and their community trying to reach out to their friend, but their attempts only burnt them out and didn't yield any positive results.
The mood of the song becomes more ominous, as Elton John describes the cold highway. The wind whistles down this road, and the corners turn blind, much like the graveyard ground. The singer compares their friend's demise to a black icy snare that caught them in the deepest dark winter, making it feel like the world had ended. Elton John captures the mournful feeling perfectly with a haunting melody, and the lines "But they're oh so simple, they're still trying to tell/The difference for you between heaven and hell" remind us of the hollow promises of a life that is lived recklessly. The ending of the song suggests that the friend's death might provide some relief finally, implying that the community could leave their friend alone now.
Line by Line Meaning
Your life stepped lightly out our hands
You passed away easily and gently without us being able to keep you.
When no one's looking out you understand
You knew how to cope at times when no one was watching or helping you.
Your world was a wheel but the cog ceased to turn
Your world was going round and round, but it suddenly stopped when something important didn't work anymore.
The bottom fell out and our fingers got burned
Everything fell apart suddenly and it hurt us badly.
And there's a cold, cold highway that the wind whistles down
There's a lonely and cold road where bad things happen and no one cares.
Where the corners turn blind like the graveyard ground
The way is full of dangerous curves that can lead to accidents, like going through a graveyard at night.
Oh your black icy snare once cut down my friend
You, with your cunning and deception, hurt one of my friends.
In the deepest dark winter when the world seemed to end
It happened at a time of great despair and darkness, when everything seemed hopeless.
Every new version of the way of life
New ways of doing things and living life are constantly being tried.
Leaves you reckless and searching for stars in the night
These changes can make you act impulsively and leave you lost and looking for guidance.
But whose kid are you when they finally decide
You might not even know who you are or where you come from when people pass judgment on your choices.
The lifestyle you led and the way that you died
Your actions and the way you left this world will define how people remember you.
But they're oh so simple, they're still trying to tell
Many people try to simplify complex topics like life and death.
The difference for you between heaven and hell
They claim to know what awaits you after you die - either a place of eternal bliss or unbearable suffering.
To glorify something, your legends are found
People will create heroic stories or myths about you to make you seem more important or special.
But all they bought you was a hole in the ground
Despite all the attention, all you got in the end was a grave.
Years rolling by just like a dream
Time passes by quickly and can feel like a blur.
I'm partly human and I'm partly machine
I have a mix of emotions and rationality, like a cyborg.
They've lost you and fate put your name on a stone
You're gone and your name is now written on a grave marker, reminding us of your absence.
Perhaps now my friend they might leave you alone
Maybe now that you're gone, people will stop bothering you or judging you.
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.....