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)
Dixie Lily
Elton John Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
See her lanterns flicker in the gentle breeze
I can hear the crickets singing in the evening
Old Dixie Lily moving past the cypress trees
My little boat - she rocks easy
I've been catching catfish in the creek all day
Oh, and I've never seen ladies like those on the big boats
Dixie Lily, chugging like a grand old lady
Paddles hitting home in the noonday sun
Plowing through the water with your whistles blowing
Down from Louisiana on the Vicksburg run
Papa says that I'm a dreamer
Says them 'squitas bit me one too many times
Oh, but I never get lonesome living on the river
Watching old Lily leave the world behind
The lyrics to Elton John's song Dixie Lily are about a man on a small boat watching a paddleboat, the Dixie Lily, pass by on the river. He admires the beauty of the paddleboat and the women on it, but he is content living a simple life on his small boat, catching catfish in the creek. The lyrics paint a picture of a slower and more peaceful way of life, where one can find happiness in the simplicity of nature.
The song also touches on the difference in social class between the man on the small boat and the people on the paddleboat. The man recognizes that those on the paddleboat must be of a higher class due to their fancy breeding that allows them to live that way. However, he doesn't seem to be envious of their lifestyle, but rather content with the life he has on the river.
Overall, the lyrics of Dixie Lily are a tribute to a simpler way of life and the beauty found in nature. It highlights the joy that can be found in living a peaceful and content life, removed from the distractions of modern society.
Line by Line Meaning
Showboat coming up the river
A large and flamboyant boat is approaching on the river
See her lanterns flicker in the gentle breeze
The lanterns of the boat are swaying in the mild wind
I can hear the crickets singing in the evening
The sound of the crickets can be heard in the evening
Old Dixie Lily moving past the cypress trees
A boat named Dixie Lily is passing the cypress trees
My little boat - she rocks easy
My small boat rocks gently
I've been catching catfish in the creek all day
I have been fishing for catfish in the creek throughout the day
Oh, and I've never seen ladies like those on the big boats
I am amazed by the women on the larger boats
Must be fancy breeding lets you live that way
Perhaps their high social status allows them to live luxuriously
Dixie Lily, chugging like a grand old lady
The boat Dixie Lily is chugging like an elegant elderly woman
Paddles hitting home in the noonday sun
The paddles are hitting the water surface as they travel in the bright sun of the day
Plowing through the water with your whistles blowing
They are plowing through the water and blowing their whistles
Down from Louisiana on the Vicksburg run
They have traveled from Louisiana and they are on the Vicksburg route
Papa says that I'm a dreamer
My father thinks that I am an idealist
Says them 'squitas bit me one too many times
He says that I have been bitten by mosquitoes too often
Oh, but I never get lonesome living on the river
However, I never feel lonely living on the river
Watching old Lily leave the world behind
I am observing the boat Dixie Lily leaving the surrounding world behind
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.....