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)
Empty Sky
Elton John Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Those bars that look towards the sun at night look towards the moon
Everyday the swallows play in the clouds of love
Make me wish that I had wings take me high above
And I looked high and saw the empty sky
If I could only, I could only fly
I'd drift with them in endless space
At night I lay upon my bench and stare towards the stars
The cold night air comes creeping in and home seems oh so far
If only I could swing upon those twinkling dots above
I'd look down from the heavens upon the ones I love
Hey the lucky locket hangs around your precious neck
Some luck I ever got with you and I wouldn't like to bet
That sooner or later you'll own just one half of this land
By shining your eyes on the wealth of every man
And I looked high and saw the empty sky
If I could only, I could only fly
I'd drift with them in endless space
But no man flies from this place
Just send up my love ain't seen nothing but tears
Now I've got myself in this room for years
I don't see no one, I never see anyone
The lyrics of Elton John's Empty Sky convey a sense of confinement and longing for freedom. The singer is trapped in a room, referred to as a prison, and feels like a "rat to be spat on." The view from the room is limited, with bars that "look towards the sun at night look towards the moon." While the swallows outside play in the clouds of love, the singer wishes they too had wings to take them high above and away from their confinement.
The second stanza of the song moves from the physical sense of confinement to an emotional distance from loved ones. The singer wishes they could "swing upon those twinkling dots above" to see the ones they love. The lyrics suggest that the singer is estranged from their loved ones, with the line "some luck I ever got with you and I wouldn't like to bet that sooner or later you'll own just one half of this land by shining your eyes on the wealth of every man" indicating a sense of bitterness and envy towards the object of their affection. The final stanza adds to the sense of isolation, suggesting the singer has been in this room for years and doesn't see anyone.
Overall, Empty Sky is a powerful but melancholy song that captures the sense of confinement, bitterness, and longing for freedom.
Line by Line Meaning
I'm not a rat to be spat on locked up in this room
I refuse to be treated like an animal in captivity in this confined space
Those bars that look towards the sun at night look towards the moon
The prison bars that seem to offer hope during the day, seem even more helpless at night
Everyday the swallows play in the clouds of love
The birds outside seem to be living happily while the person in prison is stuck in a loveless environment
Make me wish that I had wings take me high above
The longing to fly away and escape the current situation is intense
And I looked high and saw the empty sky
The realization that there is no way of escaping this place is sinking in
If I could only, I could only fly
Flying represents the ultimate freedom and escape from this oppressive environment
I'd drift with them in endless space
The freedom of flying represents the infinite possibilities of life that are denied to the person in captivity
But no man flies from this place
The person accepts that there is no way out of this situation, no matter how strong the desire to escape
At night I lay upon my bench and stare towards the stars
The person is seeking some form of connection to the outside world, even if it is just looking at the stars
The cold night air comes creeping in and home seems oh so far
The loneliness and isolation of being in this place is amplified by the cold and unwelcoming environment
If only I could swing upon those twinkling dots above
The desire to escape and be free is still present and growing stronger
I'd look down from the heavens upon the ones I love
The longing to be reunited with loved ones is a constant source of pain and comfort at the same time
Hey the lucky locket hangs around your precious neck
The person addresses a loved one who has the fortune and freedom to live without any restraints
Some luck I ever got with you and I wouldn't like to bet
The person realizes that their fate is tied to this person but also knows that they have no control over it
That sooner or later you'll own just one half of this land
The person is resigned to the fact that they will never have the same freedom and opportunities as the person they are addressing
By shining your eyes on the wealth of every man
The implication is that this person is gaining the upper hand by exploiting others
Just send up my love ain't seen nothing but tears
The only thing left for the person to offer is love, as they have nothing else to give
Now I've got myself in this room for years
The sense of being trapped and confined is overwhelming
I don't see no one, I never see anyone
The isolation is so complete that the person no longer even remembers what it is like to interact with other people
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.....