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)
High Flying Bird
Elton John Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I saw it as you flew between my reason
Like a raven in the night time when you left
Mm-hmm, I wear a chain upon my wrist that bears no name
You touched it and you wore it
And you kept it in your pillow all the same
My high-flying bird has flown from out my arms
She thought I meant her harm
She thought I was the archer
A weather-man of words
But I could never shoot down
(My) my high-flying bird
The white walls of your dressing room are stained in scarlet red
You bled upon the cold stone like a young man
Hmm, In the foreign field of death
"Oh, wouldn't it be wonderful?" is all I heard you say
You never closed your eyes at night and learned to love daylight
Instead you moved away
My high-flying bird has flown from out my arms
I thought myself her keeper
She thought I meant her harm
She thought I was the archer
A weather-man of words
But I could never shoot down
(My) my high-flying bird has flown from out my arms
I thought myself her keeper
She thought I meant her harm
She thought I was the archer
A weather-man of words
But I could never shoot down
(My) my high-flying bird
My high-flying, high-flying bird
My high-flying, high-flying bird
My high-flying, high-flying bird
My high-flying, high-flying bird
The lyrics of Elton John's 'High-flying Bird' speak about a relationship with a woman who seemed to be elusive and free-spirited, hence the title "high-flying bird." The first stanza depicts the couple exchanging tokens of affection, with Elton John wearing a chain with no name and the woman having a cross of gold around her neck. However, their relationship is short-lived. In the second stanza, Elton John sings about how his high-flying bird has flown away from him, and he blames himself for her departure. She thought he meant her harm, but he insists that he could never shoot her down. The final stanza is the most haunting as it describes the aftermath of the woman's departure. Her dressing room walls are stained with her blood, and she longed for an escape, saying "oh, wouldn't it be wonderful?" Elton John remembers her as a restless soul who could never close her eyes or appreciate the daylight.
Overall, the lyrics paint a poignant picture of lost love, regret, and misunderstanding. Elton John is left to wonder what he could have done differently and what he could have done to keep his 'high-flying bird' from flying away.
Line by Line Meaning
You wore a little cross of gold around your neck
You displayed your faith with a cross of gold around your neck
I saw it as you flew between my reason
Your belief seemed to interfere with my logical thinking
Like a raven in the night time when you left
When you left, it felt like a dark and ominous presence had flown away
Mm-hmm, I wear a chain upon my wrist that bears no name
I have a wrist chain that holds no specific significance
You touched it and you wore it
You touched and wore my wrist chain
And you kept it in your pillow all the same
You kept it close to you by laying it on your pillow
My high-flying bird has flown from out my arms
The one I thought was mine has left me
I thought myself her keeper
I believed that I had control over her
She thought I meant her harm
She believed that I wanted to hurt her
She thought I was the archer
She saw me as someone capable of causing harm with my words
A weather-man of words
Someone who speaks with great conviction and authority
But I could never shoot down
I could never harm her
The white walls of your dressing room are stained in scarlet red
Your dressing room walls are stained with your blood
You bled upon the cold stone like a young man
You bled on the cold stone like someone who has had their life cut short
Hmm, In the foreign field of death
In the distant land of war and violence
"Oh, wouldn't it be wonderful?" is all I heard you say
All you could say was how wonderful it would be
You never closed your eyes at night and learned to love daylight
You never slept and were never able to enjoy life
Instead you moved away
You left and never came back
My high-flying, high-flying bird
The one who soared high in the sky
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.....