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)
House of Cards
Elton John Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
With his plane and his plans for games after dark
Just a pain in his pocket, and the price of a room
Where the second hand sheets smell of stale perfume
If there's sharks in the water, don't swim where it's deep
For the taste of success can be bitter and sweet
It could be all right that I act like a child
You're just playing the game, but the stakes are too high
What will you do when the chips start to fly
When the deck's stacked against you, and the living gets hard?
Oh, it's four walls of madness in this house of cards
Common you call me, but I know there's time
In a handful of diamonds, a heart's hard to find
And your house of cards starts weighing you down
Your nights become restless when the clubs start to pound
In Elton John's song "House of Cards," the singer speaks to a woman whose heart has been taken by a wealthy playboy. The playboy can afford to play games with her heart and buy expensive hotel rooms where the smell of perfume lingers on the sheets. Elton warns her that the price of success can be bitter as well as sweet and that she is playing a game with high stakes. He fears that when the chips start to fly, she will be left with four walls of madness in a house of cards. He urges her to be wary of sharks in the water and to not swim where it is deep.
Elton seems to lament that the woman is trapped in a house of cards, a life built on fragile relationships and material possessions. Her nights become restless as the clubs start pounding and her house of cards becomes too heavy to bear. The reference to diamonds suggests that her search for love has been reduced to a mere transaction, with a handful of diamonds standing in for the true worth of her heart. Elton sings with concern and compassion for the woman, urging her to beware and avoid the pitfalls of the game she is playing.
The song speaks to the fragile nature of relationships built on material wealth rather than true love. It is a warning against the dangers of playing games with people's hearts and the devastating consequences of living life as if it is a frivolous game to be won or lost.
Line by Line Meaning
I hear that some playboy has kidnapped your heart
I have heard that you have fallen in love with someone who is reckless and doesn't care about emotions
With his plane and his plans for games after dark
He is someone with a lot of money and he likes to indulge in activities that are inappropriate, especially during night time
Just a pain in his pocket, and the price of a room
He spends money without giving it a second thought, without caring about the consequences of his actions
Where the second hand sheets smell of stale perfume
He is someone who is used to luxury and excess, and doesn't care about cleanliness or hygiene
If there's sharks in the water, don't swim where it's deep
If you know there are dangers in a situation, don't go deeper into it
For the taste of success can be bitter and sweet
Achieving success can have its own set of consequences and difficulties
It could be all right that I act like a child
It's okay for me to behave childishly and not take things too seriously
But you'll be the loser when the jokers run wild
If you let others play games with you and don't take them seriously, you will end up losing
You're just playing the game, but the stakes are too high
You are just trying to have fun, but the risks involved are too high
What will you do when the chips start to fly
What will you do when things start to go wrong and get out of hand
When the deck's stacked against you, and the living gets hard?
When things are against you and life becomes difficult, what will be your course of action?
Oh, it's four walls of madness in this house of cards
This situation is like a house of cards, with the potential to collapse at any moment, and it's driving you crazy
Common you call me, but I know there's time
You might think I'm ordinary, but I know I have hidden talents that can be unearthed with time
In a handful of diamonds, a heart's hard to find
It's difficult to find someone with a good heart, even if they have all the riches in the world
And your house of cards starts weighing you down
The situation is becoming more and more difficult for you to handle
Your nights become restless when the clubs start to pound
You are becoming anxious and restless as the night goes on, and the environment around you becomes more energetic and loud
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: BERNIE TAUPIN, ELTON JOHN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Doge
I hear that some playboy has kidnapped your heart
With his plane and his plans for games after dark
Just a pain in his pocket, and the price of a room
Where the second hand sheets smell of stale perfume
If there's sharks in the water, don't swim where it's deep
For the taste of success can be bitter and sweet
It could be all right that I act like a child
But you'll be the loser when the jokers run wild
You're just playing the game, but the stakes are too high
What will you do when the chips start to fly
When the deck's stacked against you, and the living gets hard?
Oh, it's four walls of madness in this house of cards
Common you call me, but I know there's time
In a handful of diamonds, a heart's hard to find
And your house of cards starts weighing you down
Your nights become restless when the clubs start to pound
KeithsVinylVault
I had the 45 of “Someone Saved My Life” and was thrilled to flip it over and hear this song. A truly underrated song—one of his best.
Noddy Ninetythree
ain't it something when the B-Sides rank among the best album cuts? this is clearly one of those.
musicmaster 99
Underrated song!
Martine Volbrecht
Cet album est sublim. Elthon je t aime 😘
Rebekah Phillips
Why has this been taken off Spotify ?!
Russ Grunert
You'd probably have to ask them
Doge
I hear that some playboy has kidnapped your heart
With his plane and his plans for games after dark
Just a pain in his pocket, and the price of a room
Where the second hand sheets smell of stale perfume
If there's sharks in the water, don't swim where it's deep
For the taste of success can be bitter and sweet
It could be all right that I act like a child
But you'll be the loser when the jokers run wild
You're just playing the game, but the stakes are too high
What will you do when the chips start to fly
When the deck's stacked against you, and the living gets hard?
Oh, it's four walls of madness in this house of cards
Common you call me, but I know there's time
In a handful of diamonds, a heart's hard to find
And your house of cards starts weighing you down
Your nights become restless when the clubs start to pound
Mike Britt
In a hand full of diamonds, oh a heart's hard to find!!!
The Tazzman
It was a B-side of a 45 rpm.
Eddie Bryan
@Russ Grunert Great song.