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)
Jimmie Rodgers
Elton John Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
A two-lane highway winding past a desert town
A big blue canvas painted by the Master's hand
The shifting clouds above and endless miles of sand
In that mirror maybe that's what's left of me
Wheezing like a freight train hauling sixty tons of steel
Air 'em out's the best release and get some rest
[Chorus]
In this room all alone
I dream of you
In this drawer I found someone
I never knew
Now I pop a top and stay up late with Gideon
And fall asleep to visions of Meridian
I've seen dusty beaten delta boys cutting heads
A black face carny showman scare a song to death
In my short life I've seen as much as most men need
Now I'm just looking for some cleaner air to breathe
[Chorus]
Far away, far away
So many years, so many days
All along this broken land
I've seen a lover's empty arms
And hunger's empty hand
[Chorus]
The song "Jimmie Rodgers' Dream" by Elton John and Leon Russell is a reflection on one's life and the experiences that come with it. The song begins with the singer describing a funeral wagon rolling down a two-lane highway past a desert town. The scenery painted by the Master's hand in the big blue canvas changes constantly with the shifting clouds above and endless miles of sand. It is clear that the singer sees his life in this wagon, maybe that's what's left of him - wheezing like a freight train hauling sixty tons of steel. The brakeman's going West and he won't be taken aback.
The chorus then comes in and the singer tells us about how he dreams of his loved one as he drinks alone in his room. He found someone in a drawer, someone he never knew before. The singer then takes us through different visions, from staying up late with Gideon and falling asleep to visions of Meridian to seeing dusty, beaten delta boys cutting heads, and a black face carny showman scaring a song to death. He reflects on how he has seen as much as most men need to see in his short life and how all he's looking for is some cleaner air to breathe in. The song ends with the singer's thoughts on how he has seen a lover's empty arms and hunger's empty hand along the broken land, and how far away he is.
Line by Line Meaning
I'm looking at a funeral wagon rolling down
I see a wagon carrying a coffin moving slowly
A two-lane highway winding past a desert town
A narrow road twisting through a deserted village
A big blue canvas painted by the Master's hand
The sky painted in shades of blue by a skilled artist
The shifting clouds above and endless miles of sand
Clouds moving overhead in the limitless expanse of sand
In that mirror maybe that's what's left of me
The reflection in the mirror is all that remains of me
Wheezing like a freight train hauling sixty tons of steel
Breathing heavily, like a locomotive carrying a heavy load
Air 'em out's the best release and get some rest
Taking a deep breath and relaxing is the best way to feel better
Carrie don't wait up for me the brakeman's going West
Don't stay awake for me, the person who operates the train's brakes is leaving for the western part of the country
In this room all alone
Being by oneself inside the room
I dream of you
Thinking of you in the dream
In this drawer I found someone
In this drawer, I discovered somebody
I never knew
Whom I never met before
Now I pop a top and stay up late with Gideon
I open a bottle and spend the night together with Gideon
And fall asleep to visions of Meridian
Drifting off, with images of Meridian in my mind
I've seen dusty beaten delta boys cutting heads
I saw beaten boys from the Mississippi river delta, cutting sugarcane heads
A black face carny showman scare a song to death
A black carnival show host performing a song that sounds like an illusion
In my short life I've seen as much as most men need
I've experienced what most people would consider enough in my brief lifetime
Now I'm just looking for some cleaner air to breathe
Currently, I'm seeking a more refreshing environment to take in deep breaths of cleaner air
Far away, far away
Distant, far away
So many years, so many days
A lot of years, as well as many days
All along this broken land
Throughout this damaged countryside
I've seen a lover's empty arms
I've seen people whose partners aren't there
And hunger's empty hand
Experiencing hunger without aid
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: BERNARD J.P. TAUPIN, ELTON JOHN, T-BONE BURNETT
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.....