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)
My Quicksand
Elton John Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Good sense shot down I placed you on a throne
Where was the wheel that kept me on the road
The force of nature preventing overload
So don't you know I've been dressed to kill
If you got the tools be careful what you build
When the arrow's in the bull's-eye every time
My quicksand
Let me introduce you
To my final stand
I went to Paris once
I thought I had a plan
I woke up with an accent
I wound up in quicksand
My quicksand
I was full of foreign notions at the start
There was never once
When I was off my guard
For any ghost of every poet in the ground
There's one like me
To buy the guys a round
My quicksand
Let me introduce you
To my final stand
I went to Paris once
I thought I had a plan
I woke up with an accent
I wound up in quicksand
My quicksand
I'm going down
You and me together going down
It's not what I'd been told about this town
That when you least expect if you can drown
In quicksand
My quicksand
My quicksand
Let me introduce you
To my final stand
I went to Paris once
I thought I had a plan
I woke up with an accent
I wound up in quicksand
My quicksand
My quicksand
The lyrics to Elton John's "My Quicksand" depict a story of a man who put his life on hold and gave everything up for the person he loved. He placed this person on a pedestal and elevated them to a position of power in his life. However, in doing so, he lost control of his own life and lost his sense of direction. He found himself in quicksand, sinking deeper and deeper into a hopeless situation.
The lines "don't you know I've been dressed to kill" and "if you got the tools, be careful what you build" suggest that the man was well-prepared for this relationship and put in a lot of effort to make it work. However, he may have overcompensated and given too much of himself to this person, resulting in him losing his sense of self.
The following lines, "when the arrow's in the bull's-eye every time, it's hard assuming that the archer's blind," suggest that the man may have been so focused on pleasing his partner that he lost sight of what was truly important in his life. However, he was still assuming that everything was fine and that he had control over the situation.
The chorus repeats the line "my quicksand" over and over again, cementing the idea that the man is trapped in a hopeless situation. He mentions going to Paris and thinking he had a plan, but waking up with an accent and ending up in quicksand. This metaphorically represents his life - he thought he had a solid plan and was in control, but ultimately ended up drowning in his own sense of loss and hopelessness.
Overall, the song speaks to the danger of losing yourself in a relationship and the importance of keeping a sense of self for a healthy and happy life.
Line by Line Meaning
I put my life on hold and took you home
I postponed my own life to bring you home
Good sense shot down I placed you on a throne
I ignored my rationality and elevated your status
Where was the wheel that kept me on the road
What kept me grounded when I needed stability?
The force of nature preventing overload
The natural order of things kept me from breaking down
So don't you know I've been dressed to kill
I've sought attention and dressed to impress
If you got the tools be careful what you build
Be cautious with what you create, as it can have unforeseen consequences
When the arrow's in the bull's-eye every time
When success is consistent, it's hard to admit when things are going wrong
It's hard assuming that the archer's blind
It's difficult to accept that even those who seem to be in control can make mistakes
My quicksand
The situation that is dragging me down
Let me introduce you
Allow me to show you
To my final stand
To the point where I can no longer retreat
I went to Paris once
I had an experience that I associate with a specific place
I thought I had a plan
I believed I knew what I was doing
I woke up with an accent
I experienced an unexpected change
I wound up in quicksand
I ended up in a difficult situation
I'm going down
I'm failing
You and me together going down
We're both struggling
It's not what I'd been told about this town
My expectations were different from reality
That when you least expect if you can drown
Even the most unexpected things can lead to failure
In quicksand
In a difficult situation
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.....