Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a … Read Full Bio ↴Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist, and composer. Collaborating with lyricist Bernie Taupin since 1967, John is one of the most successful artists of all time, having sold over 300 million records worldwide in a seven-decade career in music. He is acclaimed by critics and musicians, particularly for his work during the 1970s, and his lasting impact on the music industry. John's music and showmanship have had a significant impact on popular music. His songwriting partnership with Taupin is one of the most successful in history.

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)

Natural Sinner
Elton John Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Sometimes I feel too old to work, too young to die
I'll drink my whiskey, I'll keep smoking 'till I die
I wear a suit of sadness made by experience
I believe that in the end time will head what's nagging me

I'm a natural sinner, born a sinner's son
Evil's been my motto, distrust everyone
I'm a natural sinner, born a sinner's son

Evil's been my motto, distrust everyone

Remember _____, now they're not hard to find
Now they ain't got no good side

Overall Meaning

"Natural Sinner" is a reflective song about the struggles of life and the feeling of being caught between two stages of life. The first two lines describe the singer's dilemma of feeling too old to work but also too young to die. He copes with this feeling by drinking whiskey and smoking, using them as a crutch to get by. The next two lines describe the hardships he has faced in his life, the "suit of sadness" he wears, made by experience.

The chorus of the song reveals that the singer considers himself a "natural sinner," as if he was born to be one. He grew up in a sinning environment where evil was his motto, and he learned to distrust everyone. The final line of the chorus, "evil's been my motto, distrust everyone," seems to suggest that he has lived his life with a negative outlook on humanity.

The final line of the song is a reference to a person who has changed for the worse, and the singer comments on how easy such people are to find, suggesting that he is surrounded by negativity and sin. The song ends on a somber note, leaving the listener with a sense of melancholy.

Line by Line Meaning

Sometimes I feel too old to work, too young to die
I often feel that I am at a difficult stage in life where I am too old for some things yet too young to die and leave everything behind.

I'll drink my whiskey, I'll keep smoking 'till I die
No matter what happens, I will continue to drink whiskey and smoke cigarettes until the day that I die.

I wear a suit of sadness made by experience
I have gone through a lot in my life which has made me wear an overwhelming sadness like a suit that I cannot easily get rid of.

I believe that in the end time will head what's nagging me
I trust that eventually time will take care of whatever it is that is bothering me and give me the closure I need.

I'm a natural sinner, born a sinner's son
I was born into a lineage of sinners and it's a part of who I am innately.

Evil's been my motto, distrust everyone
I have a tendency to live by the mantra of evil and don't trust anyone around me.

Remember _____, now they're not hard to find
I remember people I've had in my life before who are now just a memory as they're no longer around.

Now they ain't got no good side
I cannot recall any good about the people from my past anymore.

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: ANDY FAIRWEATHER-LOW

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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