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)
Pain
Elton John Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Where do you live, I live anyplace
Where were you born, in the state of fear
How old are you, nineteen hundred and ninety four years
What's your plan, my plan is pain
When will you leave, I'll never go away
How will you breathe, you'll give me life
My name is Pain, you belong to me
You're all I wanted, I'm all you'll ever be
From the beginning in a world without end
I am the air, I am Pain
Pain is love, Pain is pure
Pain is sickness, Pain is the cure
Pain is death, Pain is religion
Pain is life, Pain is television
Pain walks, Pain crawls
Pain is peace, Pain is war
Where were you born, in the state of fear
How old are you, nineteen hundred and ninety four years
My name is Pain, you belong to me
You're all I ever wanted, I'm all you'll ever be
From the beginning in a world without end
I am the air, I am Pain
The lyrics of Elton John's song "Pain" depict a conversation between the singer and pain itself. Pain is personified as an entity with a name, a plan, and a desire for control over the singer's life. The song starts with Pain introducing itself to the singer and asking personal questions about where he lives, where he was born, and how old he is. Pain seems to be omnipresent and says it lives "anyplace," suggesting that it can affect anyone at any time.
The chorus of the song reiterates Pain's control over the singer's life, stating that "you belong to me" and "I'm all you'll ever be." Pain is portrayed as all-encompassing, both positive and negative, as shown by the lines "Pain is love, Pain is pure / Pain is sickness, Pain is the cure / Pain is death, Pain is religion / Pain is life, Pain is television." The last two lines of the verse are repeated at the end of the song, emphasizing Pain's permanence in the singer's life.
Overall, the lyrics of "Pain" delve into the universal human experience of living with physical and emotional pain. The song portrays pain as a pervasive force that can define one's existence, and the lyrics acknowledge that pain can be both constructive and destructive.
Line by Line Meaning
What's your name, my name is Pain
The personification of pain introduces itself to us by name.
Where do you live, I live anyplace
Pain is omnipresent, it can strike anyone anywhere.
Where were you born, in the state of fear
Pain is born out of fear, anxiety and phobias.
How old are you, nineteen hundred and ninety four years
Pain feels old and eternal, it has existed since the dawn of time.
What's your plan, my plan is pain
The sole purpose of Pain is to inflict harm and misery.
When will you leave, I'll never go away
Pain is here to stay, it will never leave us alone.
How will you breathe, you'll give me life
Pain feeds on our despair and suffering, it thrives on our anguish.
How will you see, sitting in the temple right between your eyes
Pain is the lens through which we see the world, it colors our perception of reality.
My name is Pain, you belong to me
Pain claims ownership over us, we are but mere vessels for its will.
You're all I wanted, I'm all you'll ever be
Pain sees us as nothing more than an extension of itself, we are defined by our pain and suffering.
From the beginning in a world without end
Pain has always existed and will always exist, it is an ever-present force in the universe.
I am the air, I am Pain
Pain surrounds us and permeates everything, it is as essential to life as air.
Pain is love, Pain is pure
Pain can be all-encompassing, it can even masquerade itself as love or purity.
Pain is sickness, Pain is the cure
Pain can be both a symptom and a cure for our physical and emotional ailments.
Pain is death, Pain is religion
Pain can be a source of enlightenment and a means to transcendence, much like religion or death.
Pain is life, Pain is television
Pain can be as central to our existence as our everyday routines or entertainment.
Pain walks, Pain crawls
Pain can manifest itself in various forms, from slow and creeping to sudden and striking.
Pain is peace, Pain is war
Pain can bring us together or tear us apart, it can create harmony or chaos.
Where were you born, in the state of fear
Pain stems from our deepest fears and anxieties.
How old are you, nineteen hundred and ninety four years
Pain feels as if it has been with us since the beginning of time, and will never go away.
My name is Pain, you belong to me
Pain asserts its dominance over us, forcing us to obey its will.
You're all I ever wanted, I'm all you'll ever be
Pain views us as nothing more than mere vessels for its will, we are defined by our suffering.
From the beginning in a world without end
Pain is a constant, an ever-present force in our lives that we cannot escape.
I am the air, I am Pain
Pain is ubiquitous, present in every breath we take and every moment of our lives.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
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.....