Pinball Wizard
Elton John Lyrics


Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴  Line by Line Meaning ↴

Ever since I was a young boy, I played the silver ball
From Soho down to Brighton, I must have played them all
But I ain't seen nothing like him in any amusement hall
That deaf, dumb, blind boy,
Sure plays a mean pinball.

He stands like a statue, becomes part of the machine.
Feeling all the bumpers, always playing clean.
Plays by intuition, the digit counters fall,
That deaf, dumb, blind boy,
Sure plays a mean pinball.

He's a pinball wizard, there has to be a twist.
A pinball wizard, he's got such a supple wrist.
How do you think he does it? I don't know.
What makes him so good?

Well, he ain't got no distractions,
Can't hear no buzzers and bells.
Don't see lights-a-flashin',
He plays by a sense of smell.
Always has a replay, 'n never tilts at all.
That deaf, dumb, blind boy,
Sure plays a mean pinball.

He can't beat me now, I've always been the champ.
I know every trick, no freak's gonna beat my hand.

Pinball! Let's play!
Pinball! Let's play!
Pinball! Let's play!
Pinball! Let's play!

Even on my usual table, he can beat the best.
His disciples lead him in, and he just does the rest.
He's got crazy flipper fingers, I never seen him fall,
That deaf, dumb, blind boy,
Sure plays a mean pinball.

He's a pinball wizard, there has to be a twist.
A pinball wizard, he's got such a supple wrist.

He's a pinball wizard, his score's a trillion more.
A pinball wizard, the world's new pinball lord.
He's scoring more! He's scoring more!

I thought I was the Bally table king,




But I just handed my pinball crown to him.
To him! To him!

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Elton John's song "Pinball Wizard" tell the story of a deaf, dumb, and blind boy who is a master at playing pinball. The singer describes how he has played pinball all over England, but has never seen anyone as skilled as the pinball wizard. The pinball wizard is so good that he seems to be a part of the machine himself, feeling all the angles and playing perfectly by intuition. The singer muses over what makes the pinball wizard so great, suggesting that it's because he has no distractions from the game and must rely on his other senses.


The song is a tribute to the 1969 rock opera Tommy by The Who, which tells the story of a deaf, dumb, and blind boy and his journey to become a pinball champion. Elton John recorded his version of "Pinball Wizard" for the 1975 film adaptation of the musical.


Line by Line Meaning

Ever since I was a young boy, I played the silver ball
I have been playing Pinball since I was young


From Soho down to Brighton, I must have played them all
I have played Pinball in different places and locations


But I ain't seen nothing like him in any amusement hall
I haven't seen anyone as good at Pinball as the deaf, dumb and blind boy


That deaf, dumb, blind boy, Sure plays a mean pinball.
The deaf, dumb and blind boy plays Pinball exceptionally well


He stands like a statue, becomes part of the machine.
He stands motionless like a statue and seems to merge with the Pinball machine


Feeling all the bumpers, always playing clean.
He can feel all the bumpers and obstacles present in the game, and plays the game with great control


Plays by intuition, the digit counters fall,
He plays the game intuitively without much thought, and scores points easily


He's a pinball wizard, there has to be a twist.
He is a Pinball genius, there must be some hidden secret behind his success


A pinball wizard, he's got such a supple wrist.
He is a Pinball genius, with an amazingly flexible wrist


How do you think he does it? I don't know. What makes him so good?
I am not sure how he does it, but he is exceptionally good at playing Pinball


Well, he ain't got no distractions, Can't hear no buzzers and bells.
He has no distractions while playing Pinball, and cannot hear any sound


Don't see lights-a-flashin', He plays by a sense of smell.
He doesn't need to see any flashing lights, he plays Pinball relying only on his sense of smell


Always has a replay, 'n never tilts at all.
He always gets an extra chance to play and never tilts the Pinball machine


He can't beat me now, I've always been the champ. I know every trick, no freak's gonna beat my hand.
I am confident that he cannot beat me, I know all the tricks and no one can defeat me


Pinball! Let's play! Pinball! Let's play!
Let's play Pinball!


Even on my usual table, he can beat the best.
He can even beat the best players on my normal Pinball table


His disciples lead him in, and he just does the rest.
His followers bring him to play, and he does the rest effortlessly


He's got crazy flipper fingers, I never seen him fall,
He has extremely fast fingers on the flippers, and I have never seen him lose


He's a pinball wizard, there has to be a twist. A pinball wizard, he's got such a supple wrist.
He is a Pinball genius, there must be some hidden secret behind his success, with an amazingly flexible wrist


He's a pinball wizard, his score's a trillion more. A pinball wizard, the world's new pinball lord.
He is the Pinball genius of our time, with a score of a trillion and a new Pinball record holder


He's scoring more! He's scoring more!
He is scoring even more points!


I thought I was the Bally table king, But I just handed my pinball crown to him. To him! To him!
I used to think I was the best at Pinball, but now I have surrendered my crown to the deaf, dumb and blind boy. It belongs to him now




Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Peter Townshend

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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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.....

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