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)
Someone's Final Song
Elton John Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
When the maid had gone
He put a pen to paper for one final song
He wrote
Oh babe, it's the only way
I know it's wrong but I can't stand
To go on living, to go on living, living life this way
Or what the next line is
Or how you're going to take the news
But if I had my life again
I wouldn't change a thing
I'd let nobody, I'd let nobody
Stand inside my shoes
Something's gotten hold of me
This home is not the home it used to be
I've gathered dust like the dying flowers
And I've drunk myself sober
After hours and hours
After hours and hours
The lyrics to Elton John's song Someone's Final Song tell a story of someone who dies alone in an empty house, writing one final song before passing away. The lyrics are haunting and melancholic, with a sense of regret and a desire for release from a life that has become unbearable. The singer of the song writes of feeling trapped and unable to go on living the way they have been living, suggesting a deep sense of dissatisfaction with life. The lyrics also suggest a desire for honesty, as the singer admits that what they are doing is wrong but cannot bear to continue living in the same way.
The song's chorus is particularly powerful, with the singer singing, "Oh babe, it's the only way I know it's wrong but I can't stand to go on living, to go on living, living life this way." This refrain is repeated several times throughout the song, emphasizing the sense of desperation and despair that the singer is feeling. The lyrics also suggest that the singer feels a sense of isolation and disconnection from the world around them, with lines like "Something's gotten hold of me/This home is not the home it used to be."
Overall, the lyrics to Someone's Final Song are a poignant and thought-provoking reflection on life, death, and the human condition. They capture the sense of hopelessness and disillusionment that can come with living in a world that feels hostile and indifferent, and they offer a powerful reminder of the fragility and preciousness of life.
Line by Line Meaning
He died when the house was empty
The person passed away when there was nobody else in the house
When the maid had gone
The maid had already left the house before the person died
He put a pen to paper for one final song
The person wrote down one last song before passing away
He wrote
The person put his thoughts into words
Oh babe, it's the only way
The person believes that writing this song is the only way to express his feelings
I know it's wrong but I can't stand
The person is aware that what he is doing might be considered wrong, but still feels like he must do it
To go on living, to go on living, living life this way
The person cannot continue to live his life the way it is currently and must make a change
And I don't know what the time is
The person is unaware of the current time
Or what the next line is
The person is uncertain of what he will write next
Or how you're going to take the news
The person is unsure of how others will react to the news of his passing
But if I had my life again
Given the chance to live life again, the person would make the same choices
I wouldn't change a thing
The person is happy with the choices he's made in his life
I'd let nobody, I'd let nobody
The person would not let anyone else take his place in life
Stand inside my shoes
The person's experiences and choices are unique to him and cannot be replicated by anyone else
Something's gotten hold of me
The person feels like something has taken control of him, causing him to act in a certain way
This home is not the home it used to be
The house feels different, as the person who used to live there is no longer present
I've gathered dust like the dying flowers
The person has become stagnant, like the flowers in the house that are slowly losing their vibrancy
And I've drunk myself sober
The person has consumed so much alcohol that he has become sober again
After hours and hours
This has been going on for a long time
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.....