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)

Stormbringer
Elton John Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Time has gone by
The calendar leaves ___
I might try phoning
If I could think of the words to try

What is there to remember
The winter was December
Just one more year left behind

She never looked around to see me
She never looked around at all
All I saw was her shadows on the wall
She never looked around to see me
Oh, she never looked around at all
All I heard was the snow that had to fall

She left in the morning
_____ was her way
And on returning
I find I have nothing to say

What is there to remember
The winter was December
Just one more year left behind

She never looked around to see me
Oh, she never looked around at all
All I saw was her shadows on the wall
She never looked around to see me

No, she never looked around at all
All I heard was the snow that had to fall

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Elton John's song Stormbringer seem to refer to a past relationship that has ended, and the singer is left contemplating his memories and wondering what went wrong. The opening lines suggest a sense of time passing, and the difficulty of reaching out to the person he still holds feelings for. The second stanza repeats the refrain of "What is there to remember, the winter was December, just one more year left behind", emphasizing the passage of time and the disheartening fact that memories of a relationship might be reduced to a single season of the year.

The chorus describes the singer's sense of being invisible to his former partner, who never looked around to see him. Instead, he feels like he only saw her shadows on the wall, which could symbolize a sense of being left in the dark or left behind. The final stanza suggests that the breakup came as a surprise to the singer, and he is left speechless upon returning home to a life without her. The snowfall serves as a metaphor for the coldness and emptiness he is feeling.

Overall, the lyrics of Stormbringer depict a sense of nostalgia and regret for a past relationship. The singer is struggling to come to terms with his feelings and the unexpected end of the relationship, while also feeling invisible and forgotten by the person he still loves.

Line by Line Meaning

Time has gone by
The passage of time has occurred

The calendar leaves
The pages on a calendar have been flipped

I might try phoning
I may attempt to make a phone call

If I could think of the words to try
If I could remember what to say

What is there to remember
What memories are significant enough to recall

The winter was December
The season of winter was the month of December

Just one more year left behind
Another year has passed

She never looked around to see me
She did not acknowledge my presence

She never looked around at all
She did not turn her head or eyes

All I saw was her shadows on the wall
The only visual evidence of her existence were her shadowy figures on the wall

Oh, she never looked around at all
She did not make any indication of awareness towards me