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)

Tell Me What The Papers Say
Elton John Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I spy headlines, newsprint tells lies
Tell me what the papers say
Save lives don't drive, everybody's got to die someday
At least that's what the papers say

Coal mines closed down
Nobody's working underground today
More jails, peace for sale

Japanese still killing whales
Teen dreams
On two inch screens
Lipstick boys all look like queens
Least that's what the papers say

I spy headlines, newsprint tells lies
Tell me what the papers say
Save lives don't drive, everybody's got to die someday
Least that's what the papers say

Dope and pills, guns kill
Death just buys cheap thrills
Coal mines, closed down
Nobody's working underground today

Teen dreams, on two inch screens

Lipstick boys all look like queens
Least that's what the papers say

Overall Meaning

Elton John's “Tell Me What The Papers Say” is a song that delves into the idea of sensationalized journalism and the way media controls the narrative and its impact on individual perception of information. The song reflects the general sense of skepticism and mistrust of media that has characterized modern society's relationship with news. The first few lines "I spy headlines, newsprint tells lies" shows how Elton observes the headlines in circulation which he believes are just to excite readers or to create news that might not exist.

The song highlights how the media tends to gloss over important aspects of stories and instead focuses on things that pique public curiosity. Elton believes that what’s being published is not effectively communicating the truth to the reader. He questions the validity of the news reported in the papers stating "Tell me what the papers say, Save lives don't drive, everybody's got to die someday, At least that's what the papers say". He insinuates that the media is misleading readers by not giving them the full picture of what is happening in the world.

Elton John cleverly weaves in issues such as environmentalism, drugs, and sex into the song to highlight how the media contributes to shaping the way society views these issues. The line "More jails, peace for sale, Japanese still killing whales" points at advocacy of pacifism perpetuated by the media. The newspapers seemingly promote peace, yet in the same paper they report violence. Overall, “Tell Me What The Papers Say” is a call to action that urges readers to read and think critically in order to avoid being misled by headlines.

Line by Line Meaning

I spy headlines, newsprint tells lies
I see sensational headlines on newspapers, knowing very well that they often contain untrue stories and misinformation.

Tell me what the papers say
Despite my awareness of their untrustworthiness, I'm curious to know what the newspapers report and what people believe.

Save lives don't drive, everybody's got to die someday
Common media-driven fears, like road accidents, distract society from the inevitability of death itself.

At least that's what the papers say
These messages are often a reflection of sensational media narratives that the public believes, even when they may not reflect reality.

Coal mines closed down
Industries, such as mining and manufacturing, decline and disappear over time, leaving many people without work.

Nobody's working underground today
The once-thriving sector of coal mining now holds nothing but echoes of quieter times and the loss of jobs for many.

More jails, peace for sale
Society, in desperation to consume peace, devolves into a culture of mass incarceration for opioid-addicted adults and troubled youth, to no lasting effect.

Japanese still killing whales
Despite being scorned globally for decades over the practice, the Japanese have persisted in commercial whale hunting.

Teen dreams, on two inch screens
Media and the internet inundate young people with unrealistic and possibly harmful imagery, with screens as small as phones becoming a vision of perceived happiness.

Lipstick boys all look like queens
The borders of gender and the fluidity of reality are called into question purely because of the images of people in media.

Least that's what the papers say
These media touches on the effect of young people but create unrealistic expectations and is a flawed perception of what society truly looks like.

Dope and pills, guns kill
The ferocious media movement of drug use and gun violence are seen as together, with vilified drug users in media treated no differently than shooters.

Death just buys cheap thrills
The glorification of violence and death are rampant throughout the media, with evil acts becoming pure novelties.

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: BERNIE TAUPIN, ELTON JOHN

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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