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)

The Scaffold
Elton John Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

In Orient where wise I was
To please the way I live
Come give the beggar chance at hand
His life is on his lip

Three score a thousand times
Where once in Amazon
Where Eldorado holds the key

No keeper holds my hand

Unchain the gate of solitude
The ruler says you run
Run hard unto the scaffold high
Your chance to jump the gun

Oh how high the scaffold grows
The plant life of your widow
In black lace curtains brought you near
From out the plate glass window

The Minotaur with bloody hands
Is enraged by the sun
Caged he by the corpses
Brought forth by the dawn

In Orient is as I told
The buckshee hangman swears
For open crypts to silence
Nylon knots to sway by prayer

In Orient where wise I was
To please the way I live

Come give the beggar chance at hand
His life is on his lip

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Elton John's song The Scaffold are quite enigmatic, but they seem to be exploring themes of death, power, and isolation. The first verse suggests that the singer has lived in the East, and has learned a certain wisdom there that has guided his life. He then calls for someone to give a beggar a chance, noting that the beggar's life is in danger. The next verse is more abstract, referencing the Amazon and Eldorado. It seems to suggest that there may be a treasure or key (possibly to life or wisdom) that is guarded, but that the singer is not afraid to face this challenge alone. The third verse is perhaps the most chilling, describing a scaffold or gallows that grows higher and higher, with plants growing all around it. The widow of someone who has died is also mentioned, as if to suggest that death and suffering are inevitable. The Minotaur with bloody hands is a reference to a mythological creature that was half man and half bull, and was kept in a labyrinth where it was said to have killed many people. The final verse returns to the Orient, where the hangman uses nylon knots to execute people silently in crypts. The final line, "his life is on his lip," suggests that our lives are fragile and can be taken away at any moment.

Line by Line Meaning

In Orient where wise I was
I was once in the East, where I gained much wisdom

To please the way I live
I learned to live in a way that satisfied me

Come give the beggar chance at hand
Give the poor man a chance to improve his life

His life is on his lip
His survival depends on someone's generosity

Three score a thousand times
I have lived for many years

Where once in Amazon
I once visited the Amazon region

Where Eldorado holds the key
Where the mythical land of Eldorado is believed to exist

No keeper holds my hand
No one guides or controls my actions

Unchain the gate of solitude
Let me out of my loneliness and isolation

The ruler says you run
The authority commands you to flee

Run hard unto the scaffold high
Run towards the execution platform quickly