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)
This Train Don't Stop There Anymore
Elton John Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
But I don't believe in miracles anymore
And when I think about it
I don't believe I ever did for sure
All the things I've said in songs
All the purple prose you bought from me
Reality's just black and white
The sentimental things I'd write
I used to be the main express
All steam and whistles heading west
Picking up my pain from door to door
Riding on the storyline, furnace burning overtime
But this train don't stop
This train don't stop
This train don't stop there anymore
You don't need to hear it
But I'm dried-up and sick to death of love
If you need to know it
I never really understood that stuff
All the stars and bleeding hearts
All the tears that welled up in my eyes
Never meant a thing to me
Read 'em as they say and weep
I never felt enough to cry
I used to be the main express
All steam and whistles heading west
Picking up my pain from door to door
Riding on the storyline, furnace burning overtime
But this train don't stop
This train don't stop
This train don't stop there anymore
When I say that I don't care
It really means my engine's breaking down
The chisel chips my heart again
The granite cracks beneath my skin
I crumble into pieces on the ground
I used to be the main express
All steam and whistles heading west
Picking up my pain from door to door
Riding on the storyline, furnace burning overtime
But this train don't stop
This train don't stop
This train don't stop there anymore
But this train don't stop
This train don't stop
This train don't stop there anymore
Oh, yeah
The lyrics to Elton John's song "This Train Don't Stop There Anymore" reflect the singer's disillusionment with his own fame and the music industry as a whole. He starts off by stating that he no longer believes in miracles, and never really did in the first place, despite writing songs full of "purple prose" that were bought by his fans. He reveals that he is "dried-up and sick to death of love" and that all of the heartfelt sentiments expressed in his love songs never really meant anything to him. He also acknowledges that his once passionate and energetic creativity - characterized here as a "main express, all steam and whistles heading west" - has come to a halt.
Throughout the song, Elton John employs motifs of trains and engines as symbols of his career and inner emotional state. He describes himself "riding on the storyline" of his own music, and the "furnace burning overtime" as he pours all his pain and emotions into his songs. But now, he says, "this train don't stop there anymore" - his passion has faded and he can't keep up with the demands of the music industry. At the end of the song, he says that when he claims not to care, it's because his "engine's breaking down" and he's falling apart both physically and emotionally.
Line by Line Meaning
You may not believe it
Some people may be skeptical of what I am about to say
But I don't believe in miracles anymore
I have lost faith in miracles and their existence
And when I think about it
Upon reflection and consideration
I don't believe I ever did for sure
I am now certain that I have never actually believed in miracles
All the things I've said in songs
All of the lyrics I have written and sung
All the purple prose you bought from me
The flowery, exaggerated words that you have paid for
Reality's just black and white
In contrast to my poetic and colorful language, reality is very plain
The sentimental things I'd write
My emotional and heartfelt lyrics
Never meant that much to me
They were not important or meaningful to me
I used to be the main express
I used to be in control and leading the way
All steam and whistles heading west
Full of energy and enthusiasm, blazing a trail to the west
Picking up my pain from door to door
Collecting all of my emotional baggage from place to place
Riding on the storyline, furnace burning overtime
Moving forward on the narrative of my life, with intense emotion driving me
But this train don't stop
But my life continues to move forward
This train don't stop
I cannot pause or change the course of my life
This train don't stop there anymore
The direction my life has taken is not what it used to be
You don't need to hear it
It is not necessary or important for you to hear this
But I'm dried-up and sick to death of love
But I have become weary and disenchanted with love
If you need to know it
In case you are curious or interested
I never really understood that stuff
I have never truly comprehended or grasped the concept of love
All the stars and bleeding hearts
All of the romanticized notions of love and heartbreak
All the tears that welled up in my eyes
All of the sadness and emotion that I have experienced
Never meant a thing to me
These things have never held any significance in my life
Read 'em as they say and weep
You may find these things to be emotional or sentimental, but I do not
I never felt enough to cry
I have never been deeply affected by these emotions
When I say that I don't care
My statement that I do not care
It really means my engine's breaking down
Is really a metaphor for my emotional state deteriorating
The chisel chips my heart again
Emotional pain further damages my heart
The granite cracks beneath my skin
My emotional armor begins to break down
I crumble into pieces on the ground
I fall apart and become completely broken
But this train don't stop
My life continues to move forward despite my emotional turmoil
This train don't stop
I cannot change or pause the direction of my life
This train don't stop there anymore
The direction my life has taken is not what it used to be
Oh, yeah
This is a casual exclamation, without any specific meaning
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Bernard J.P. Taupin, Elton John
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@bensheetz2505
This song has become the theme song of my late 40's. Finally realizing that there are people and things that I don't need in my life and I've begun taking those "stops" off of my life's rail line. Thanks, Elton, for being there yet again with your music and lyrics.
@nycklyneprice9341
Feel the same at the same time of my life..........
@popechucky
For me… it’s for my 50’s
@tixxstixx
I feel this at 45.
@TaisLisboa73
Same here
@elsaamado3081
2:05 Definitely began these "stops" after I hit 50...now at 56...this train don't stop .....❤
@cindyboh1
One of the best videos ever made. The lyrics of the song and the video are so perfect in showing a time when Elton was in alot of pain. JT does a great job in the video depicting a young Elton. All in all it's amazing...
@karenmcdunn3852
Totally agree! Genius... all around!!
@JadenYukifan28
It was really cool, I bet that he either wanted to do it or was asked to do it.
@jeanettegault276
This is a great song,lyrics terrific. JT does a good job lip syncing EJ. Wish would have sung it more often in concerts.❤