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)
Town Of Plenty
Elton John Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I don't belong looking for a town of plenty
There weren't these thieves
We had some thing in common
Goals to achieve
We had some thing in common
In a town of plenty
I only asked if this was a town of plenty
There were many archives
We had no media
Only art survived there
Yeah we had no media
In a town of plenty
And laid across the airstrip
Were the passports and the luggage
All that once remained
Of a rugged individual
And laid across the airstrip
Were the passports and the luggage
I came looking for a town of plenty
I'll say it again, this is not my city
I only asked if this was a town of plenty
There were many archives
We had no media
Only art survived there
Yeah we had no media
In a town of plenty
In Elton John's song Town Of Plenty, the singer portrays the feeling of not belonging in the city and searching for a place that provides enough resources to fulfill one's goals. He repeats the line "I'll say it again, this is not my city" as a form of emphasis that he is looking for something else. He is seeking a town of plenty where there are no thieves and where people have similar objectives to achieve. The idea of a town of plenty can be interpreted as a place where people live in harmony and where there is no scarcity of resources.
The singer mentions the lack of media in the town of plenty, which means that there are no distractions and people focus on art and other forms of expression. He talks about archives as a way of preserving history when there is no media. When he says "Can't you see it, this is not my writing," he could be referring to the idea that he wants to experience something new and different from what he is used to.
The singer ends the song by describing an abandoned airport where there are only passports and luggage left behind. This could mean that people left the town of plenty for some reason, leaving behind everything they had. The final line, "I came looking for a town of plenty," suggests that the singer is still searching for a place to call home and fulfill his desires.
Line by Line Meaning
I'll say it again this is not my city
I do not belong in this city
I don't belong looking for a town of plenty
I am searching for a place where I belong and where there is abundance
There weren't these thieves
There was no one stealing or causing trouble
We had some thing in common
We shared common goals and aspirations
Goals to achieve
We were striving towards achieving our dreams
We had some thing in common
We shared a sense of community
In a town of plenty
A place with abundant resources
Can't you see it, this is not my writing
This is not my message or creation
I only asked if this was a town of plenty
I am simply seeking out a place with abundance
There were many archives
There were abundant records and information
We had no media
There was no mass communication or news outlets
Only art survived there
The only form of expression and preservation was through art
Yeah we had no media
There was an absence of mass communication and news outlets
In a town of plenty
A place with abundant resources
And laid across the airstrip
Scattered across the runway
Were the passports and the luggage
The only remnants of a person's former life
All that once remained
The only remaining evidence
Of a rugged individual
Of a person who lived a difficult and challenging life
And laid across the airstrip
Scattered across the runway
Were the passports and the luggage
The only remnants of a person's former life
I came looking for a town of plenty
My search for a place with abundance continues
I'll say it again, this is not my city
I still do not belong in this place
I only asked if this was a town of plenty
I am simply seeking out a place with abundance
There were many archives
There were abundant records and information
We had no media
There was no mass communication or news outlets
Only art survived there
The only form of expression and preservation was through art
Yeah we had no media
There was an absence of mass communication and news outlets
In a town of plenty
A place with abundant resources
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.....