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)
Victim Of Love
Elton John Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You swore we'd always make it last
And it sounded so real
And I fell into your love trap
Lying, yes, I was the perfect fool
I believed every word
And it never occurred to me
Is this a game are you just playing
Oh am I a victim of love, victim of love
Did you take me for a ride
Victim of love, victim of love
Then I hope you're satisfied
Victim of love, victim of love
Were you only using me
Victim of love, victim of love
What a fool you made of me
My friends warned me about you
I laughed, how could I doubt your love
Then I saw you with him
And my world crumbled around me
I felt life slip away from me
There's a void inside me
Where my heart used to be
So now, this was a game you were just playing
And now I'm losing you
Oh I'm a victim of love, victim of love
Well you took me for a ride
Victim of love, victim of love
Well I hope you're satisfied
Victim of love, victim of love
You were only using me
Victim of love, victim of love
What a fool you've made of me
Elton John’s song Victim of Love was released in 1979 and paints a picture of the dilemma of a person who has been betrayed in love. The song speaks to the difficulty of differentiating between the authenticity of love and a mere game or manipulation. In the initial stages of the romance, the person believed every single word of love spoken and never thought love could be something fleeting. And so, the victim of love fell for the love trap of their lover, and little did they know the lover was just playing them. The first part of the song speaks to the victim questioning themselves, whether they are only being used to satisfy their lover’s desires or if there is any real love there.
In the second part of the song, the person has come to the realization that they have been used, they feel as if life is slipping away from them, and there is a void inside where their heart once was. The victim had ignored previous advice from friends who had warned them of their lover's potentially dishonest or unfaithful character but was later proven right in their doubts. Now it is evident that the once beautiful relationship had been nothing more than a ploy for their lover's pleasure. The victimizer only cared about themselves and never valued the victim's feelings. In conclusion, the song Victim of Love shows that loving someone requires honesty, sincerity, and care for other's feelings, and it is necessary to always look beyond words and promises into someone's actions to be sure of their authenticity.
Line by Line Meaning
You said you'd never fake it
You promised me that your words and actions would always be genuine.
You swore we'd always make it last
You made a binding agreement with me that this relationship would be forever.
And it sounded so real
Your commitment to our relationship was so believable, that it seemed like you really meant it.
And I fell into your love trap
I was lured into your web of fake love.
Lying, yes, I was the perfect fool
I was a gullible person who was easily fooled and deceived.
I believed every word
I trusted and had faith in everything you said.
And it never occurred to me
It never crossed my mind that you could be deceiving me.
Is this a game are you just playing
Is this whole relationship just a sham and are you just playing with my emotions?
Will I be losing you
Will I be the one to lose you in this relationship?
Oh am I a victim of love, victim of love
I am a victim who has been hurt by your false love.
Did you take me for a ride
Have you fooled me and taken advantage of my love?
Then I hope you're satisfied
If that's what you wanted, I hope you're happy now.
Were you only using me
Were all your words and actions just to take advantage of me?
What a fool you made of me
You have made me look foolish and stupid for believing in your love.
My friends warned me about you
My friends cautioned me about trusting you.
I laughed, how could I doubt your love
Initially, I dismissed my friends' warnings because I was so convinced of your love for me.
Then I saw you with him
But I caught you cheating on me with another person.
And my world crumbled around me
This revelation destroyed my world and shattered my beliefs.
I felt life slip away from me
My will to live and hope for the future drained out of me.
There's a void inside me
My heart now feels empty and void of any love and emotions.
Where my heart used to be
The place where love and emotions used to exist, now feels empty.
So now, this was a game you were just playing
It's now clear that everything you said and did was all a game to you.
And now I'm losing you
As a result, I'm the one who is losing you and our relationship.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: JERRY RIX, PETE BELLOTTE, SYLVESTER LEVAY
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.....