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)
When I Was Tealby Abbey
Elton John Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I can still see the faces of you and him
I remember well how it used to be
You remember too obviously
Remember when, remember when I was Tealby Abbey then
It was not so long ago maybe a hundred years or so
When I was Tealby Abbey
When I was Tealby Abbey
That's a long long time ago
When the clock stopped and the rocks dropped
And the gravel started giving away
I can still recall when we were small
But oh what a fateful day
In younger times, children climb
Up and down your walls
And a curse on the day the fates will say
that all must fall
In the first verse of the song, Elton John sings about how he is feeling down and dim, but still has clear memories of both the listener and someone else. The use of the word "obviously" suggests that both the listener and the person he's reminiscing about share memories of something significant that they experienced together. The next verse reveals that the shared memory is about a time when Elton John was at Tealby Abbey. He then sings about how long ago this was and how the clock stopped, rocks dropped, and gravel gave away. These details suggest that something happened at Tealby Abbey that is connected to this shared memory.
The next stanza provides more imagery related to Tealby Abbey. Children used to climb up and down its walls in younger times, but now something has cursed the fates such that it has fallen. The use of the word "fateful" in the line "oh what a fateful day" emphasizes the gravity of what has happened. It's possible that there was some kind of catastrophe, whether natural or man-made, that destroyed the abbey, but the song doesn't provide enough context to say for sure.
Overall, the song seems to be a meditation on the passage of time and how even significant memories can fade with the years. The use of the abbey as a setting gives the song a sense of history and gravitas, as if the shared memory that Elton John and the listener are recalling is something that has been passed down through the ages.
Line by Line Meaning
I'm very low but not too dim
Despite feeling down, I'm still able to perceive things clearly enough.
I can still see the faces of you and him
I remember the people important to me, even though they may no longer be present in my life.
I remember well how it used to be
I recall with great clarity what things were like in the past.
You remember too obviously
I assume that you also have clear memories of the same time periods.
Remember when, remember when I was Tealby Abbey then
Let's reminisce about the time when I was a part of some historical place or event.
It was not so long ago maybe a hundred years or so
Although it may seem like a long time ago, it was actually relatively recent in the grand scheme of things.
When I was Tealby Abbey
I'm referring to a specific time period or place when I was involved with something noteworthy.
That's a long long time ago
It's been quite a while since that particular period of time.
When the clock stopped and the rocks dropped
I remember specific events that occurred during that time, such as a clock stopping or rocks falling.
And the gravel started giving away
Things were beginning to change in a negative way, signified by the giving away of gravel.
I can still recall when we were small
I remember a time when we were much younger.
But oh what a fateful day
Something tragic or significant occurred that had a major impact on our lives.
In younger times, children climb
In the past, kids would play by climbing on walls or structures.
Up and down your walls
They would climb up and down the walls of the place I'm reminiscing about.
And a curse on the day the fates will say
I'm worried about some negative event or fate that will occur in the future.
Contributed by Lucas Y. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
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.....