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 The First Tear Shows
Elton John Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
'Cause what I've got to say I only hope and pray
Comes out as well as I rehearsed it yesterday
And baby when the first tear shows
It's a sign for you to go
And baby when the first tear shows
It's a sign for you to go and leave her alone
It's a crime for me to tell you
It's a sin for me to stay
And I'll never look behind me
When I start to walk away
Firl I'm sorry but it's all that I can say
you know that I used to love you so
Enjoy every moment together
Well I'm not the kind of man
To forever hold your hand
The lyrics to Elton John's song "When The First Tear Shows" depict a difficult conversation between two people in a relationship. The singer asks the girl to hold his hand tighter because he is about to say something that he has been rehearsing for a while. He hopes that his words will come out as he intends them to. The singer then goes on to say that when the girl sheds her first tear, it would be a sign for her to leave and go away. He wants her to leave where she should be and find her own life and closure, leaving behind her broken dreams.
The lyrics are reflective of how hard it is to end a relationship, especially when one partner knows it has run its course. The singer is aware that what he is about to say is going to hurt the girl, but it's something he must do, for both their sakes. It is evident that the relationship has changed to the point where the singer can no longer hold on, and he needs to part ways even though it's tough. The line "It's a crime for me to tell you, it's a sin for me to stay" emphasizes how hard it has become for the singer to stay in the relationship, but still, it's equally challenging to leave.
In conclusion, "When The First Tear Shows" tells a story of a complex relationship that has run its course. The song is about having the courage to say goodbye to someone we once loved, even if it's hard, and move on. The lyrics remind us that there comes a time when we have to choose between staying with someone we once loved or leaving them and finding closure.
Line by Line Meaning
Hold my hand girl much tighter, much much tighter
The singer wants the listener to hold his hand tighter in anticipation of what he is about to say.
'Cause what I've got to say I only hope and pray
Comes out as well as I rehearsed it yesterday
The singer is nervous about what he is going to say and is hoping that he can express it as well as he had rehearsed it.
And baby when the first tear shows
It's a sign for you to go
And baby when the first tear shows
It's a sign for you to go and leave her alone
With the broken dreams that she owns
The singer is telling the listener that when the person they are with shows the first tear, it is a sign for them to leave and allow that person to deal with their own broken dreams.
It's a crime for me to tell you
It's a sin for me to stay
And I'll never look behind me
When I start to walk away
Firl I'm sorry but it's all that I can say
The artist is expressing that it is wrong for him to tell the listener what he knows and that it is even worse for him to remain in the situation. He is apologizing but knows that he must walk away for the good of everyone involved.
you know that I used to love you so
Enjoy every moment together
Well I'm not the kind of man
To forever hold your hand
The artist is reminiscing about how he used to love the listener but knows that he cannot stay in their current situation. He is not the kind of man to hold on forever and feels that the listener should enjoy every moment with someone who can love them fully.
Contributed by Matthew T. 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.....