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)
Whenever You're Ready
Elton John Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I lent you my records and I lent you my love
But you left me on the weekend without a by-your-leave
That's a dirty and a low-down trick
My folks all think you're mean
But I don't mind, that's kind of nifty
You always set those break-ups in the movies
Now I'm gonna do my best
To get you back in the nest you came from
You can erase me if you want to
Turn your back in other men
But whenever you're ready
Honey, we'll go steady again
It's nasty without you in my little room
I miss you like crazy, please come back soon
I was joking with those things I said
I couldn't have been thinking
If you don't come back I think I'll crack
Just like my old ceiling
The opening lines of Elton John's Whenever You're Ready introduce us to a protagonist who is stranded alone in a tall edifice, six floors above ground level. The singer of the song speaks of lending records and affection to a lover, but they feel betrayed as the lover abandons them over a weekend. The betrayal is painted in dark hues when the singer wails about the lack of a farewell, calling it a ‘dirty and a low-down trick.’ The singer is left feeling isolated as the world around them - friends and acquaintances - deem the lover mean. However, the singer finds this reaction ‘nifty’ as it sets the stage for a dramatic separation mirroring those in movies. They then proceed to reference putting out a light, capturing the feeling of being unceremoniously discarded. This act of being shut out influences the singer to make their best effort to reunite with the lover.
The recurring chorus of Whenever You're Ready is a plea of sorts, with the singer requesting the lover to return whenever they are ready as they miss them dearly. Though there may have been harsh words spoken earlier, the singer indicates that they were said in converse and irrationality. The song ends with the singer admitting vulnerability and making a final attempt to get the lover back, as the reality of the situation sets in, 'If you don't come back, I think I'll crack just like my old ceiling.'
Line by Line Meaning
I lived in a tenement six floors above
I used to live in a small apartment six floors above the ground.
I lent you my records and I lent you my love
I gave you my records and shared my love with you.
But you left me on the weekend without a by-your-leave
You left me on the weekend without any warning or explanation.
That's a dirty and a low-down trick
That's an unfair and mean thing to do.
My folks all think you're mean
My parents think you are a cruel person.
But I don't mind, that's kind of nifty
But it's okay, I find it charming in a way.
You always set those break-ups in the movies
You always follow the typical way relationships end in movies.
And just like a light honey you put me out
You ended our relationship quickly and easily.
Now I'm gonna do my best to get you back in the nest you came from
I'll try my hardest to win you back and keep you close to me.
You can erase me if you want to
You have the power to forget about me and move on.
Turn your back in other men
You can look for another man to replace me.
But whenever you're ready Honey, we'll go steady again
But whenever you're ready, we can start over and be a couple again.
It's nasty without you in my little room
It feels terrible to be alone in my small room without you.
I miss you like crazy, please come back soon
I miss you so much, please come back soon.
I was joking with those things I said
I didn't really mean those things I said.
I couldn't have been thinking
I must have said those things without thinking properly.
If you don't come back I think I'll crack
If you don't come back soon, I might lose control.
Just like my old ceiling
Like the old ceiling in my apartment that collapses easily.
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.....