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)
Whitewash County
Elton John Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I can almost smell the rain
And I can almost taste the fear
Behind your name
Fans turning on the ceiling
I feel sticky as a chili dog
White boys howling in the evening
On that hollow log
Tall tales down the river
Say we aim to bury the truth
But the right hand just delivered
The devil in a suit
And he talks big in Whitewash County
Talks sweet as sugar cane
Got a past that's filled with lightning
Got a future filled with rain
Bug buzzing in an empty glass
Fiddle scratching some lazy tune
We're just some place that history passed
New dust, new broom
And it's a high hot buttered moon
He's got a shiny new wax face
Swears the South's gonna rise again soon
All over the place
Rain down on Whitewash County
Smell the air coming up the line
Well you've changed your face so often
But you never change your mind
Elton John's Whitewash County is a song that addresses the issue of racism in the south, especially in small towns. The song talks about the fear and the prejudice against people of different races that is so common in such places. The first verse speaks of the hot weather that makes one almost feel the rain and smell the fear. The fans turning on the ceiling make one sticky as a chili dog. The next line discusses the howling of white boys in the evening on a hollow log.
The second verse mentions about the tall tales spun down the river about burying the truth but how the devil in a suit continues to deliver the truth. The devil, this being a metaphor for the political figures, who talk big in Whitewash County, but the talk is as sweet as sugar cane. The third verse takes on a slower pace and has a more relaxed tone. It depicts how the weeks go by in Whitewash County as if nothing happens. The lyrics, "We're just some place history passed, new dust, new broom," describe how the place is just a spot on the map where history is left behind. The concluding line, "But you never change your mind," refers to the deep-rooted racism that is prevalent in many such places in the South.
Line by Line Meaning
Tonight it's hot down here
The heat in the atmosphere is too high tonight
I can almost smell the rain
The sensation of rain in the air is almost tangible
And I can almost taste the fear
The feeling of fear is so strong that it is almost possible to taste it
Behind your name
The fear is associated with someone's name
Fans turning on the ceiling
Ceiling fans are spinning
I feel sticky as a chili dog
The humidity is so high that it is making me feel sticky like a hot dog covered in chilli
White boys howling in the evening
Unknown white people are making loud noises in the evening
On that hollow log
The noises are coming from a hollow log
Tall tales down the river
Stories are being spread along the river
Say we aim to bury the truth
The stories claim that there is a plan to hide the truth
But the right hand just delivered
Despite the claims, the truth has been revealed
The devil in a suit
The truth is evil and disguised behind formal attire
And he talks big in Whitewash County
The person who revealed the truth is openly expressive about it
Talks sweet as sugar cane
Despite talking about something bad, the person is using a sweet tone
Got a past that's filled with lightning
The person has a history of being associated with danger
Got a future filled with rain
The future associated with the person is gloomy
Bug buzzing in an empty glass
A bug is flying around a glass which contains nothing
Fiddle scratching some lazy tune
Someone is playing a musical instrument in a casual manner
We're just some place that history passed
The people and the place have no significant meaning in history
New dust, new broom
The place is being cleaned but it remains the same
And it's a high hot buttered moon
The full moon is shining bright tonight
He's got a shiny new wax face
Someone's face looks plastic and fake
Swears the South's gonna rise again soon
The person thinks the South will become powerful again soon
All over the place
The person is expressing their opinion everywhere
Rain down on Whitewash County
The rain is pouring on Whitewash County
Smell the air coming up the line
The smell of fresh rain is coming up from somewhere
Well you've changed your face so often
The person listening to the song is being addressed and has changed their appearance frequently
But you never change your mind
Despite changing appearance, the person has not changed their opinions
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: BERNARD J.P. TAUPIN, 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.....