Elton John

Goodbye Yellow Brick Road

Read the Lyrics

Lyric discussion by lazarussky

by lazarussky

10y ago

To understand the song y ou have to know about Bernie Taupin's early years. He was born in 1950 in a small market town in rural Lincolnshire, England. His family then went to live about 25 miles away, and eventually his father bought a small rundown farm in an even more rural part. The family wasn't wealthy and never lived close to what we might think to be a medium large city. Then in 1967, age 17, Bernie teamed up with Elton John, aged 20, to write songs as staff songwriters. Three years later, the pair were writing songs for John to perform, and Elton had an album in the top ten. This song was included on his third album which charted in 1973 when Bernie was 23. He was living a life very different to the one he had seven years earlier.

This song reflects Bernie's disillusionment with life in London, where even today there are at least ten times as many people as there were in his entire birth county.

Bernie had found himself uprooted, and thrust into a life that was more likely to have hangers-on and similar living off the aura that surrounds musical stars, and he was still in his teens. As he remembered that his father had worked on the land and had never been rich, he found himself making easy money for doing something that he didn't think was hard work. But at what price?

The Yellow Brick Road he wrote about is the name commonly given to a path from comparative poverty to riches. People used to say that the streets of London are paved with gold because it was so easy to make money there, and Bernie Taupin was right in the middle of a booming industry making money from songs that he found easy to write.

But even through his disillusionment, he still could say that his future lay beyond the Yellow Brick Road. In other words, even though he hankered for his childhood life which was not so complicated, with no superficial people sponging off of him, he realized that it was only a step along the way toward something that was not only going to give him even more than he had already, but was much better for him as a person.

To understand the song y ou have to know about Bernie Taupin's early years. He was born in 1950 in a small market town in rural Lincolnshire, England.  His family then went to live about 25 miles away, and eventually his father bought a small rundown farm in an even more rural part.  The family wasn't wealthy and never lived close to what we might think to be a medium large city.
Then in 1967, age 17, Bernie teamed up with Elton John, aged 20, to write songs as staff songwriters.  Three years later, the pair were writing songs for John to perform, and Elton had an album in the top ten.  This song was included on his third album which charted in 1973 when Bernie was 23.  He was living a life very different to the one he had seven years earlier.

This song reflects Bernie's disillusionment with life in London, where even today there are at least ten times as many people as there were in his entire birth county.

Bernie had found himself uprooted, and thrust into a life that was more likely to have hangers-on and similar living off the aura that surrounds musical stars, and he was still in his teens.  As he remembered that his father had worked on the land and had never been rich, he found himself making easy money for doing something that he didn't think was hard work.  But at what price?

The Yellow Brick Road he wrote about is the name commonly given to a path from comparative poverty to riches.  People used to say that the streets of London are paved with gold because it was so easy to make money there, and Bernie Taupin was right in the middle of a booming industry making money from songs that he found easy to write.

But even through his disillusionment, he still could say that his future lay beyond the Yellow Brick Road.  In other words, even though he hankered for his childhood life which was not so complicated, with no superficial people sponging off of him, he realized that it was only a step along the way toward something that was not only going to give him even more than he had already, but was much better for him as a person.

Reason:

An error occured.

Users:

Reply · 1 Share

by lazarussky 10y ago

I've read lots of thoughts about the song being directed to Elton. But I'm not so sure.

There is one other person who fits the description completely: Elton and Bernie's first manager, and the man who first got them together: Ray Williams.

They had jobs as staff songwriters and were fairly successful at it.