Daily posts with links to and blurbs about Bernie Taupin and Elton John's music | run by @the-breath-in-air | My favs are tagged with: #A favorite of mine
“Crocodile Rock” - the fourth track on the B-side of the album Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player (1973)
This was Elton John’s first #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the U.S.
It’s a fun little song that’s reminiscent of the rock n roll from the 1950s and 1960s. In response to criticism that the song was ‘derivative,’ Elton John said "I wanted it to be a record about all the things I grew up with. Of course it's a rip-off, it's derivative in every sense of the word."
Notable covers and versions:
Elton John and The Muppets on The Muppet Show (1978)
Alvin and the Chipmunks on their album Rockin’ Thru the Decades (1990)
The Beach Boys on the Elton John & Bernie Taupin tribute album Two Rooms: Celebrating the Songs of Elton John & Bernie Taupin (1991)
Nelly Furtado and Elton John for the Gnomeo & Juliet Soundtrack (2011)
Taron Egerton for the film Rocketman (2019)
Lyrics:
I remember when rock was young
Me and Suzie had so much fun
Holding hands and skimming stones
Had an old gold Chevy and a place of my own
But the biggest kick I ever got
Was doing a thing called the Crocodile Rock
While the other kids were Rocking Round the Clock
We were hopping and bopping to the Crocodile Rock
Well Crocodile Rocking is something shocking
When your feet just can't keep still
I never knew me a better time and I guess I never will
Oh Lawdy mama those Friday nights
When Suzie wore her dresses tight
And the Crocodile Rocking was out of sight
La lalalala la lalalala la lalalala la
But the years went by and the rock just died
Suzie went and left us for some foreign guy
Long nights crying by the record machine
Dreaming of my Chevy and my old blue jeans
But they'll never kill the thrills we've got
Burning up to the Crocodile Rock
Learning fast as the weeks went past
We really thought the Crocodile Rock would last
Well Crocodile Rocking is something shocking
When your feet just can't keep still
I never knew me a better time and I guess I never will
Oh Lawdy mama those Friday nights
When Suzie wore her dresses tight
And the Crocodile Rocking was out of sight
La lalalala la lalalala la lalalala la
I remember when rock was young
Me and Suzie had so much fun
Holding hands and skimming stones
Had an old gold Chevy and a place of my own
But the biggest kick I ever got
Was doing a thing called the Crocodile Rock
While the other kids were Rocking Round the Clock
We were hopping and bopping to the Crocodile Rock
Well Crocodile Rocking is something shocking
When your feet just can't keep still
I never knew me a better time and I guess I never will
Oh Lawdy mama those Friday nights
When Suzie wore her dresses tight
And the Crocodile Rocking was out of sight
La lalalala la lalalala la lalalala la
La lalalala la lalalala la lalalala la
La lalalala la lalalala la lalalala la
“Texan Love Song” - the the third track on the B-side of Don’t Shoot Me I’m Only The Piano Player (1973)
“Texan Love Song” is a simple sounding country song from the perspective of a Texan man who’s lamenting how a man from out of town is dating the woman he wants to date. As described by the lyrics, this other man is a bit of a hippie.
Lyrics:
I heard from a friend you'd been messing around
With a cute little thing I'd been dating uptown
Well I don't know if I like that idea much
Well you'd better stay clear I might start acting rough
You out of town guys sure think you're real keen
Think all of us boys here are homespun and green
But that's wrong my friend so get this through your head
We're tough and we're Texan with necks good and red
So it's ki yi yippie yi yi
You long hairs are sure gonna die
Our American home was clean till you came
And kids still respected the president's name
And the eagle still flew in the sky
Hearts filled with national pride
Then you came along with your drug crazy songs
Goddamit you're all gonna die
How dare you sit there and drink all our beer
Oh it's made for us workers who sweat, spit and swear
The minds of our daughters are poisoned by you
With your communistic politics and them negro blues
Well I'm gonna quit talking and take action now
Run all of you fairies clean out of this town
Oh I'm dog tired of watching you mess up our lives
Spending the summertime naturally high
And it's ki yi yippie yi yi
You long hairs are sure gonna die
Our American home was clean till you came
And kids still respected the president's name
And the eagle still flew in the sky
Hearts filled with national pride
Then you came along with your drug crazy songs
Goddamit you're all gonna die
Goddamit you're all gonna die
Oh lord, goddamit you're all gonna die, listen now
Work is hectic. Posts are slowing down. But this is not abandoned. Just as soon as I have time, I'll properly queue posts. Until then expect them to keep coming, just...irregularly.
“I’m Going To Be A Teenage Idol” - the second track on the B-side of the album Don’t Shoot Me I’m Only The Piano Player (1973)
It’s an upbeat rock song with a interspersed breaks for a horn section. The lyrics are, perhaps obviously, about a young man who wants to be a teenage rock star.
Lyrics:
Well, there's slim times when my words won't rhyme
And the hills I face are a long hard climb
I just sit cross legged with my old guitar
Ooh, it kind of makes me feel like a rock and roll star
Well, it makes me laugh Lord it makes me cry
And I think for once, let me just get high
Let me get electric put a silk suit on
Turn my old guitar into a tommy gun
And root-toot-shoot myself to fame
Every kid alive gonna know my name
An overnight phenomenon like there's never been
A motivated supersonic king of the scene
I'll be a teenage idol, just give me a break
I'm gonna be a teenage idol no matter how long it takes
You can't imagine what it means to me
I'm gonna grab myself a place in history
A teenage idol
That's what I'm gonna be
Well, life is short and the world is rough
And if you're gonna boogie, boy, you got to be tough
Nobody knows if I'm dead or alive
I just drink myself to sleep each night
And so I pray to the teenage god of rock
If I make it big let me stay on top
You got to cut me loose from this one-room dive
Put me on the ladder keep this boy alive
And root-toot-shoot myself to fame
Every kid alive gonna know my name
An overnight phenomenon like there's never been
A motivated supersonic king of the scene
I'll be a teenage idol, just give me a break
I'm gonna be a teenage idol no matter how long it takes
You can't imagine what it means to me
I'm gonna grab myself a place in history
A teenage idol, ah, yeah
Ooh, that's what I'm gonna be
“Have Mercy on the Criminal” - first track on the B-side of the album Don’t Shoot Me I’m Only the Piano Player (1973)
“Have Mercy on the Criminal” begins unusually in that it starts fast with a full sound that you might expect at the climax of a song, but then slows down for the rest of the song. Bernie’s lyrics describe a man who escaped from prison who is pleading for mercy.
Notable cover:
Lena Hall - for the album Obsessed: Elton John (2018)
Lyrics:
Have you heard the dogs at night
Somewhere on the hill
Chasing some poor criminal
And I guess they're out to kill
Oh there must be shackles on his feet
And mother in his eyes
Stumbling through the devil-dark
With the hound pack in full cry
Have mercy on the criminal
Who is running from the law
Are you blind to the winds of change
Don't you hear him any more
Praying Lord you got to help me
I am never gonna sin again
Just take these chains from around my legs
Sweet Jesus I'll be your friend
Now have you ever seen the white teeth gleam
While you lie on a cold damp ground
You're taking in the face of a rifle butt
While the wardens hold you down
And you've never seen a friend in years
Oh it turns your heart to stone
You jump the walls and the dogs run free
And the grave's gonna be your home
Oh, have mercy on the criminal
Who is running from the law
Are you blind to the winds of change
Don't you hear him any more
Praying Lord you got to help me
I am never gonna sin again
Just take these chains from around my legs, ooh
Sweet Jesus I'll be your friend
Ooh, have mercy on the criminal
Who is running from the law
Are you blind to the winds of change
Don't you hear him any more
Praying Lord you got to help me
I am never gonna sin again
Just take these chains from around my legs
Sweet Jesus I'll be your friend
“Midnight Creeper” - the fifth track on the A-side of the album Don’t Shoot Me I’m Only the Piano Player (1973)
“Midnight Creeper” is a cheerfully upbeat retro rocker complete with accompanying saxophones. Taupin’s lyrics, on the other hand, are about a man who’s infatuated and obsessed with a woman who won’t date him.
Notable cover:
Sherie Rene - for her album Shere Rene...Men I’ve Had (2002)
Lyrics:
Walk a mile in my tennis shoes
Tina Turner gave me the highway blues
But I don't love nobody but you honey
I'm a true rat for the things I done
Second cousin to a son of a gun
I'm gonna wipe out your mama if she puts me on honey
'Cause I'm a midnight creeper
Ain't gonna lose no sleep over you
When there's a nightmare I'm there
Tempting you to blow a fuse
Well there's no more sleeping
When I'm midnight creeping over you
Watch out honey, watch out honey
Watch the things you do
Long haired ladies well they look so fine
Locked in my cellar full of cheap red wine
But, I don't think those ladies they really mind honey
I still don't know why you hate me so
A little bit of fun never stopped no show
Well I, I just want to loosen up my soul honey
'Cause I'm a midnight creeper
Ain't gonna lose no sleep over you
When there's a nightmare I'm there
Tempting you to blow a fuse
Well there's no more sleeping
When I'm midnight creeping over you
Watch out honey, watch out honey
Watch the things you do
Creep
Oh creeper'Cause I'm a midnight creeper
Ain't gonna lose no sleep over you
When there's a nightmare I'm there
Tempting you to blow a fuse
Well there's no more sleeping
When I'm midnight creeping over you
Watch out honey, watch out honey
Watch the things you do
Oh
Oh
“Blues For My Baby And Me” - the fourth track on the A-side of Don’t Shoot Me I’m Only the Piano Player (1973)
This is a piano rock ballad with occasional flute and sitar breaks. Bernie’s lyrics are of a man singing about him and his nervous lover packing their bags and leaving home together.
Lyrics:
Your old man got mad when I told him we were leaving
He cursed and he raged and he swore at the ceiling
He called you his child, said honey get wise to his game
He'll get you in trouble I know it, those bums are all the same
There's a Greyhound outside in the lane, it's waiting for us
So tell him goodbye, we gotta go west on that bus
And it's all over now
Don't you worry no more
Gonna go west to the sea
The Greyhound is swaying
And the radio is playing
Some blues for baby and me
And the highway looks like it never did
Lord it looks so sweet and so free
And I can't forget that trip to the west
Singing blues for baby and me
Saw your hands trembling, your eyes opened in surprise
It's ninety in the shade babe, and there ain't a cloud in the sky
I called you my child, said honey now this is our game
There's two of us to play it and I'm happy to be home again
There's a Greyhound outside in the lane, it's waiting for us
So tell him goodbye, we gotta go west on that bus
And it's all over now
Don't you worry no more
We're gonna go west to the sea
The Greyhound is swaying
And the radio's playing
Some blues for baby and me
And the highway looks like it never did
Lord it looks so sweet and so free
And I can't forget that trip to the west
Singing blues for baby and me
And it's all over now
Don't you worry no more
We're gonna go west to the sea
The Greyhound is swaying
And the radio playing
Some blues for baby and me
And the highway looks like it never did
Lord it looks so sweet and so free
And I can't forget that trip to the west
Singing blues for baby and me
“Elderberry Wine” - the third track on the A-side of the album Don’t Shoot Me Im Only the Piano Player (1973)
This is another track that evokes 1950s and 1960s rock n’ roll. It’s got a pounding piano and saxophone breaks peppered throughout. In contrast to the upbeat tempo, Bernie Taupin’s lyrics are about a man who misses his wife, who had left him.
Lyrics:
There's a fly in the window
A dog in the yard
And a year since I saw you
There's a trunk in the corner
I keep all my letters
My bills and demands I keep too
Well I can't help thinking
About the times
You were a wife of mine
You aimed to please me
Cooked black-eyed peas-me
Made elderberry wine
Drunk all the time
Feeling fine on elderberry wine
Those were the days
We'd lay in the haze
Forget depressive times
How can I ever get it together
Without a wife in line
To pick the crop and get me hot
On elderberry wine
Round a tee in the summer
A fire in the fall
Flat out when they couldn't stand
The bottle went round
Like a woman down south
Passed on from hand to hand
Well I can't help thinking
About the times
You were a wife of mine
You aimed to please me
Cooked black-eyed peas-me
Made elderberry wine
Drunk all the time
Feeling fine on elderberry wine
Those were the days
We'd lay in the haze
Forget depressive times
How can I ever get it together
Without a wife in line
To pick the crop and get me hot
On elderberry wine
Drunk all the time
Feeling fine on elderberry wine
Those were the days
We'd lay in the haze
Forget depressive times
How can I ever get it together
Without a wife in line
To pick the crop and get me hot
On elderberry wine
“Teacher I Need You” - the second track on the A-side of the album Don’t Shoot Me I’m Only The Piano Player (1973)
“Teacher I Need You” is a cheerful rock song in a style reminiscent of the 1950s. The lyrics cheerfully describe a teenager infatuated with his female teacher.
Lyrics:
I was sitting in the classroom
Trying to look intelligent
In case the teacher looked at me
She was long and she was lean
She's a middle-aged dream
And that lady means the whole world to me
It's a natural achievement
Conquering my homework
With her image pounding in my brain
She's an inspiration
For my graduation
And she helps to keep the classroom sane
Oh teacher I need you like a little child
You got something in you to drive a schoolboy wild
You give me education in the lovesick blues
Help me get straight, come out and say
Teacher I, teacher I, teacher I, teacher I need you
I have to write a letter
Tell about my feelings
Just to let her know the scene
Focus my attention
On some further education
In connection with the birdies and the bees
So I'm sitting in the classroom
I'm looking like a zombie
I'm waiting for the bell to ring
I've got John Wayne stances
I've got Erroll Flynn advances
And it doesn't mean a doggone thing
Oh teacher I need you like a little child
You got something in you to drive a schoolboy wild
You give me education in the lovesick blues
Help me get straight, come out and say
Teacher I, teacher I, teacher I, teacher I need you
Oh teacher I need you like a little child
You got something in you to drive a schoolboy wild
You give me education in the lovesick blues
Help me get straight, come out and say
Teacher I, teacher I, teacher I, teacher I need you
“Daniel” - first track on the A-side of the album Don’t Shoot Me I’m Only the Piano Player (1973)
“Daniel” is a ballad with lyrics that, according to Taupin, have been widely misinterpreted. He wrote it the lyrics after reading an article about a veteran of the Vietnam War returning to the United States and feeling uneasy with the attention he’d been receiving. The song is about a veteran who is trying to return to the life he had before he was sent off to war.
Notable covers:
Wilson Phillips - on the compilation album Two Rooms: Celebrating the Songs of Elton John & Bernie Taupin (1991)
Fuel - for their album Something Like Human (2000)
Sam Smith - on the tribute album Revamp: Reimagining the Songs of Elton John & Bernie Taupin (2018)
Lyrics:
Daniel is traveling tonight on a plane
I can see the red tail lights heading for Spain
Oh and I can see Daniel waving goodbye
God it looks like Daniel, must be the clouds in my eyes
They say Spain is pretty, though I've never been
Well Daniel says it's the best place that he's ever seen
Oh and he should know, he's been there enough
Lord I miss Daniel, oh I miss him so much
Oh oh, Daniel my brother you are older than me
Do you still feel the pain of the scars that won't heal?
Your eyes have died, but you see more than I
Daniel you're a star in the face of the sky
Oh oh, Daniel my brother you are older than me
Do you still feel the pain of the scars that won't heal?
Your eyes have died, but you see more than I
Daniel you're a star in the face of the sky
Daniel is traveling tonight on a plane
I can see the red tail lights heading for Spain
Oh and I can see Daniel waving goodbye
God it looks like Daniel, must be the clouds in my eyes
Oh God it looks like Daniel, must be the clouds in my eyes
“Hercules” - the last track on the B-side of the album Honky Château (1972)
“Hercules” is an upbeat rock song about a man who’s pining after a woman has left him for another man.
Hercules is also Elton John’s middle name.
Notable cover:
Taron Egerton - for the soundtrack for the film Rocketman (2019)
Lyrics:
Ooh I got a busted wing and a hornet sting
Like an out of tune guitar
Ooh she got Hercules on her side
And Diana in her eyes
Some men like the Chinese life
Some men kneel and pray
Ooh well I like women and I like wine
And I've always liked it that way
Always liked it that way
I can't dig it, the way she tease
That old tough man routine up her sleeve
Living and loving, kissing and hugging
Living and loving with a cat named Hercules
A cat named Hercules
Oh it hurts like hell to see my gal
Messing with a muscle boy
No superman gonna ruin my plans
Playing with my toys
Rich man sweating in a sauna bath
Poor boy scrubbing in a tub
Me, I stay gritty up to my ears
Washing in a bucket of mud
Washing in a bucket of mud
I can't dig it, the way she tease
That old tough man routine up her sleeve
Living and loving, kissing and hugging
Living and loving with a cat named Hercules
A cat named Hercules
I can't dig it, the way she tease
That old tough man routine up her sleeve
Living and loving, kissing and hugging
Living and loving with a cat named Hercules
A cat named Hercules
A cat named Hercules
A cat named Hercules
A cat named Hercules
“Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters” - the fourth track on the B-side of the album Honky Château (1972)
“Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters” is a ballad with simple instrumentation: plucked strings and Elton on piano. Taupin’s lyrics are both celebratory and mournful as they describe New York City as Taupin saw it in the early 1970s.
Notable versions and covers:
Buckshot LeFonque (a musical project by Branford Marsalis) - Mona Lisas (And Mad Hatters) - a jazz/hip-hop fusion version for the album Buckshot LeFonque (1994)
Mandy Moore - for the album Coverage (2003)
Indigo Girls - a live recording included on their album Rarities (2005)
The Killers - for the compilation album Revamp: Reimagining the Songs of Elton John and Bernie Taupin (2018)
Maren Morris - for the compilation album Restoration: Reimagining the Songs of Elton John and Bernie Taupin (2018)
Lyrics:
And now I know
Spanish Harlem are not just pretty words to say
I thought I knew
But now I know that rose trees never grow
In New York City
Until you've seen this trash can dream come true
You stand at the edge while people run you through
And I thank the Lord
There's people out there like you
I thank the Lord there's people out there like you
While Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters
Sons of bankers, sons of lawyers
Turn around and say good morning to the night
For unless they see the sky
But they can't and that is why
They know not if it's dark outside or light
This Broadway's got
It's got a lot of songs to sing
If I knew the tunes I might join in
I'll go my way alone
Grow my own, my own seeds shall be sown, in New York City
Subway's no way for a good man to go down
Rich man can ride and the hobo he can drown
And I thank the Lord for the people I have found
I thank the Lord for the people I have found
While Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters
Sons of bankers, sons of lawyers
Turn around and say good morning to the night
For unless they see the sky
But they can't and that is why
They know not if it's dark outside or light
And now I know
Spanish Harlem are not just pretty words to say
I thought I knew
But now I know that rose trees never grow
In New York City
Subway's no way for a good man to go down
Rich man can ride and the hobo he can drown
And I thank the Lord for the people I have found
I thank the Lord for the people I have found
While Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters
Sons of bankers, sons of lawyers
Turn around and say good morning to the night
For unless they see the sky
But they can't and that is why
They know not if it's dark outside or light
They know not if it's dark outside or light
“Amy” - the third track on the B-side of the album Honky Château (1972)
“Amy” is a rollicking country rock number which ends with a fiddle solo. Bernie Taupin’s lyrics again concern themselves with a teenager who is obsessed with a woman who won’t date him.
Lyrics:
Tread on my face if you like little lady
Turn me inside out if you have to baby
But don't you cross me off your list
Ooo I am young and I ain't never been kissed
Never been kissed by a lady called Amy
You're far out, you're fab and insane
A woman of the world, it's quite plain
My dad told me Amy's your name
Said he'd break my neck if I played your game
But he can bust my neck 'cause I love you all the same
Amy I know you don't have to show your affection
'Cause the big boys like you and to you I'm an infection
So if you don't want me around
I think I'll run along and drown
You can't want this bum in town, Amy
Amy I know you don't have to show your affection
'Cause the big boys like you and to you I'm an infection
So if you don't want me around
I think I'll run along and drown
You can't want this bum in town, Amy
I'm beaten on the streets 'cause I loves ya
I watch you go to work in the summer
I don't whistle at you down the street
I would if I could but I can't whistle you see
Amy I may not be James Dean
Amy I may not be nineteen
And I may still be in romper boots and jeans
But ooo ooo, Amy you're the girl that wrecks my dreams
Amy I may not be James Dean
Amy I may not be nineteen
And I may still be in romper boots and jeans
But ooo ooo, Amy you're the girl that wrecks my dreams
“Slave” - the second track on the B-side of the album Honky Château (1972)
There’s a real country blues feel to “Slave,” particularly with its use of slide guitar and Elton John’s twangy vocals. The lyrics are sung from the perspective of a man who’s been liberated and is now trying to free others who’ve been enslaved.
Notable version:
Elton John - an alternate “fast” version as a bonus track on the 1995 re-release of Honky Château (1972)
Lyrics:
There’s a river running sweat right through our land, through our land,
Driven by a man with a bullwhip in his hand, in his hand
And I’ve taken just as much as I can stand, I can stand
Oh, we’ve got to free our brothers from their shackles yeah if we can, if can
Most nights I have to watch my woman cry, oh she cries
Every day I watch the colonel smile, oh he smiles
His painted ladies riding in from town, in from town
Oh I swear one day I’m gonna burn the whore house to the ground, to the ground
Slave! Slave.
To fight the violence we must be brave,
Hold on strong
To the love God gave, slave
There’s a rumor of a war that’s yet to come, yet to come
That may free our families, free our families and our sons, and our sons
It may lay green lands to barren wastes, all the waste, all the waste
Oh the price of release is a bitter blow to face, ah to face
Slave! Slave.
To fight the violence we must be brave,
Hold on strong
To the love God gave, slave
Slave! Oh slave.
To fight the violence we must be brave,
Hold on strong
To the love God gave,
Slave! Slave.
To fight the violence we must be brave,
Hold on strong
To the love God gave, slave
“Salvation” - the first track on the B-side of the album Honky Château (1972)
“Salvation” is an uplifting song that was clearly influenced by gospel music. It’s lyrics are vague, but are broadly about needing to work together to improve the world.
Lyrics:
I have to say my friends
This road goes a long, long way
And if we're going to find the end
We're gonna need a helping hand
I have to say my friends
We're looking for a light ahead
In the distance a candle burns
Salvation keeps the hungry children fed
It's gotta take a lot of salvation
What we need are willing hands
You must feel the sweat in your eyes
You must understand salvation
A chance to put the devil down
Without the fear of hell
Salvation spreads the gospel round
And free you from yourself, oh oh
It's gotta take a lot of salvation
What we need are willing hands
You must feel the sweat in your eyes
You must understand salvation
I have to say my friends
This road goes a long, long way
And if we're going to find the end
We're gonna need a helping hand
I have to say my friends
We're looking for a light ahead
In the distance a candle burns
Salvation keeps the hungry children fed
It's gotta take a lot of salvation
What we need are willing hands
You must feel the sweat in your eyes
You must understand salvation
Oh it's gotta take a lot of salvation
What we need are willing hands
You must feel the sweat in your eyes
You must understand salvation
“Rocket Man (I Think It’s Going to Be a Long Long Time)” - the fifth track on the A-side of the album Honky Château (1972)
“Rocket Man” is one of Elton John and Bernie Taupin’s most well known songs. Interestingly it reached #2 on the UK Singles Chart and #6 on the US Billboard Hot 100.
It’s a rock ballad that with lyrics that describe the emotions of a man leaving his home to travel to Mars. Bernie Taupin was apparently inspired by The Illustrated Man, a short story by Ray Bradbury as well as David Bowie’s song “Space Oddity.”
Another interpretation of Bernie’s lyrics could understand the song as being about the loneliness of having the sort of success that takes a person away from their family for extended periods of time.
Notable versions and covers:
William Shatner - a spoken-word performance at the Science Fiction Film Awards in 1978
Kate Bush - reggae inspired version - for the compilation album Two Rooms: Celebrating the Songs of Elton John & Bernie Taupin (1991)
Me First and the Gimmie Gimmies - a punk rock version - for their album Have A Ball (1997)
Neil Diamond - a recording of his 1978 live performance - released on the album Stages: Performances 1970-2002 (2003)
Daphne Rubin-Vega - a electronic dance version - released as a single in 2003
Young Thug - sampled the chorus from Rocket Man - “High” on the album On The Rvn (2018)
Little Big Town - for the tribute album Restoration: Reimagining the Songs of Elton John and Bernie Taupin (2018)
Taron Egerton - for the soundtrack for the film Rocketman (2019)
Lyrics:
She packed my bags last night pre-flight
Zero hour nine AM
And I'm gonna be high as a kite by then
I miss the earth so much I miss my wife
It's lonely out in space
On such a timeless flight
And I think it's gonna be a long long time
'Till touch down brings me round again to find
I'm not the man they think I am at home
Oh no no no I'm a rocket man
Rocket man burning out his fuse up here alone
And I think it's gonna be a long long time
'Till touch down brings me round again to find
I'm not the man they think I am at home
Oh no no no I'm a rocket man
Rocket man burning out his fuse up here alone
Mars ain't the kind of place to raise your kids
In fact it's cold as hell
And there's no one there to raise them if you did
And all this science I don't understand
It's just my job five days a week
A rocket man, a rocket man
And I think it's gonna be a long long time
'Till touch down brings me round again to find
I'm not the man they think I am at home
Oh no no no I'm a rocket man
Rocket man burning out his fuse up here alone
And I think it's gonna be a long long time
'Till touch down brings me round again to find
I'm not the man they think I am at home
Oh no no no I'm a rocket man
Rocket man burning out his fuse up here alone
And I think it's gonna be a long long time
And I think it's gonna be a long long time
And I think it's gonna be a long long time
And I think it's gonna be a long long time
And I think it's gonna be a long long time
And I think it's gonna be a long long time
And I think it's gonna be a long long time
And I think it's gonna be a long long time
“Susie (Dramas)” - the fourth track on the A-side of the album Honky Château (1972)
It’s a funky little rock song with lyrics about a man enamored with a ‘pretty little black-eyed girl’ named Susie.
Lyrics:
I got frostbitten in the winter
Ice skating on the river
With my pretty little black-eyed girl
She'd make your darn toes curl just to see her yeah
I got a fringe front on my buggy
I got a frisky little colt in a hurry
And a pretty little black-eyed Susie by, by, by my side
Well she sure knows how to use me
Pretty little black-eyed Susie
Playing hooky with my heart all the time
Living with her funky family
In a derelict old alley
Down by the river where we share a little loving in the moonshine
I'm an old hayseed harp player
I'm the hit of the county fair
With my pretty little black-eyed girl
Living proof as she swirls
She's a dancer, oh yeah
I got a fringe front on my buggy
I got a frisky little colt in a hurry
And a pretty little black-eyed Susie by, by, my side
Well she sure knows how to use me
Pretty little black-eyed Susie
Playing hooky with my heart all the time
Living with her funky family
In a derelict old alley
Down by the river where we share a little loving in the moonshine
Well she sure knows how to use me
Pretty little black-eyed Susie
Playing hooky with my heart all the time, yeah
Living with her funky family
In a derelict old alley
Down by the river where we share a little loving in the moonshine
Well she sure knows how to use me
Pretty little black-eyed Susie
Playing hooky with my heart all the time
Living with her funky family
In a derelict old alley
Down by the river where we share a little loving in the moonshine