Originally Posted by Mark Kaufman
I honestly think Bernie is just one lucky old hippie poet with a knack for cool, vivid phrases, scenes and imagery. Undiscovered, his lyrics would fill these boards and occasionally get picked up by a composer—but they wouldn't be considered the great songs they are, not at all, no way, nope. A great lyric without music is usually just an okay poem. Elton could take anything, if it grabbed him, and find a way to make it fit in an incredibly unique fashion. I'll bet he really knew how to pack anything into a suitcase. The heavy lifting is all in the compositions, nearly every time. I don't believe Bernie ever had any idea how it would all turn out musically, he just had to creatively express himself freely and basically without rules, then wait for the wizard to animate them majestically. Just imagine some of those lyrics without the music. They would absolutely baffle most composers, but Elton is a stone genius that way. Never more than about 20 minutes, and he finds it—every time! Otherwise he gets bored and gives up.


I agree Elton made the songs classics and made them so tasteful and entertaining, most of the time it is the music anyway! I think some of the sentiments Bernie came up with though kind of cut through our world.

For some reason his poems made for good pop songs, mostly because they said alot, with a little.

Its funny how Elton never wrote with anyone else, Bernie has. I thought his lyric for Hearts These Dreams was particularly special. Look how much information he crams into tiny spaces, short lines....

These Dreams
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41P8UxneDJE

Spare a little candle
Save some light for me
Figures up ahead
Moving in the trees
White skin in linen
Perfume on my wrist
And the full moon that hangs over
These dreams in the mist

Darkness on the edge
Shadows where I stand
I search for the time
On a watch with no hands
I want to see you clearly
Come closer than this
But all I remember
Are the dreams in the mist

These dreams go on when I close my eyes
Every second of the night I live another life
These dreams that sleep when it's cold outside
Every moment I'm awake the further I'm away

Is it cloak n dagger
Could it be spring or fall
I walk without a cut
Through a stained glass wall
Weaker in my eyesight
The candle in my grip
And words that have no form
Are falling from my lips

These dreams go on when I close my eyes
Every second of the night I live another life
These dreams that sleep when it's cold outside
Every moment I'm awake the further I'm away

There's something out there
I can't resist
I need to hide away from the pain
There's something out there
I can't resist

The sweetest song is silence
That I've ever heard
Funny how your feet
In dreams never touch the earth
In a wood full of princes
Freedom is a kiss
But the prince hides his face
From dreams in the mist

These dreams go on when I close my eyes
Every second of the night I live another life
These dreams that sleep when it's cold outside
Every moment I'm awake the further I'm away
These dreams go on when I close my eyes
Every second of the night I live another life
These dreams that sleep when it's cold outside
Every moment I'm awake the further I'm away






Last edited by Fdemetrio; 07/02/19 02:57 PM.