WCSX Classic Cuts : Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
WCSX Classic Cuts
Elton John: “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road”
The Hook: A song about leaving the farm for the big city, as lyricist Bernie Taupin himself had done.
Album: Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
Year: 1973
Writers: Elton John and Bernie Taupin
Stats: Peaked at number-two on the Billboard Hot 100.
Background: A lot of Bernie Taupin’s lyrics have been inspired by his upbringing. He says “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” was one of those.
Elton John’s lyricist, Bernie Taupin on “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road.” OC:…love doing. :27
“I grew up on a farm and everything I learned was from what I had around me in the country, I didn’t learn [bleep] at school. So ‘…Yellow Brick Road,’ I guess, is just one more song about that Dick Whittington kind of thing – packing your bags and heading to the big city, but feeling a little guilty about leaving the countryside behind. Silly really, because you’ve got to do those things, you’ve got to explore the world. Once you’ve found what you’re looking for in the world, then you can go back and enjoy what you really love doing.”
