Most People Misunderstand the Message Behind This Hit Elton John Single From 1974

In 1974, Elton John had a big single with “Candle In The Wind”. The song is written by John and his frequent songwriting collaborator, Bernie Taupin, for John’s Goodbye Yellow Brick Road album.

“Candle In The Wind” begins with, “Goodbye, Norma Jeane / Though I never knew you at all / You had the grace to hold yourself / While those around you crawled / They crawled out of the woodwork / And they whispered into your brain / They set you on the treadmill / And they made you change your name.”

Norma Jeane is the real name of actress Marilyn Monroe, who passed away in 1962. Her inclusion, Taupin later says, leads many people to misunderstand the meaning of “Candle In The Wind”.

“I think the biggest misconception about ‘Candle In The Wind’ is that I was this rabid Marilyn Monroe fanatic, which really couldn’t be further from the truth,” Taupin later says. “It’s not that I didn’t have a respect for her. It’s just that the song could just as easily have been about James Dean or Jim Morrison, Kurt Cobain. I mean, it could have been about Sylvia Plath or Virginia Woolf.

“I mean, basically, anybody, any writer, actor, actress, or musician who died young and sort of became this iconic picture of Dorian Gray, that thing where they simply stopped aging,” he adds. “It’s a beauty frozen in time.”

The Tragic Reason Elton John’s “Candle In The Wind” Was Rewritten

“Candle In The Wind” became a big hit in John’s native United Kingdom. The song wasn’t released in the United States until 1987, when it became a Top 10 hit. In 1997, the song was rewritten to make it about Princess Diana, after she was tragically killed in a car accident. 

The tribute to Princess Diana began with, “Goodbye England’s rose / May you ever grow in our hearts / You were the grace that placed itself / Where lives were torn apart / You called out to our country / And you whispered to those in pain / Now you belong to heaven / And the stars spell out your name.”

John played “Candle In The Wind” at Princess Diana’s funeral. It became a 14-week No. 1 single in the United States. Still, the writers faced some backlash for the new version, not that Taupin cared.

“As regards that remake, I’m not really sure what to make of it,” Taupin later said. “I did it because EJ asked me to, and I felt good enough. I don’t know why it seems to bend a lot of people out of shape, which is rather peculiar, if you consider the outcome. … It’s a bit uncharitable. After all, it raised I think something like $14 million for the Princess Trust. And then my original handwritten lyrics fetched like a further half million at auction for the LA Children’s Hospital.”

Photo by Koh Hasebe/Shinko Music/Getty Images

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