HONKY CHATEAU (1972)
Honky Cat
(Elton John/Bernie Taupin)
When I look back,
boy, I must have been green,
boppin’ in the country,
fishin’ in a stream.
Lookin’ for an answer,
tryin’ to find a sign,
until I saw your city lights,
honey, I was blind.
They said, get back, Honky Cat,
better get back to the woods,
well, I quit those days and my redneck ways,
and oh, oh, oh, oh, the change is gonna do me good.
You better get back, Honky Cat,
livin’ in the city ain’t where it’s at.
It’s like tryin’ to find gold in a silver mine,
it’s like tryin’ to drink whisky from a bottle of wine.
Well I read some books, and I read some magazines
about those high class ladies
down in New Orleans,
and all the folks back home said I was a fool,
they said, believe in the Lord,
is the golden rule.
They said stay at home, boy, you gotta tend the farm,
livin’ in the city, boy,
is gonna break your heart.
But how can you stay, when your heart says no,
how can you stop,
when your feet say go.
Mellow
(Elton John/Bernie Taupin)
Cool grass blowin’ up the pass, don’t you know I’m feeling mellow.
I love your Roman nose, the way you curl your toes,
baby, makes me feel so mellow.
It’s the same old feeling I get when you’re stealin’ back into my bed again,
with the curtains closed and the window froze
by the rhythm of the rain.
You make me mellow, you make me mellow,
rockin’ smooth and slow,
mellow’s the feeling that we get
watchin’ the coal fire glow.
You make me mellow, I make you mellow,
wreckin’ the sheets real fine,
Heaven knows what you sent me Lord.
But God this is a mellow time.
Going down to the stores in town gettin’ all the things we need,
don’t forget the beer, my little dear,
it helps to sow the mellow seed.
And it can’t be bad,
all the love I’ve had
coursin’ through my life,
down in the pass
where the wind blows fast
and mellow’s a feelin’ right.
I Think I'm Going To Kill Myself
(Elton John/Bernie Taupin)
I’m getting bored
being part of mankind,
there’s not a lot to do no more,
this race is a waste of time.
People rushing everywhere,
swarming round like flies,
think I’ll buy a forty-four,
give ‘em all a surprise.
Think I’m gonna kill myself,
cause a little suicide,
stick around for a couple of days,
what a scandal if I died.
Yea, I’m gonna kill myself,
get a little headline news.
I’d like to see what the papers say
on the state of teenage blues.
A rift in my family,
I can’t use the car,
I gotta be in by ten o’clock,
– who do they think they are?
I’d make an exception
if you want to save my life,
Brigitte Bardot gotta come
and see me every night.
Susie (Dramas)
(Elton John/Bernie Taupin)
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.
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 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 lovin’ 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.
Rocket Man (I Think It’s Gonna Be A Long, Long Time)
(Elton John/Bernie Taupin)
She packed my bags last night
pre-flight,
zero hour, nine a.m.
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 touchdown 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.
Salvation
(Elton John/Bernie Taupin)
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 gonna 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.
Slave
(Elton John/Bernie Taupin)
There's a river running sweat right through our land,
driven by a man with a bullwhip in his hand
and I've taken just as much as I can stand.
Oh, we've got to free our brothers from their shackles if we can.
Most nights I have to watch my woman cry,
every day I watch the colonel smile,
his painted ladies riding in from town
I swear one day I'm gonna burn that whore house 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 rumour of a war that's yet to come
that may free our families and our sons,
It may lay green lands to barren wastes,
the price of release is a bitter blow to face.
Amy
(Elton John/Bernie Taupin)
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.
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.
I’m beaten on the streets ‘cause I loves you,
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 Amy, you’re the girl that wrecks my dreams.
Mona Lisas And Mad Hatters
(Elton John/Bernie Taupin)
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.
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 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.
Hercules
(Elton John/Bernie Taupin)
Ooh, I got a busted wing
and a hornet sting
like an out of tune guitar.
Oh, she got Hercules on her side
and Diana in her eyes.
Some men like the Chinese life,
some men kneel and pray.
Well, I like women
and I like wine
and I’ve always liked it that way,
always liked it that way.
But I can’t dig it,
the way she tease
that old tough man routine up her sleeve,
livin’ and a’lovin’, kissin’ and a’huggin’,
Llvin’ and a’lovin’ with a cat named Hercules.
Oh, and it hurts like hell,
to see my gal
messin’ with a muscle boy,
no superman gonna ruin my plans
playin’ with my toys.
Rich man sweatin’ in a sauna bath,
poor boy scrubbin’ in a tub,
me, I stay gritty up to my ears,
washing in a bucket of mud,
washing in a bucket of mud.