(Gotta Get a) Meal Ticket
| (Gotta Get a) Meal Ticket | |
|---|---|
| Elton John | |
| publication | May 19, 1975 only album, not single |
| length | 4:01 |
| Genre (s) | pop |
| text | Bernie Taupin |
| music | Elton John |
| album | Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy |
(Gotta Get a) Meal Ticket is a song by the British singer and composer Elton John , the lyrics were written by Bernie Taupin .
The album Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy was realized as a concept album and takes up in chronological order as well as with autobiographical intention John and Taupin's life in London from 1967 to 1970. "(Gotta Get a) Meal Ticket" is the sixth of ten songs. The conceptual plot continues with the title Better Off Dead .
background
The only rock song on the LP is linguistically aggressive ("I can hound you if I need to" - "I can hunt you if I have to"). The successes, if any, of John and Taupin towards the end of the 1960s were not enough to improve their situation and they were on the spot (“I'm on the bottom line” - “I'm on the zero line ").
They saw others who were successful with musical compositions and received appropriate recognition (“While others climb reaching dizzy heights” - “While others climb and reach dizzying heights”), at the same time they became concerned about slipping socially (“Lucky losers landing on the skid row "-" The lucky losers end up in the poor district ") and not even being able to cater for themselves properly (" To survive you need a meal ticket "-" To survive you need a meal coupon ", whereby" Meal ticket " can also stand for a roast potato relationship and thus a supply community).
Even if John and Taupin hadn't regretted looking their way into the music scene (“Feel no pain… no regret”), they longed to sell their music well ("When the line's been signed you're someone else" - "When the signature has been placed, you are someone else").
In addition to the hunger that had to be satisfied, there were the first signs of despair ("Trust in us, we will love you" - "Trust us, we will love you"; "Don't leave us stranded in the jungle" - " Don't leave us behind in the jungle ”) maybe not being able to make it and become successful.
occupation
- Elton John - vocals, piano
- Davey Johnstone - guitar, backing vocals
- Dee Murray - bass guitar, backing vocals
- Nigel Olsson - drums, backing vocals
- Ray Cooper - tambourine
production
- Gus Dudgeon - producer
Individual evidence
- ↑ Captain Fantastic: “The Fans Remember” - Part 5 ( Memento from September 23, 2015 in the Internet Archive )