Empty Garden
| Empty Garden (Hey Hey Johnny) | |
|---|---|
| Elton John | |
| publication | March 12, 1982 |
| length | 4:06 (single) 5:05 (album) |
| Genre (s) | skirt |
| text | Bernie Taupin |
| music | Elton John |
| album | Jump up! |
Empty Garden (Hey Hey Johnny) is a song by the British singer and composer Elton John , the lyrics were written by Bernie Taupin .
In September 1980, John performed in front of half a million people in Central Park , New York City . After the concert , the after-show party took place on a floating museum, the Beijing ship . Surprisingly, John Lennon also took part with Yoko Ono and enthusiastically told Elton John about his current music project. It should be the last time Elton John met his friend John Lennon.
background
For the Australian part of his concert tour, John had just landed in Melbourne when the Elton John tour group was asked over loudspeakers not to leave the plane. He was stunned by the news of Lennon's violent death. Because of his schedule obligations in Australia, it was not possible for him to fly to New York. So he rented the City Cathedral for a funeral service in Melbourne for the exact same time as people gathered in Central Park.
Lennon and John were friends. John even became the godfather of Lennon's son Sean , who was born in 1975 . Nevertheless, he only managed to win Lennon to appear together on a tour with one bet. The joint appearance took place in Madison Square Garden in New York City on November 28, 1974. It was Lennon's last ever concert appearance. The title of the song Empty Garden refers to the location of the performance Madison Square Garden.
After Lennon's death, John had concerns that a song in memory of the late Beatles would look clumsy. When he read Taupin's soulful verses, however, he changed his mind and composed the melody for it. The text "Can't you come out to play?" (Eng .: Ca n't you come out to play? ) quotes Lennon's song Dear Prudence , the one with the line 'Dear Prudence, won't you come out to play?' begins.
After his tour in 1982, John played the song very rarely. In his biography Ich from 2019, John writes that even years later it is emotionally too hard for him to play the song, although it brings back the beautiful memories of Lennon, but also the bewilderment about the senseless crime.
John later released another song in memory of Lennon. The instrumental piece The Man Who Never Died was pressed as the B-side on Nikita's single in 1985 and was later included on the re-release of Ice on Fire .
review
"Elton John's bow to his murdered friend John Lennon is without exaggeration one of his most beautiful and poignant songs ever."
B side
On the back of the single is the title "Take Me Down to the Ocean".
occupation
- Elton John - vocals, electric piano
- Richie Zito - acoustic guitar
- James Newton Howard - synthesizer
- Dee Murray - bass guitar
- Jeff Porcaro - drums
production
- Chris Thomas - producer
Charts
| Year | single | Chart | position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | "Empty Garden" | German single chart | not placed |
| 1982 | "Empty Garden" | UK single chart | 51 |
| 1982 | "Empty Garden" | US Billboard 100 | 13 |
Individual evidence
- ↑ Elton John: Ich , Verlag Heyne, German first edition 2019, ISBN 3-453-20292-9 , p. 177
- ↑ https://www.jambase.com/article/john-lennon-performs-concert-final-time-date-1974
- ↑ Elton John: Ich , Verlag Heyne, German first edition 2019, ISBN 3-453-20292-9 , p. 177
- ↑ https://hitparade.ch/song/Elton-John/Empty-Garden-16266