‘You almost had your hooks in me, didn’t you dear?’
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“You almost had your hooks in me, didn’t you dear?
You nearly had me roped and tied
Altar-bound, hypnotized
Sweet freedom whispered in my ear…
“I never realised the passing hours of evening showers
A slip noose hanging in my darkest dreams
I’m strangled by your haunted social scene
Just a pawn out-played by a dominating queen
It’s four o’clock in the morning
Damn it listen to me good
I’m sleeping with myself tonight
Saved in time, thank God my music’s still alive”
We have a collection of divorce songs on this blog, including Toby Keith’s Who’s That Man?, Tim McGraw’s Do You Want Fries With That?, Sting’s I’m So Happy I Can’t Stop Crying (later recorded by Toby Keith), and others. Elton John almost got married in the early 1970s, and “Someone saved my life tonight” is about how his friends talked him out of it at the last minute. It’s powerful and at the same time funny, particularly the album version with its funereal tones.
The lines “I would have walked head on into the deep end of the river / Clinging to your stocks and bonds / Paying your H.P. demands forever” remind one a bit of Paul McCartney’s situation, don’t they?
To watch Elton John performing the song live in 1976, dressed in ridiculous 1970s gear, click here or see below.
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February 25th, 2008 at 10:12 pm
Wow. Isn’t it amazing to think that Elton John could have gotten raked over the court coals just like another famous Brit who made tons of money in the music business?