Someone Saved My Life Tonight

Elton John

About Someone Saved My Life Tonight

"Someone Saved My Life Tonight" is a song written by Elton John (music) and Bernie Taupin (lyrics) from Elton John's 1975 album Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy. It was released as a single on 23 June 1975, the only single released from the album. Like the rest of the album, the song is autobiographical; it tells the story of an attempted suicide by John. At six minutes and 45 seconds, it was long for a single, but owing to the highly personal nature of the lyrics, John refused to let it be cut down to a more typical single length. Still, despite the length, it peaked on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the U. S. at #4 and in Canada on the RPM Top Singles chart at #2. It would be his last single for eight years to feature the original Elton John Band (John, Dee Murray, Davey Johnstone, and Nigel Olsson), as John fired Murray and Olsson following the recording of the album. 


Year:
1975
6:46
130 
#2

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When I think of those East End lights, muggy nights
Curtains drawn in the little room downstairs
Prima Donna Lord you really should have been there
Sitting like a princess perched in her electric chair
And it's one more beer and I don't hear you anymore
We've all gone crazy lately
My friends out there rolling round the basement floor

And someone saved my life tonight, sugar bear
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
You're a butterfly
And butterflies are free to fly
Fly away, high away, bye bye

Never realised the passing hours of evening showers
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

And someone saved my life tonight, sugar bear
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
You're a butterfly
And butterflies are free to fly
Fly away, high away, bye bye

And 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
Coming in the morning with a truck to take me home
Someone saved my life tonight, someone saved my life tonight
Someone saved my life tonight, someone saved my life tonight
Someone saved my life tonight
So save your strength and run the field you play alone

An' someone saved my life tonight, sugar bear
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
You're a butterfly
And butterflies are free to fly
Fly away, high away, bye bye

Someone saved, someone saved, someone saved my life tonight
Someone saved, someone saved, someone saved my life tonight
Someone saved, someone saved, someone saved my life tonight

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Elton John

Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight on 25 March 1947) is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor. He has worked with lyricist Bernie Taupin as his songwriter partner since 1967; they have collaborated on more than 30 albums to date. more »

44 fans

Written by: BERNIE TAUPIN, ELTON JOHN

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind


10 facts about this song

Creation Background
"Someone Saved My Life Tonight" is a song by the renowned British singer Elton John from his album "Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy" that was released in 1975.
Inspiration
The song was inspired by a true experience in Elton John's life. He penned it after surviving a suicide attempt in 1968, shortly before his first U.S. concert in Los Angeles.
Songwriting Collaboration
The lyrics of the song were written by John's longtime collaborator, Bernie Taupin, who was present at the time of Elton's suicide attempt.
Chart Performance
The hit single reached no. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and is one of Elton John's most critically acclaimed songs. It remains a staple of his live performances to this day.
Musical Style
"Someone Saved My Life Tonight" is characteristically an adult contemporary ballad with a length of 6:45 minutes, showcasing Elton's pop-rock signature style, marked significantly by its lyrics expressing deep gratitude towards a benefactor.
Personal Resonance
The song is often considered as one of Elton John’s most introspective and personal compositions given its reference to a difficult moment in his life.
Use in Media
The song was used in the 2011 movie "Gnomeo and Juliet", an animated film where Elton John was an executive producer, reflecting his lasting influence and the song's enduring appeal.
Sugar Bear
The song's lyrics mention "Sugar Bear," who was Elton's nickname for Long John Baldry, the blues musician and friend who talked him out of his suicide attempt and hence "saved" his life.
Role in Autobiography
Elton John discussed the circumstances around the song extensively in his autobiography "Me: Elton John Official Autobiography". It shed more light on the very personal and emotional context of the song.
Unique Distinction
At the time of its release, “Someone Saved My Life Tonight” was the longest single (at almost seven minutes long) ever to be released by Elton John.

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    "Someone Saved My Life Tonight Lyrics." Lyrics.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Mar. 2024. <https://www.lyrics.com/lyric/27027814/Elton+John/Someone+Saved+My+Life+Tonight>.

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    Someone Saved My Life Tonight

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    Top Hot 100 Songs 1975

    Billboard #4


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