TO BE CONTINUED

Релиз: США - ноябрь 1990/октябрь 2000 США. Великобритания - ноябрь 1991.

США

ВЕЛИКОБРИТАНИЯ

CD1

COME BACK BABY (C ГРУППОЙ BLUESOLOGY)

Come back baby
Come back to me yeah
And you will see yeah
How I've changed
`Cause you're the only love that I ever had
You're the only love that I ever had
Come back to me

Come back baby
I did you wrong yeah
And this is the song I sing
I hope will bring you back to me
`Cause you're the only love that I ever knew
You're the only love that I ever knew
Come back come back

Come back baby
Come back and treat me right
Come back baby
Come on back, I'll hold you tight

Come back baby
Come back I'll treat you right
Come back baby
Come on back
Come back and hold me tight

Come back baby
Everything's gonna be fine right now
It's gonna be fine right now
It's gonna be fine right now
`Cause you're the only love that I ever had
Yeah you're coming back and I'm so glad
You're coming back to me

 Автор: Реджи Дуайт

LADY SAMANTHA

When the shrill winds are screaming
And the evening is still
Lady Samantha glides over the hill
In a long satin dress that she wears every day
Her home is the hillside, her bed is the grave

Lady Samantha glides like a tiger
Over the hills with no one beside her
No one comes near
They all live in fear
But Lady Samantha, she sheds only tears

The tales that I told round the fire every night
Are out of proportion and none of them right
She is harmless and empty of anything bad
For she once had something that most of you have

Музыка: Элтон Джон

Стихи: Берни Топин

IT’S ME THAT YOU NEED

Hey there
Look in the mirror
Are you afraid you might see me looking at you
Waiting, waiting at windows
Oh it's me that you need
Yes it's me and I'm waiting for you

But I remain silent
Oh I won't say a word
I leave you to realise I'm the light in your world
And it's me, yes it's me, yes it's me, yes it's me
That you're needing
It's me, yes it's me, yes it's me, yes it's me
That you need
Yes it's me, yes it's me, yes it's me
If you want to be living
I'm the one who's forgiving
Admit that it's me that you need

Watching, watching the swallows fly
It all means the same
Just like them
You can fly home again
But don't, no don't forget yesterday
Pride is an ugly word girl
And you still know my name

Музыка: Элтон Джон

Стихи: Берни Топин

YOUR SONG (ДЕМО-ВЕРСИЯ)

It's a little bit funny this feeling inside
I'm not one of those who can easily hide
I don't have much money but boy if I did
I'd buy a big house where we both could live

If I was a sculptor, but then again, no
Or a man who makes potions in a travelling show
I know it's not much but it's the best I can do
My gift is my song and this one's for you

And you can tell everybody this is your song
It may be quite simple but now that it's done
I hope you don't mind
I hope you don't mind that I put down in words
How wonderful life is while you're in the world

I sat on the roof and kicked off the moss
Well a few of the verses well they've got me quite cross
But the sun's been quite kind while I wrote this song
It's for people like you that keep it turned on

So excuse me forgetting but these things I do
You see I've forgotten if they're green or they're blue
Anyway the thing is what I really mean
Yours are the sweetest eyes I've ever seen

Музыка: Элтон Джон

Стихи: Берни Топин

ROCK AND ROLL MADONNA

If anyone should see me making it down the highway
Breaking all the laws of the land
Well don't you try to stop me
I'm going her way
And that's the way I'm sure she had it planned

Well that's my Rock-and-roll Madonna
She's always been a lady of the road
Well everybody wants her
But no one ever gets her
Well the freeway is the only way she knows

Well if she would only slow down for a short time
I'd get to know her just before she leaves
But she's got some fascination for that two wheel combination
And I swear it's going to be the death of me

Музыка: Элтон Джон

Стихи: Берни Топин

BAD SIDE OF THE MOON

It seems as though I've lived my life
On the bad side of the moon
To stir your dregs in sickness still
Without the rustic spoon

Common people live with me
Where the light has never shone
And the hermits flock like hummingbirds
To speak in a foreign tongue

I'm a light world away
From the people who make me stay
Sitting on the bad side of the moon

There ain't no need for watchdogs here
To justify our ways
We live our life in manacles
The main cause of our stay

Exiled here from other worlds
My sentence comes too soon
Why should I be made to pay
On the bad side of the moon

Музыка: Элтон Джон

Стихи: Берни Топин

YOUR SONG

It's a little bit funny this feeling inside
I'm not one of those who can easily hide
I don't have much money but boy if I did
I'd buy a big house where we both could live

If I was a sculptor, but then again, no
Or a man who makes potions in a travelling show
I know it's not much but it's the best I can do
My gift is my song and this one's for you

And you can tell everybody this is your song
It may be quite simple but now that it's done
I hope you don't mind
I hope you don't mind that I put down in words
How wonderful life is while you're in the world

I sat on the roof and kicked off the moss
Well a few of the verses well they've got me quite cross
But the sun's been quite kind while I wrote this song
It's for people like you that keep it turned on

So excuse me forgetting but these things I do
You see I've forgotten if they're green or they're blue
Anyway the thing is what I really mean
Yours are the sweetest eyes I've ever seen

Музыка: Элтон Джон

Стихи: Берни Топин

TAKE TO THE PILOT

If you feel that it's real I'm on trial
And I'm here in your prison
Like a coin in your mint
I am dented and I'm spent with high treason

Through a glass eye your throne
Is the one danger zone
Take me to the pilot for control
Take me to the pilot of your soul

Take me to the pilot
Lead me through the chamber
Take me to the pilot
I am but a stranger

na na na... ect.

Take me to the pilot
Lead me through the chamber
Take me to the pilot
I am but a stranger

Well I know he's not old 
And I'm told he's a virgin
For he may be she
But what I'm told is never for certain

Музыка: Элтон Джон

Стихи: Берни Топин

BORDER SONG

Holy Moses I have been removed
I have seen the spectre he has been here too
Distant cousin from down the line
Brand of people who ain't my kind
Holy Moses I have been removed

Holy Moses I have been deceived
Now the wind has changed direction and I'll have to leave
Won't you please excuse my frankness but it's not my cup of tea
Holy Moses I have been deceived

I'm going back to the border
Where my affairs, my affairs ain't abused
I can't take any more bad water
I've been poisoned from my head down to my shoes

Holy Moses I have been deceived
Holy Moses let us live in peace
Let us strive to find a way to make all hatred cease
There's a man over there what's his colour I don't care
He's my brother let us live in peace
He's my brother let us live in peace
He's my brother let us live in peace

Музыка: Элтон Джон

Стихи: Берни Топин

SIXTY YEARS ON

Who'll walk me down to church when I'm sixty years of age
When the ragged dog they gave me has been ten years in the grave
And señorita play guitar, play it just for you
My rosary has broken and my beads have all slipped through

You've hung up your great coat and you've laid down your gun
You know the war you fought in wasn't too much fun
And the future you're giving me holds nothing for a gun
I've no wish to be living sixty years on

Yes I'll sit with you and talk let your eyes relive again
I know my vintage prayers would be very much the same
And Magdelena plays the organ, plays it just for you
Your choral lamp that burns so low when you are passing through

And the future you're giving me holds nothing for a gun
I've no wish to be living sixty years on

Музыка: Элтон Джон

Стихи: Берни Топин

COUNTRY COMFORT

Soon the pines will be falling everywhere
Village children fight each other for a share
And the 6:09 goes roaring past the creek
Deacon Lee prepares his sermon for next week

I saw grandma yesterday down at the store
Well she's really going fine for eighty four
Well she asked me if sometime I'd fix her barn
Poor old girl she needs a hand to run the farm

And it's good old country comfort in my bones
Just the sweetest sound my ears have ever known
Just an old-fashioned feeling fully-grown
Country comfort's in a truck that's going home

Down at the well they've got a new machine
The foreman says it cuts man-power by fifteen
Yeah but that ain't natural well so old Clay would say
You see he's a horse-drawn man until his dying day

Now the old fat goose is flying cross the sticks
The hedgehog's done in clay between the bricks
And the rocking chair's creaking on the porch
Across the valley moves the herdsman with his torch

Музыка: Элтон Джон

Стихи: Берни Топин

GREY SEAL

Why's it never light on my lawn
Why does it rain and never say good-day to the new-born
On the big screen they showed us a sun
But not as bright in life as the real one
It's never quite the same as the real one

And tell me grey seal
How does it feel
To be so wise
To see through eyes
That only see what's real
Tell me grey seal

I never learned why meteors were formed
I only farmed in schools that were so warn and torn
If anyone can cry then so can I
I read books and draw life from the eye
All my life is drawings from the eye

Your mission bells were wrought by ancient men
The roots were formed by twisted roots
Your roots were twisted then
I was re-born before all life could die
The Phoenix bird will leave this world to fly
If the Phoenix bird can fly then so can I

Музыка: Элтон Джон

Стихи: Берни Топин

FRIENDS

I hope the day will be a lighter highway
For friends are found on every road
Can you ever think of any better way
For the lost and weary travellers to go

Making friends for the world to see
Let the people know you got what you need
With a friend at hand you will see the light
If your friends are there then everything's all right

It seems to me a crime that we should age
These fragile times should never slip us by
A time you never can or shall erase
As friends together watch their childhood fly

Музыка: Элтон Джон

Стихи: Берни Топин

LEVON

Levon wears his war wound like a crown
He calls his child Jesus
`Cause he likes the name
And he sends him to the finest school in town

Levon, Levon likes his money
He makes a lot they say
Spend his days counting
In a garage by the motorway

He was born a pauper to a pawn on a Christmas day
When the New York Times said God is dead 
And the war's begun
Alvin Tostig has a son today

And he shall be Levon
And he shall be a good man
And he shall be Levon
In tradition with the family plan
And he shall be Levon
And he shall be a good man
He shall be Levon

Levon sells cartoon balloons in town
His family business thrives
Jesus blows up balloons all day
Sits on the porch swing watching them fly

And Jesus, he wants to go to Venus
Leaving Levon far behind
Take a balloon and go sailing
While Levon, Levon slowly dies

Музыка: Элтон Джон

Стихи: Берни Топин

TINY DANCER

IBlue jean baby, L.A. lady, seamstress for the band
Pretty eyed, pirate smile, you'll marry a music man
Ballerina, you must have seen her dancing in the sand
And now she's in me, always with me, tiny dancer in my hand

Jesus freaks out in the street
Handing tickets out for God
Turning back she just laughs
The boulevard is not that bad

Piano man he makes his stand
In the auditorium
Looking on she sings the songs
The words she knows, the tune she hums

But oh how it feels so real
Lying here with no one near
Only you and you can't hear me
When I say softly, slowly

Hold me closer tiny dancer
Count the headlights on the highway
Lay me down in sheets of linen
you had a busy day today

Blue jean baby, L.A. lady, seamstress for the band
Pretty eyed, pirate smile, you'll marry a music man
Ballerina, you must have seen her dancing in the sand
And now she's in me, always with me, tiny dancer in my hand

Музыка: Элтон Джон

Стихи: Берни Топин

MADMAN ACROSS THE WATER

I can see very well
There's a boat on the reef with a broken back
And I can see it very well
There's a joke and I know it very well
It's one of those that I told you long ago
Take my word I'm a madman don't you know

Once a fool had a good part in the play
If it's so would I still be here today
It's quite peculiar in a funny sort of way
They think it's very funny everything I say
Get a load of him, he's so insane
You better get your coat dear
It looks like rain

We'll come again next Thursday afternoon
The In-laws hope they'll see you very soon
But is it in your conscience that you're after
Another glimpse of the madman across the water

I can see very well
There's a boat on the reef with a broken back
And I can see it very well
There's a joke and I know it very well
It's one of those that I told you long ago
Take my word I'm a madman don't you know

The ground's a long way down but I need more
Is the nightmare black
or are the windows painted
Will they come again next week
Can my mind really take it

Музыка: Элтон Джон

Стихи: Берни Топин

HONKY CAT

When I look back boy I must have been green
Bopping in the country, fishing in a stream
Looking for an answer trying 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 the change is gonna do me good

You better get back honky cat
Living in the city ain't where it's at
It's like trying to find gold in a silver mine
It's like trying 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 well, said I was a fool
They said oh, believe in the Lord is the golden rule

They said stay at home boy, you gotta tend the farm
Living in the city boy, is going to break your heart
But how can you stay, when your heart says no
How can you stop when your feet say go

Музыка: Элтон Джон

Стихи: Берни Топин

MONA LISAS AND MAD HATTERS

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
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
It'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
I thank the Lord for the people I have found

Музыка: Элтон Джон

Стихи: Берни Топин

CD2

ROCKET MAN (I THINK IT’S GOING TO BE A LONG, LONG TIME)

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 touch down 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, a rocket man

And I think it's gonna be a long long time...

Музыка: Элтон Джон

Стихи: Берни Топин

DANIEL

Daniel is travelling tonight on a plane
I can see the red tail lights heading for Spain
Oh and I can see Daniel waving goodbye
God it looks like Daniel, must be the clouds in my eyes

They say Spain is pretty though I've never been
Well Daniel says it's the best place that he's ever seen
Oh and he should know, he's been there enough
Lord I miss Daniel, oh I miss him so much

Daniel my brother you are older than me
Do you still feel the pain of the scars that won't heal
Your eyes have died but you see more than I
Daniel you're a star in the face of the sky

Daniel is travelling tonight on a plane
I can see the red tail lights heading for Spain
Oh and I can see Daniel waving goodbye
God it looks like Daniel, must be the clouds in my eyes
Oh God it looks like Daniel, must be the clouds in my eyes

Музыка: Элтон Джон

Стихи: Берни Топин

CROCODILE ROCK

I remember when rock was young
Me and Suzie had so much fun
holding hands and skimming stones
Had an old gold Chevy and a place of my own
But the biggest kick I ever got
was doing a thing called the Crocodile Rock
While the other kids were Rocking Round the Clock
we were hopping and bopping to the Crocodile Rock

Well Crocodile Rocking is something shocking
when your feet just can't keep still
I never knew me a better time and I guess I never will
Oh Lawdy mama those Friday nights
when Suzie wore her dresses tight
and the Crocodile Rocking was out of sight

But the years went by and the rock just died
Suzie went and left us for some foreign guy
Long nights crying by the record machine
dreaming of my Chevy and my old blue jeans
But they'll never kill the thrills we've got
burning up to the Crocodile Rock
Learning fast as the weeks went past
we really thought the Crocodile Rock would last

Музыка: Элтон Джон

Стихи: Берни Топин

BENNIE AND THE JETS

Hey kids, shake it loose together
The spotlight's hitting something
That's been known to change the weather
We'll kill the fatted calf tonight
So stick around
You're gonna hear electric music
Solid walls of sound

Say, Candy and Ronnie, have you seen them yet
But they're so spaced out, Bennie and the Jets
Oh but they're weird and they're wonderful
Oh Bennie she's really keen
She's got electric boots a mohair suit
You know I read it in a magazine
Bennie and the Jets

Hey kids, plug into the faithless
Maybe they're blinded
But Bennie makes them ageless
We shall survive, let us take ourselves along
Where we fight our parents out in the streets
To find who's right and who's wrong

Музыка: Элтон Джон

Стихи: Берни Топин

GOODBYE YELLOW BRICK ROAD

When are you gonna come down
When are you going to land
I should have stayed on the farm
I should have listened to my old man

You know you can't hold me forever
I didn't sign up with you
I'm not a present for your friends to open
This boy's too young to be singing the blues

So goodbye yellow brick road
Where the dogs of society howl
You can't plant me in your penthouse
I'm going back to my plough

Back to the howling old owl in the woods
Hunting the horny back toad
Oh I've finally decided my future lies
Beyond the yellow brick road

What do you think you'll do then
I bet that'll shoot down your plane
It'll take you a couple of vodka and tonics
To set you on your feet again

Maybe you'll get a replacement
There's plenty like me to be found
Mongrels who ain't got a penny
Sniffing for tidbits like you on the ground

Музыка: Элтон Джон

Стихи: Берни Топин

ALL THE GIRLS LOVE ALICE

Raised to be a lady by the golden rule
Alice was the spawn of a public school
With a double barrel name in the back of her brain
And a simple case of Mummy-doesn't-love-me blues

Reality it seems was just a dream
She couldn't get it on with the boys on the scene
But what do you expect from a chick who's just sixteen
And hey, hey, hey, you know what I mean

All the young girls love Alice
Tender young Alice they say
Come over and see me
Come over and please me
Alice it's my turn today

All the young girls love Alice
Tender young Alice they say
If I give you my number
Will you promise to call me
Wait till my husband's away

Poor little darling with a chip out of her heart
It's like acting in a movie when you got the wrong part
Getting your kicks in another girl's bed
And it was only last Tuesday they found you in the subway dead

And who could you call your friends down in Soho
One or two middle-aged dykes in a Go-Go
And what do you expect from a sixteen year old yo-yo
And hey, hey, hey, oh don't you know

 Музыка: Элтон Джон

Стихи: Берни Топин

FUNERAL FOR A FRIEND (LOVE LIES BLEEDING)

The roses in the window box
Have tilted to one side
Everything about this house
Was born to grow and die

Oh it doesn't seem a year ago
To this very day
You said I'm sorry honey
If I don't change the pace
I can't face another day

And love lies bleeding in my hand
Oh it kills me to think of you with another man
I was playing rock and roll and you were just a fan
But my guitar couldn't hold you
So I split the band
Love lies bleeding in my hands

I wonder if those changes
Have left a scar on you
Like all the burning hoops of fire
That you and I passed through

You're a bluebird on a telegraph line
I hope you're happy now
Well if the wind of change comes down your way girl
You'll make it back somehow

Музыка: Элтон Джон

Стихи: Берни Топин

WHENEVER YOU’RE READY (WE’LL GO STEADY AGAIN)

I lived in a tenement six floors above
I lent you my records and I lent you my love
But you left me on the weekend without a by-your-leave
That's a dirty and a low-down trick
My folks all think you're mean

But I don't mind, that's kind of nifty
You always set those break-ups in the movies
And just like a light honey you put me out
Now I'm gonna do my best
To get you back in the nest you came from

You can erase me if you want to
Turn your back in other men
But whenever you're ready
Honey, we'll go steady again

It's nasty without you in my little room
I miss you like crazy, please come back soon
I was joking with those things I said
I couldn't have been thinking
If you don't come back I think I'll crack
Just like my old ceiling

Музыка: Элтон Джон

Стихи: Берни Топин

SATURDAY NIGHT’S ALRIGHT FOR FIGHTING

It's getting late have you seen my mates
Ma tell me when the boys get here
It's seven o'clock and I want to rock
Want to get a belly full of beer

My old man's drunker than a barrel full of monkeys
And my old lady she don't care
My sister looks cute in her braces and boots
A handful of grease in her hair

Don't give us none of your aggravation
We had it with your discipline
Saturday night's alright for fighting
Get a little action in

Get about as oiled as a diesel train
Gonna set this dance alight
`Cause Saturday night's the night I like
Saturday night's alright alright alright

Well they're packed pretty tight in here tonight
I'm looking for a dolly who'll see me right
I may use a little muscle to get what I need
I may sink a little drink and shout out "She's with me!"

A couple of the sound that I really like
Are the sounds of a switchblade and a motorbike
I'm a juvenile product of the working class
Whose best friend floats in the bottom of a glass

Музыка: Элтон Джон

Стихи: Берни Топин

JACK RABBIT

Go jack-rabbit running through the wood
You had a good night and you feel real loose
Heard they got you going round the goosecreek shed
Trying to fill your belly full of buckshot lead

Go jack-rabbit get the cabbage patch
Farmer left the back porch door on the latch
Heard you coming and he got his gun
Better go jack-rabbit better start to run

Go jack-rabbit running through the wood
You had a good night and you feel real loose
Gunfire breaking up the peaceful night
Jack-rabbit lying in the cold daylight

Музыка: Элтон Джон

Стихи: Берни Топин

HARMONY

Hello, baby hello
Haven't seen your face for a while
Have you quit doing time for me
Or are you still the same spoiled child

Hello, I said hello
Is this the only place you thought to go
Am I the only man you ever had
Or am I just the last surviving friend that you know

Harmony and me
We're pretty good company
Looking for an island
In our boat upon the sea
Harmony, gee I really love you
And I want to love you forever
And dream of the never, never, never leaving harmony

Hello, baby hello
Open up your heart and let your feelings flow
You're not unlucky knowing me
Keeping the speed real slow
In any case I set my own pace
By stealing the show, say hello, hello

Harmony and me
We're pretty good company
Looking for an island
In our boat upon the sea
Harmony, gee I really love you
And I want to love you forever
And dream of the never, never, never leaving harmony

Музыка: Элтон Джон

Стихи: Берни Топин

SCREW YOU (YOUNG MAN’S BLUES)

When I was a boy I had a lot of fun
I lived by the sea, I was a fisherman's son
My mother she was a fisherman's wife
She was scrubbing floors most of her life

They said screw you
I ain't got nothing to lose
I could paper a matchbox
With the money I use

At the school I attended I got into fights
I was beaten in an alley on a cold winter night
The teachers cared less for the blood in our veins
They got most of their thrills out of using a cane

They said screw you
Oh you bloody young fools
I could get more sense
Out of the back end of a mule

So you see there's man who get paid for being slaves
And men who get paid for being free
And there's men behind bars who pray for the light
And men in the suburbs who pray for the night
And they're all trying to climb to the top of the mine
And all of them say most of the way
Screw you

I worked in the mill from seven till nine
Tears in my eyes nearly drove me half-blind
Trying to make wages that weren't even there
Taking hell from a foreman with the build of a bear

He said screw you
This is all you'll ever do
It's the only existence for someone like you

Музыка: Элтон Джон

Стихи: Берни Топин

STEP INTO CHRISTMAS

Welcome to my Christmas song
I'd like to thank you for the year
So I'm sending you this Christmas card
To say it's nice to have you here
I'd like to sing about all the things
Your eyes and mind can see
So hop aboard the turntable
Oh step into Christmas with me

Step into Christmas
Let's join together
We can watch the snow fall forever and ever
Eat, drink and be merry
Come along with me
Step into Christmas
The admission's free

Take care in all you do next year
And keep smiling through the days
If we can help to entertain you
Oh we will find the ways
So merry Christmas one and all
There's no place I'd rather be
Than asking you if you'd oblige
Stepping into Christmas with me

Музыка: Элтон Джон

Стихи: Берни Топин

THE BITCH IS BACK

I was justified when I was five
Raising cane, I spit in your eye
Times are changing, now the poor get fat
But the fever's gonna catch you when the bitch gets back

Eat meat on Friday that's alright
Even like steak on a Saturday night
I can bitch the best at your social do's
I get high in the evening sniffing pots of glue

I'm a bitch, I'm a bitch
Oh the bitch is back
Stone cold sober as a matter of fact
I can bitch, I can bitch
`Cause I'm better than you
It's the way that I move
The things that I do

I entertain by picking brains
Sell my soul by dropping names
I don't like those, my God, what's that
Oh it's full of nasty habits when the bitch gets back

Музыка: Элтон Джон

Стихи: Берни Топин

PINBALL WIZARD

Ever since I was a young boy I played the silver ball
From Soho down to Brighton I must have played them all
But I ain't seen nothing like him in any amusement hall
That deaf, dumb and blind kid sure plays a mean pinball

He stands like a statue, becomes part of the machine
Feeling all the bumpers, always playing clean
Plays by intuition, the digit counters fall
That deaf, dumb and blind kid sure plays a mean pinball

He's a pinball wizard, there has to be a twist
A pinball wizard's got such a supple wrist
How do you think he does it I don't know
What makes him so good

Ain't got no distractions, can't hear no buzzes or bells
Don't see lights a-flashing, plays by sense of smell
Always gets a replay, never seen him fall
That deaf, dumb and blind kid sure plays a mean pinball

I thought I was the Bally table king
But I just handed my pinball crown to him

Even on my favourite table, he can beat my best
His disciples lean him in and he just does the rest
He's got crazy flipper fingers, never seen him fall
That deaf, dumb and blind kid sure plays a mean pinball

Автор: Пит Таунсенд

SOMEONE SAVED MY LIFE TONIGHT

When I think of those East End lights, muggy nights
The 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

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

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
They're 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

Музыка: Элтон Джон

Стихи: Берни Топин

CD3

PHILADELPHIA FREEDOM

I used to be a rolling stone
You know if the cause was right
I'd leave to find the answer on the road
I used to be a heart beating for someone
But the times have changed
The less I say the more my work gets done

`Cause I live and breathe this Philadelphia freedom
From the day that I was born I've waved the flag
Philadelphia freedom took me knee-high to a man
Yeah gave me peace of mind my daddy never had

Oh Philadelphia freedom shine on me, I love you
Shine a light through the eyes of the ones left behind
Shine a light shine a light
Shine a light won't you shine a light
Philadelphia freedom I love you, yes I do

If you choose to you can live your life alone
Some people choose the city
Some others choose the good old family home
I like living easy without family ties
Till the whippoorwill of freedom zapped me
Right between the eyes

Музыка: Элтон Джон

Стихи: Берни Топин

ONE DAY AT A TIME

You are my weakness
You are my friend
Nothing I have in the world
Makes better sense
`Cause I'm the fish and you're the sea
When we're together
Or when we're apart
There's never a space in-between
The beat of our hearts
`Cause I'm the apple and you're the tree

One day at a time
Is all we do
One day at a time
Is good for you, you, you

You are my woman
I am your man
Nothing else matters at all
Now I understand
That I'm the door and you're the key
And every morning
I wake in your smile
Feeling your breath on my face
And the love in your eyes
`Cause I'm the honey and you're the bee

Автор: Джон Леннон

LUCY IN THE SKY WITH DIAMONDS

Picture yourself in a boat on a river
With tangerine trees and marmalade skies
Somebody calls you, you answer quite slowly
A girl with kaleidoscope eyes

Cellophane flowers of yellow and green
Towering over your head
Look for the girl with the sun in her eyes
And she's gone

Lucy in the sky with diamonds

Follow her down to a bridge by a fountain
Where rocking horse people eat marshmallow pies
Everyone smiles as you drift past the flowers
That grow so incredibly high

Newspaper taxis appear on the shore
Waiting to take you away
Climb in the back with you head in the clouds
And you're gone

Lucy in the sky with diamonds

Picture yourself on a train in a station
With plasticine porters with looking glass ties
Suddenly someone is there at the turnstile
The girl with kaleidoscope eyes

Авторы: Джон Леннон, Пол Маккартни

I SAW HER STANDING THERE (ДУЭТ С ДЖОНОМ ЛЕННОНОМ)

She was just seventeen
And you know what I mean
And the way she looked was way beyond compare
I couldn't dance with another
When I saw her standing there

Well she looked at me
and I could see
That before too long I fell in love with her
I couldn't dance with another
When I saw here standing there

Well my heart went boom
As I crossed that room
And I held her hand in mine

Oh we danced through the night
And we held each other tight
And before too long I feel in love with her
I couldn't dance with another 
When I saw here standing there

Авторы: Джон Леннон, Пол Маккартни

ISLAND GIRL

I see your teeth flash, Jamaican honey so sweet
Down where Lexington cross 47th Street
She's a big girl, she's standing six foot three
Turning tricks for the dudes in the big city

Island girl
What you wanting with the white man's world
Island girl
Black boy want you in his island world
He want to take you from the racket boss
He want to save you but the cause is lost
Island girl, island girl, island girl
Tell me what you wanting with the white man's world

She's black as coal but she burn like a fire
And she wrap herself around you like a well worn tire
You feel her nail scratch your back just like a rake
He one more gone, he one more John who make the mistake

Музыка: Элтон Джон

Стихи: Берни Топин

SORRY SEEMS TO BE THE HARDES WORD

What have I got to do to make you love me
What have I got to do to make you care
What do I do when lightning strikes me
And I wake to find that you're not there

What do I do to make you want me
What have I got to do to be heard
What do I say when it's all over
And sorry seems to be the hardest word

It's sad, so sad
It's a sad, sad situation
And it's getting more and more absurd
It's sad, so sad
Why can't we talk it over
Oh it seems to me
That sorry seems to be the hardest word

What do I do to make you love me
What have I got to do to be heard
What do I do when lightning strikes me
What have I got to do
What have I got to do
When sorry seems to be the hardest word

Музыка: Элтон Джон

Стихи: Берни Топин

DON’T’ GO BREAKING MY HEART (ДУЭТ С КИКИ ДИ)

Don't go breaking my heart
I couldn't if I tried
Honey if I get restless
Baby you're not that kind

Don't go breaking my heart
You take the weight off me
Honey when you knock on my door
I gave you my key

Nobody knows it
When I was down
I was your clown
Nobody knows it
Right from the start
I gave you my heart
I gave you my heart

So don't go breaking my heart
I won't go breaking your heart
Don't go breaking my heart

And nobody told us
`Cause nobody showed us
And now it's up to us babe
I think we can make it

So don't misunderstand me
You put the light in my life
You put the sparks to the flame
I've got your heart in my sights

Музыка: Элтон Джон

Стихи: Берни Топин

I FEEL LIKE A BULLET (IN THE GUN OF ROBERT FORD (КОНЦЕРТНАЯ ВЕРСИЯ)

Like a corn in a field I cut you down
I threw the last punch too hard
After years of going steady, well I thought that it was time
To throw in my hand for a new set of cards

And I can't take you dancing out on the weekend
I figured we'd painted too much of this town
And I tried not to look as I walked to my wagon
And I knew then I had lost what should have been found
I knew then I had lost what should have been found

And I feel like a bullet in the gun of Robert Ford
I'm low as a paid assassin is
You know I'm cold as a hired sword
I'm so ashamed can't we patch it up
You know I can't think straight no more
You make me feel like a bullet honey in the gun of Robert Ford

Like a child when his toys have been stepped on
That's how it all seemed to me
I burst the bubble that both of us lived in
And I'm damned if I'll ever get rid of this guilt that I feel

And if looks could kill then I'd be a dead man
Your friends and mine don't call no more
Hell, I thought it was best but now I feel branded
Breaking up's sometimes like breaking the law
Breaking up's sometimes like breaking the law

Музыка: Элтон Джон

Стихи: Берни Топин

EGO

Take a look at me now and take a taste of the money
I'm not in it for the bread I'm in it for the gravy, honey
Step on the thin ice lightly
And check out the show twice nightly
'Cause I'm on the stage tonight
And if the price is right
I will amaze before the light I crave the light
Blinding white I need the light tonight

Take a look at me now and take a look at my billing
I'm not in it as an extra, I'm in it for the killing
Inflate my ego gently, tell them heaven sent me
'Cause I'm so expressive and I'm so obsessed with my ego
My ego and it's message
Oh inform the press, invite the guests
I need the press tonight

Do you remember acting out your youth
A Romeo resplendent on an orange case
Do you remember how I would recite
And how I'd blow my lines and hide my face

Well maybe it was childish, foolish, before schoolish
Immaturish, lose your coolish
But I had to grow and prove my ego

Take a look at me now and take a taste of the money
I'm not in it for the bread I'm in it for the gravy, honey
Inflate my ego gently, tell them heaven sent me
Oh 'cause I'm so expressive and I'm so obsessed with my ego
My ego and it's message
Oh inform the press, invite the guests
I need the press tonight

Музыка: Элтон Джон

Стихи: Берни Топин

SONG FOR GUY

Life
Isn't everything
Isn't everything
Isn't everything

Life
Isn't everything
Isn't everything
Isn't everything

Life
Isn't everything
Isn't everything
Isn't everything

Life...

Автор: Элтон Джон

MAMA CAN’T BUY YOU LOVE

Baby, so they give you anything
Darling, all the joy money can bring
Baby, do they bring you happiness
Darling, you're no different from the rest
Can't you see that it's love you really need
Take my hand and I'll show what a love could be
Before it's too late

Mama don't want you, daddy don't want you
Give it up baby, baby mama can't buy you love
Mama don't want you, daddy don't need you
Give it up baby, baby mama can't buy you love

Baby, fancy friends showing you a smile
Darling, rich relations for a while
Baby, I can only give you love
Darling, this old heart should be enough
All I need is a chance to make you mine
Let me in, I'll change the way you feel inside
Before it's too late

Авторы: Лерой Белл, Кейси Джеймс

CARTIER

If your life is dull and dreary
And you're feeling rather weary
Of the mundane things that clutter up one's life
Drive your roller up to Bond Street
Where royalty and Sheiks meet
Make your day
Here's the thing to do
Spend a grand or two at Cartier

Авторы: Дина Кард, Берни Топин

LITTLE JEANNIE

Oh little Jeannie, you got so much love, little Jeannie
And you take it where it strikes and give it to the likes of me
Oh little Jeannie, she got so much love, little Jeannie
So I see you when I can, you make me all a man can be

And I want you to be my acrobat, I want you to be my lover
Oh there were others who would treat you cruel
And oh little Jeannie, you were always someone's fool

Little Jeannie, you got so much time, little Jeannie
Though you've grown beyond your years, you still retain the fears of youth
Oh little Jeannie, you got so much time, little Jeannie
But you're burning it up so fast, searching for some lasting truth

And I want you to be my acrobat, I want you to be my lover
Oh there were others who would treat you cruel
But oh Jeannie, I will always be your fool

And I want you to be my acrobat, I want you to be my lover
Oh there were others, and I've known quite a few
But oh oh Jeannie, I'm still in love with you

Stepped into my life from a bad dream
Making the life that I had seem suddenly shiny and new
Oh Jeannie I'm so in love with you
Stepped into my life from a bad dream

Музыка: Элтон Джон

Стихи: Гари Осборн

DONNER POUR DONNER (ДУЭТ С ФРАНС ГАЛЛЬ)

We're no handy silver lining
We're no crime to make the headline news
If it's a matter for decision
You and I can be the ones to choose

Je te donne mes espoirs caches
Je te donne me incertitudes
Je te donne mes plus grands secrets
La vie c'est deja si compliquй

Donner pour donner, tout donner
C'est la seule faзon d'aimer
Donner pour donner
C'est la seule faзon de vivre
C'est la seule faзon d'aimer

Pas la peine de vivre enferme
C'est pas la peine
Pas la peine de rester couche
Non c'est pas la peine
Je te donne sans rien demander
La vie, c'est deja si compliquй

Je te donne mes sourires moqueurs
Je te donne ma force, ma douceur
Je te donne mes secrets fragiles
La vie, c'est deja si difficile

Translation:

I give you my hidden hopes

I give you my uncertainties

I give you my deepest secrets

Live is already so complicated

Giving for the sake of giving, giving it all

It is the only way to love

Giving for the sake of giving

It is the only way to live

It is the only way to love

It is not worth being locked up

It is not worth staying in bed

I give you without asking anything

Life is already so complicated

I give you my mocking smiles

I give you my strength, my sweetness

I give you my precious secrets

Life is hard enough

Авторы: Майкл Бергер, Берни Топин

FANFARE

(ИНСТРУМЕНТАЛЬНАЯ)

Авторы: Элтон Джон, Джеймс Ньютон-Ховард

CHLOE

How come you're so understanding
When I tell you all my lies
And pretending to believe them
See through all my alibis
And I need you more than ever
And I want you till the end
Chloe

How you handle what you live through
I can never hope to learn
Taking all the pain I give you
Loving blindly in return
And I need you more than ever
I will always be your friend
Chloe, Chloe

Chloe, what you gonna do about me
Chloe, what you gonna do
What you gonna do about me

You're the lifeline that I cling to
When I feel like giving in
When the dreams that I rely on
Start to wear a little thin
Then I need you more than ever
And I want you till the end
Chloe, Chloe

Музыка: Элтон Джон

Стихи: Гари Осборн

THE RETREAT

They laid beneath the pine trees with their caps over their eyes
They were drunk with home and mama as they brushed away the flies
In an instant before the sunrise they had gunned the rebels down
As their flags were torn at half mast in the ruins of the town

There were white sails on the water for the crippled on the beach
There was a lack of ammunition so the cause was incomplete
When the bugle blew at breakfast and they knew their ships were in
Signs of grand assurance were carried on the wind

Take it home, take it low, take responsibilities
Came the message from the front
For the captains, captains quarters must retreat
Pack the compass, pack the tents, take the bunks

They just chalked it down in history but they kept their uniforms
They put their medals on the sideboards and they went back to their farms
For it was just a mere reminder that they stood beside the best
That God had saved the chosen few and the devil took the rest

On the planes above the rock face where the sculptured eagles swoop
There's a haunted yell for action among the spectres of his troops
It was silent on the coastline as the crazy angels danced
With the sound of retreating footfall from his military camp

Музыка: Элтон Джон

Стихи: Берни Топин

BLUE EYES

Blue eyes
Baby's got blue eyes
Like a deep blue sea
On a blue blue day
Blue eyes
Baby's got blue eyes
When the morning comes
I'll be far away
And I say

Blue eyes
Holding back the tears
Holding back the pain
Baby's got blue eyes
And she's alone again

Blue eyes
Baby's got blue eyes
Like a clear blue sky
Watching over me
Blue eyes
I love blue eyes
When I'm by her side
Where I long to be
I will see

Blue eyes laughing in the sun
Laughing in the rain
Baby's got blue eyes
And I am home, and I am home again

Музыка: Элтон Джон

Стихи: Гари Осборн

CD4

EMPTY GARDEN (HEY HEY JOHNNY)

What happened here
As the New York sunset disappeared
I found an empty garden among the flagstones there
Who lived here
He must have been a gardener that cared a lot
Who weeded out the tears and grew a good crop
And now it all looks strange
It's funny how one insect can damage so much grain

And what's it for
This little empty garden by the brownstone door
And in the cracks along the sidewalk nothing grows no more
Who lived here
He must have been a gardener that cared a lot
Who weeded out the tears and grew a good crop
And we are so amazed we're crippled and we're dazed
A gardener like that one no one can replace

And I've been knocking but no one answers
And I've been knocking most all the day
Oh and I've been calling oh hey hey Johnny
Can't you come out to play

And through their tears
Some say he farmed his best in younger years
But he'd have said that roots grow stronger if only he could hear
Who lived there
He must have been a gardener that cared a lot
Who weeded out the tears and grew a good crop
Now we pray for rain, and with every drop that falls
We hear, we hear your name

Johnny can't you come out to play in your empty garden

Музыка: Элтон Джон

Стихи: Берни Топин

I GUESS THAT’S WHY THEY CALL IT THE BLUES

Don't wish it away
Don't look at it like it's forever
Between you and me I could honestly say
That things can only get better

And while I'm away 
Dust out the demons inside
And it won't be long before you and me run
To the place in our hearts where we hide

And I guess that's why they call it the blues
Time on my hands could be time spent with you
Laughing like children, living like lovers
Rolling like thunder under the covers
And I guess that's why they call it the blues

Just stare into space
Picture my face in your hands
Live for each second without hesitation
And never forget I'm your man

Wait on me girl
Cry in the night if it helps
But more than ever I simply love you
More than I love life itself

Музыка: Элтон Джон, Дэйви Джонстон

Стихи: Берни Топин

I’M STILL STANDING

You could never know what it's like
Your blood like winter freezes just like ice
And there's a cold lonely light that shines from you
You'll wind up like the wreck you hide behind that mask you use

And did you think this fool could never win
Well look at me, I'm coming back again
I got a taste of love in a simple way
And if you need to know while I'm still standing you just fade away

Don't you know I'm still standing better than I ever did
Looking like a true survivor, feeling like a little kid
I'm still standing after all this time
Picking up the pieces of my life without you on my mind

I'm still standing yeah yeah yeah
I'm still standing yeah yeah yeah

Once I never could hope to win
You starting down the road leaving me again
The threats you made were meant to cut me down
And if our love was just a circus you'd be a clown by now

Музыка: Элтон Джон

Стихи: Берни Топин

SAD SONGS (SA SO MUCH)

Guess there are times when we all need to share a little pain
And ironing out the rough spots
Is the hardest part when memories remain
And it's times like these when we all need to hear the radio
`Cause from the lips of some old singer
We can share the troubles we already know

Turn them on, turn them on
Turn on those sad songs
When all hope is gone
Why don't you tune in and turn them on

They reach into your room
Just feel their gentle touch
When all hope is gone
Sad songs say so much

If someone else is suffering enough to write it down
When every single word makes sense
Then it's easier to have those songs around
The kick inside is in the line that finally gets to you
and it feels so good to hurt so bad
And suffer just enough to sing the blues

Sad songs, they say
Sad songs, they say
Sad songs, they say
Sad songs, they say so much

Музыка: Элтон Джон

Стихи: Берни Топин

ACT OF WAR (ДУЭТ С МИЛЛИ ДЖЕКСОН)

This ain't no battle honey, this ain't no fight
How come you take it so hard when I stay out all night
If I take a drink, is that against the law
And if I have a good time, do you call that an act of war

Well you better believe it boy, this house is your home
I didn't build it up for you to live here on my own
And if you think it's easy to forget about me
You'd better think twice, you'd better believe it's an act of war

We're living on the front line you and me
Fighting on this battleground of misery
Oh go ahead bring on your artillery
And we'll make this an act of war
Give it all you've got `cause I'm all dug in
Keep the punches coming I can take them on the chin
Winner takes all, let the best man win
And we call it an act of war

Well I'm a man of convenience I work a long hard day
After twelve long hours ain't I got the right to play
If living together is getting in the way
Then I call that an act of war

Well if that's your game then honey two can play
I'm going on the town tonight and have some fun my way
Ain't no way baby this girl's gonna stay
I call it, I call it an act of war

And it looks like time ain't been on our side
If we could turn the clock back
We might survive this act of war

Музыка: Элтон Джон

Стихи: Берни Топин

NIKITA

Hey Nikita is it cold
In your little corner of the world
You could roll around the globe
And never find a warmer soul to know

Oh I saw you by the wall
Ten of your tin soldiers in a row
With eyes that looked like ice on fire
The human heart a captive in the snow

Oh Nikita You will never know anything about my home
I'll never know how good it feels to hold you
Nikita I need you so
Oh Nikita is the other side of any given line in time
Counting ten tin soldiers in a row
Oh no, Nikita you'll never know

Do you ever dream of me
Do you ever see the letters that I write
When you look up through the wire
Nikita do you count the stars at night

And if there comes a time
Guns and gates no longer hold you in
And if you're free to make a choice
Just look towards the west and find a friend

Музыка: Элтон Джон

Стихи: Берни Топин

CANDLE IN THE WIND (КОНЦЕРТНАЯ ВЕРСИЯ)

Goodbye Norma Jean
Though I never knew you at all
You had the grace to hold yourself
While those around you crawled
They crawled out of the woodwork
And they whispered into your brain
They set you on the treadmill
And they made you change your name

And it seems to me you lived your life
Like a candle in the wind
Never knowing who to cling to
When the rain set in
And I would have liked to have known you
But I was just a kid
Your candle burned out long before
Your legend ever did

Loneliness was tough
The toughest role you ever played
Hollywood created a superstar
And pain was the price you paid
Even when you died
Oh the press still hounded you
All the papers had to say
Was that Marilyn was found in the nude

Goodbye Norma Jean
From the young man in the 22nd row
Who sees you as something as more than sexual
More than just our Marilyn Monroe

Музыка: Элтон Джон

Стихи: Берни Топин

CARLA/ETUDE (КОНЦЕРТНАЯ ВЕРСИЯ)

(ИНСТРУМЕНТАЛЬНАЯ)

Автор: Элтон Джон

DON’T LET THE SUN GO DOWN ON ME (КОНЦЕРТНАЯ ВЕРСИЯ)

I can't light no more of your darkness
All my pictures seem to fade to black and white
I'm growing tired and time stands still before me
Frozen here on the ladder of my life

Too late to save myself from falling
I took a chance and changed your way of life
But you misread my meaning when I met you
Closed the door and left me blinded by the light

Don't let the sun go down on me
Although I search myself, it's always someone else I see
I'd just allow a fragment of your life to wander free
But losing everything is like the sun going down on me

I can't find, oh the right romantic line
But see me once and see the way I feel
Don't discard me just because you think I mean you harm
But these cuts I have they need love to help them heal

Музыка: Элтон Джон

Стихи: Берни Топин

I DON’T WANNA GO ON WITH YOU LIKE THAT (РЕМИКС)

I've always said that one's enough to love
Now I hear you're bragging one is not enough
Something tells me you're not satisfied
You got plans to make me one of four or five

I guess this kind of thing's just in your blood
But you won't catch me carving up my love
I ain't no puzzle piece that needs to fit
If it takes more than me let's call it quits

`Cause I don't wanna go on with you like that
Don't wanna be a feather in your cap
I just wanna tell you honey I ain't mad
But I don't wanna go on with you like that

It gets so hard sometimes to understand
This vicious circle's getting out of hand
Don't need an extra eye to see
That the fire spreads faster in a breeze

And I don't wanna go on with you like that
Don't wanna be a feather in your cap
I just wanna tell you honey I ain't mad
But I don't wanna go on with you like that
No I don't wanna go on with you like that
One more set of boots on your welcome mat
You'll just have to quit them if you want me back
`Cause I don't wanna go on with you like that

Oh if you wanna spread it around sister that's just fine
But I don't want no second hand feeding me lines
If you wanna hold someone in the middle of the night
Call out the guards, turn out the light

Музыка: Элтон Джон

Стихи: Берни Топин

GIVE PEACE A CHANCE

Everybody is talking about blagism
Shagism, dragism and madism
Ragism and tagism bob tailing
Thisism, thatism, ism, ism, ism
George Chisolm, yes

All we are saying 
Is give peace a chance
All we are saying
Is give peace a chance

Everybody's talking about ministers
Sinisters, banisters, canisters
Roger Bannisters, bishops, bishops
Bishop Auckland, rabbis, Popeyes, bye-byes
Max Bygraves and everybody else

All we are saying
Is give peace a chance
All we are saying
Is give peace a chance

Everybody's talking about revolution
Evolution, The Everly Brothers, mastication
Euston Station, fladulation, flatulation
Regulations, integration, mediation
United Nations, congratulations

All we are saying
Is give peace a chance
All we are saying
Is give peace a chance

Everybody in the Soviet Union, unite
Go down to the shops and talk about John and Yoko
Timothy Leary, Barbara Windsor, Yoko Ono, Madonna
Bobby Dylan, Bobby Charlton, Eddie Charlton
Tommy Cooper and the Amazing Horseradish Dancers
Derek Baker, Norman Mailer, Alan Ginsberg and the Hare Krishna Three

All we are saying
Is give peace a chance
All we are saying
Is give peace a chance

Everybody's talking about gagism, tagism
Shagism, dragism, madism
Ragism, tagism, botulism, thisism, thatism
Listen to this

Everybody's talking about ministers
Sinisters, banisters, canisters
Bishops, bishops, Bishop's Avenue
Why not talk about Bishop's Avenue
I've got a lovely house on Bishop's Avenue

Everybody's talking about Popeye, Olive Oyl
Everybody, everybody, everybody, Mrs. Jean Schnook
Twenty Three Chepstow Villas
Because they are the next contestant on "Make a B-Side"

All we are saying
Is give peace a chance
All we are saying
Is give peace a chance

Авторы: Джон Леннон, Пол, Маккартни

SACRIFICE

It's a human sign
When things go wrong
When the scent of her lingers
And temptation's strong

Into the boundary
Of each married man
Sweet deceit comes calling
And negativity lands

Cold cold heart
Hard done by you
Some things look better baby
Just passing through

And it's no sacrifice
Just a simple word
It's two hearts living
In two separate worlds
But it's no sacrifice
No sacrifice
It's no sacrifice at all

Mutual misunderstanding
After the fact
Sensitivity builds a prison
In the final act

We lose direction
No stone unturned
No tears to damn you
When jealousy burns

Музыка: Элтон Джон

Стихи: Берни Топин

MADE FOR ME

If I wasn't born to love you, why was I born at all
If I wasn't meant to hold you, what are these two arms for
If I can't protect you, what are these muscles for
If I can't enrich your life, I might as well be poor
If I couldn't see you naked, I might as well be blind
If I couldn't treat you right, wouldn't I be so unkind

And you were made for me
You were made for me
You weren't born to be alone
And you were made for me

You were made for me
You were made for me
Flesh and bone, it's etched in stone
That you were made for me

If I couldn't translate fantasy, imagine how I'd feel
If I couldn't hear your secret, my ears would both be sealed
And if I can't make love to you, this body has no use
If you believe I loved you, you wouldn't need no proof
And if I can't return to you, I wouldn't need my legs to run
And if I can't draw warmth from you, why do I need this sun

Музыка: Элтон Джон

Стихи: Берни Топин

YOU GOTTA LOVE SOMEONE

You can win the fight, you can grab a piece of the sky
You can break the rules but before you try
You gotta love someone
You gotta love someone

You can stop the world, steal the face from the moon
You can beat the clock, but before high noon
You gotta love someone
You gotta love someone

You've got one life with a reason
You need two hearts on one side
When you stand alone and there's no one there
To share the way it feels inside and baby

You can cheat the devil and slice a piece of the sun
Burn up the highway but before you run
You gotta love someone
You gotta love someone

When you're gonna play with fire
You let someone share the heat
When you're on your own and there's no one there
To cool the flames beneath your feet and baby

You can win the fight, you can grab a piece of the sky
You can break the rules but before you try
You gotta love someone
You gotta love someone

You gotta love someone
You gotta love someone

Музыка: Элтон Джон

Стихи: Берни Топин

A SWEAR I HEARD THE NIGHT TALKING

In the nicotine glare of a cold naked light
I drag my body from the covers and down forty flights
I run out the front door into the center of the street
I scream out your name as the steam just swells around my feet

I hear you after midnight from the inner city
As every Cinderella turns to drop dead pretty
We were built out of the darkness into this West Side Story
We came together in the shadows but the moon just steals our glory

Well this is my battleground baby
This is my plaything
The only thing I've ever known
Outside of a wedding ring

And I swear I heard the night talking
Cursing me for being a little more than hopeless
Telling me we're running lonely, loose and broken
Stronger now on passion but haven't we really spoken
And all we ever do is listen to the night talking

On the burden of insanity we can't find the cause
On a flatbed truck well the home girl she paints her claws
There's a coward who gets his courage undercover of the dark
And it's a strange breed of devil freeze at night to go walking in the park

Музыка: Элтон Джон

Стихи: Берни Топин

EASIER TO WALK AWAY

Every time you turn around
You wear another face
Every time I look away
I find a hiding place

If you knew me like you knew him
You would know just how I feel
Slipping through someone's fingers
Falling under someone's wheels

It's easier to walk away
Better off to face the facts
When love holds you up for ransom
Walk away and don't look back

Never seen you looking back through
Smiling eyes and tears
Never knew you holding on to
Memories and fears

Just release me I can't take it
Can't you see a change has come
Strangled by infatuation
Buried under someone's thumb

It's easier to walk away
Cover and fade to black
When love scars and leaves you branded
Walk away and don't look back

Every time you turn around
You wear another face
Every time I look away
I find a hiding place

Музыка: Элтон Джон

Стихи: Берни Топин

В АНГЛИЙСКУЮ ВЕРСИЮ ВОШЛИ ТЕ

ЖЕ ТРЕКИ, ЗА ИСКЛЮЧЕНИЕМ YOU GOTTA LOVE SOMEONE И I SWEAR I HEARD THE NIGHT TALKIN’, И БЫЛИ ДОБАВЛЕНЫ:

SUIT OF WOLVES

Looking back in anger
On this dirty little town
It stained your dress carved up my face
Put a wedge between our state of grace

Somethings so young and pretty
Should never be released
We place our bets we take our pick
They wind up in the belly of the beast

And when you can't get what you want
You take anything you can
So I wear this suit of wolves at night
I slip it on how come it feels so right

I get a hungry man
When I can't get what I want
I take anything I can
I wear a suit of wolves

Just across from Friday
The weekend circus rolls
I cross my heart turn on the charm
I say my prayers between two hungry arms

There's a string of dangerous flowers
All around my bed
There's some want rings and some just want
And those who'd like to see me dead

Музыка: Элтон Джон

Стихи: Берни Топин

UNDERSTANDING WOMAN

Rolling over trying to sleep
And understanding women
Thinking of you out there somewhere
Looking for a new beginning

Just let me be the final word
In the book we haven't written
I won't be another page
In understanding women

I could drive to Mexico
On understanding women
Throw myself against the waves
And answer up to heaven

How come her heart's so stubborn
And what's so wrong with giving
Ask the big sky talking
About understanding women

And I'm not just anyone who ever stood outside your door
And I'm not any man you've ever known before
Don't judge this picture by the frame
Every man is not the same
Some men reach beyond the pain
Of understanding women

Музыка: Элтон Джон

Стихи: Берни Топин

Среди шестидесяти семи песен сборника «То Be Contin­ued...» каждый слушатель мог найти то, что ему больше по душе. Обращали на себя внимание яркая обложка с шелковы­ми перегородками и откидывающейся крышкой, буклет с хвалебной статьей об Элтоне и Берни, написанной музыкаль­ным критиком и романистом Эриком Ван Ласбадером, кото­рый следил за их творчеством с самого начала, а также распе­чатка заполненного воспоминаниями интервью композитора и поэта. Текст давался в сопровождении огромного количест­ва фотографий Элтона, сделанных на разных этапах его ка­рьеры.

Помимо ожидаемых хитов в сборник вошли вторые сто­роны синглов и редкие концертные записи, свидетельство­вавшие о плодовитости Элтона, а также четыре новые песни, которые продюсировал Дон Уос.

Новые песни, записанные за один сеанс, не открывали новую страницу в творчестве музыканта, но вкупе с осталь­ными композициями сборника представляли собой эффективное завершение периода, который пианист считал первым этапом своей карьеры. Кроме того, они являлись невольным, хотя и не очень надежным комментарием к переходному пе­риоду в жизни Элтона. Первая из четырех песен — это «Made for Ме», премьера которой состоялась в мае на концерте в «Тадж-Махале» Дональда Трампа. На компакт-диске песня звучит почти так же, как в концертном исполнении, хотя в за­писи принимал участие Джеймс Ньютон Говард, отвечавший за инструментовку для струнных и синтезаторы. Музыканты из группы Элтона отсутствовали (за исключением копии «Raeletts») — их заменили студийные музыканты, отобранные продюсером.

Следующей из четырех песен — и первым синглом — ста­ла романтическая «You Gotta Love Someone». Подобно «Made for Ме», в ней отражены личные переживания Элтона, хотя она была написана специально для Тома Круза. «Ты можешь остановить этот мир, украсть лик луны, — писал Берни. — Ты можешь разбить часы, но, прежде чем взойдет луна, ты должен кого-нибудь полюбить». Исполняемая низким, почти перехо­дящим в баритон голосом, «You Gotta Love Someone» вспоми­нает опасности мужественности и также издержки смелости.

Остальные две песни следуют за «Made for Ме» и «You Gotta Love Someone», прозорливо рассказывая о борьбе с тер­завшими Элтона демонами — еще до того, как он решил всту­пить в эту борьбу. «I Swear I Heard the Night Talking» описыва­ет уродливые улицы, по которым главный герой идет к своей ежедневной дозе удовольствия и боли: «Это мое поле битвы, это моя сцена, это единственное, что мне знакомо за предела­ми обручального кольца». Вскоре он приходит в себя: «Кля­нусь, я слышал, как ночь говорит со мной, умоляя не терять надежды». Голос Элтона здесь звучит так же мужественно, как и в «You Gotta Love Someone» — как никогда раньше. Од­нако песня выделяется не только этой особенностью. В русле торжественных аккордов синтезатора Джеймса и галопирую­щего фортепьяно Элтона мелодия развивается, подобно путе­шествию по неисследованным территориям, а рефрен разум­но обращается к полному надежд будущему.

Последняя из четырех песен, «Easier to Walk Away», на первый взгляд рассказывает, подобно «Sacrifice», о невернос­ти. Кроме того, в ней содержатся строки, отражающие отри­цание Элтоном своих проблем, характерное для музыканта в период перед реабилитацией («Каждый раз, когда я отвожу взгляд, я нахожу убежище»), а также признание своих изме­нившихся взглядов («Только отпусти меня, / разве ты не ви­дишь, что перемены уже наступили»). Голос Элтона здесь звучит максимально просто, в окружении небольшого числа инструментов и скромного бэк-вокала. Кроме того, из всех четырех новых песен в «Easier to Walk Away» больше всего ощущается влияние ритм-энд-блюза. Каждый поворот мело­дии насыщен жаркой страстью, переходящей в приятный рефрен, который пришелся бы по вкусу Тому Беллу и «Spinners».

Только «You Gotta Love Someone» и «Easier to Walk Away» вошли в двойной альбом «The Very Best of Elton John», кото­рый стал лучшим обзором записей Элтона за пределами Се­верной Америки, ограниченных двумя дисками. Кроме того, поклонники Элтона в других странах, не имевшие возмож­ности приобрести «Elton John's Greatest Hits, Volume III 1979— 1987», получили свою версию этого альбома.

Зарубежный вариант «Best» привлек огромное количество любителей музыки. Альбом, имевшийся в продаже в конце 1990 и начале 1991 годов, практически везде стал номером 1. Такого не случалось с 1974 года. К сожалению, массовые про­дажи альбома не привели к появлению новых хитов на родине музыканта. Первый сингл коллекции, «You Gotta Love Some-опе», поднялся лишь до 33-го места в чарте — выше, чем в Соединенных Штатах, где в начале 1991 года ему удалось за­нять 43-ю позицию. Хорошей новостью стало то, что сборник «То Be Continued...» добился большего успеха, чем большин­ство ретроспективных альбомов, заняв 82-ю строчку в чарте и получив золотой сертификат, прежде чем исчез с рынка.

Новые песни, «Suit of Wolves» и «Understanding Women», возможно, являются предвестниками окончания второго бра­ка Берни. Они явно не прославляют супружескую верность. В «Suit of Wolves» Берни жалуется на отсутствие близости с партнером, что заставляет его искать любви на стороне («Ко­гда ты не в состоянии получить желаемого, / ты берешь все, что можешь, / и поэтому по ночам я ношу этот костюм вол­ка»). Ориентируясь на богатый вокал Элтона, который певец демонстрировал после хирургической операции, песня пред­ставляет собой балладу для голоса; инструментовка, состоя­щая в основном из электронных клавишных Гая Бэбилона и электронных барабанов новичка Олле Ромо, создает лишь не­обходимый фон. Доминирующий голос Элтона заставляет слушателя сосредоточиться на этой первой из двух самых многоплановых мелодий, которые Элтон сочинил за послед­ние годы.

В еще одной новой песне, «Understanding Women», Берни размышляет об окончании взаимоотношений, отказываясь признавать этот факт («Позволь мне только стать последним словом / в книге, которую мы не написали. / Я не хочу быть еще одной страницей / в исследовании женщин»). То, что Элтон поет «Understanding Women», не так странно, как может показаться на первый взгляд. Несмотря на название, содержание песни необязательно связано с женщинами, в отличие от слов высокомерного мачо в «Since God Invented Girls», которую Элтон ухитрился превратить в нежную песню о любви. «Understanding Women» рассказывает об измене, и пол главного героя песни не имеет никакого значения. Здесь инструментовка играет более важную роль, чем в «Suit of Wolves»: тревожные звуки синтезатора прерывают задумчи­вую мелодию, а гневное соло электрогитары звучит в испол­нении приглашенного солиста «Пинк Флойд» Дэвида Гилмора. Однако и в этой песне основой является голос Элтона.

Объединяет эти две композиции свободное использова­ние программируемых клавишных и ударных электронных инструментов. И те и другие уже встречались в записях Элто­на Джона 1990 года; кроме того, музыкант не злоупотреблял метрономными дорожками, к которым испытывал презрение. Тем не менее программируемые инструменты редко играли такую важную роль в его композициях. Такой подход резко отличался от принципа естественности, которого он придер­живался всего полгода назад. «В те [прежние] дни мы стреми­лись к живому звуку, и этих моментов звукозаписи мне дейст­вительно не хватает, — признавался Элтон в декабре 1990 го­да. — Мне нравится человеческая составляющая песни, и мне наплевать, если она немного ускоряется к финалу». Но все же на Элтона произвела впечатление современная технология, хотя сам он не владел ею, поскольку она требовала знания компьютера. Может быть, «Suit of Wolves» и understanding Women» позволяли предугадать музыкальное направление, в котором будет двигаться Элтон?

Две новые песни заменили «You Gotta Love Someone» и «I Swear I Heard the Night Talking» в британском аналоге вышед­шего в Америке сборника, который тоже получил название «То Be Continued...». Элтон считал этот обновленный сбор­ник не столько поддержкой своей карьеры, сколько демарка­ционной линией, которая отмечает его эмоциональное воз­рождение.

Элизабет Розенталь. Rocket Man. Английский оригинал - His Songs

 Lable: MCA (US/Canada), Rocket

Producer Gus Dudgeon, Chris Thomas, Elton John, Clive Franks, Don Was, Steve Brown