The Story Behind The Song: Elton John’s ode to a saviour ‘Someone Saved My Life Tonight’
Elton John didn’t exactly have an easy life. The rock ‘n’ roll pioneer had a lot of issues surrounding his personal life, with drug use and relationships at the focus. One thing he didn’t struggle with was songwriting, meaning a lot of his problems were channelled into music, as is the case with the Captain Fantastic track, ‘Someone Saved My Life Tonight’.
The story of Elton John’s first marriage is well-known. In 1984, he married Renate Blauel. The couple divorced in 1988, and all of Elton’s committed relationships after that were with men. Elton commented on his marriage, saying, “I wanted more than anything to be a good husband, but I denied who I really was, which caused my wife sadness and caused me huge guilt and regret.”
He continued, “To be worthy of someone’s love, you have to be brave enough and clear eyed enough to be honest with yourself and your partner.”
Renate was not the first woman he ever dated, nor was she the first woman he was engaged to. That happened in the ‘70s, the result of which was a song in the charts instead of a ring on the finger.
“I was going to get married once when I was younger,” said Elton regarding his engagement to Linda Woodrow, “I went out and got drunk with Long John Baldry and Bernie, and John said I shouldn’t get married. I knew he was right, but I didn’t know how to get out of it, so I just got drunk and went home and said I’m not getting married.”
The song is filled with convoluted imagery, but patterns are buried within them once you look. ‘Sugar Bear’ refers to Long John Baldry. “Apparently, I gave Elton some very good advice when he was in a pickle,” he said, “he wrote a song about it. But I still can’t figure out what the song is about.”
Bernie Taupin wrote the lyrics but based them on this particular moment in Elton John’s life. “It tells a story that actually happened,” he said, “For the most part, most of the things I write are an amalgam of several subjects or feelings that I then cut and paste to create one entity… the crux of its meaning is sort of surrounded with visual props that are intended to help set the scene for the main event, which was Elton saying adios to this woman who was pushing him into a marriage that he knew deep down in his heart would be a lie on a multitude of levels.”
Linda Woodrow now lives in America and has three children. She doesn’t hold any ill will towards Elton John, although she doesn’t love the lyrics, “You nearly had me roped and tied / altar-bound, hypnotised.”
Elton John is the epitome of turning struggles into art, as he has done with much of his music. ‘Someone Saved My Life Tonight’ could have initially just been read as him avoiding a marriage, but it’s also a moment when Elton John was true to himself when the future looked very uncertain. In that sense, this song is one of his most raw and vulnerable ever.
