The song that inspired Elton John to get sober
Everyone wants to be a rock star; the money, the fame, the idea of walking out onto the stage and hearing thousands of people cheer your name, what’s not to love? Well, as we’ve seen on countless occasions, being a famous musician isn’t quite all it’s cracked out to be, as many end up becoming dependent on drugs and alcohol, never quite being able to shake the habit. Elton John is a success story, as he managed to get clean and has had a healthy relationship with music since. His inspiration to get clean, though, came from the most unlikely of places.
Peter Gabriel was renowned for being able to find inspiration for songs from various places. The track ‘Don’t Give Up’ was no exception to this, as the song has several different origins. His wife, Jill Gabriel, remembers one. “I saw an article in a newspaper about a woman who jumped out of a huge block of flats with her child and killed herself,” she said. “I gave it to Peter and it was the original inspiration and he was heartbroken to read it. However, his lyrics are always multi-layered with many different influences.”
Some other influences that played a part in putting the song together included a TV show he watched about unemployment and family life, as well as a photo by Dorothea Lange that showed a photo of a family in the Dust Bowl Depression. The end product, thanks to having so much moving sentiment behind it, was a gorgeous tale of hope.
Kate Bush features in the song. It didn’t initially start as a duet, but Gabriel changed the lyrics so Bush could sing on it. “The sensitive treatment Kate gave our give-and-take on that song was gratifying because it’s not just a song about a woman supporting a man in a demanding relationship,” he said, “The chief thing dragging them down is unemployment, which is presently tearing the social fabric of Thatcher’s England apart… Without a climate of self-esteem, it’s impossible to function.”
When Elton John heard the song, he was dependent on drugs and alcohol, and the lyrics inspired him to get sober. The verse he credits with his rehab is, “Rest your head / You worry too much / It’s going to be all right / When times get rough you can fall back on us / Don’t give up.”
When asked about the song, John confessed, “She [referring to Bush] played a big part in my rebirth. That record helped me so much.”
Everyone wants to be a rock star. Money and fame play a big part, and since music is already such a massive part of our lives, it appeals to many of us to achieve great things with it. However, that music can often spell the downfall of many people, as it nearly did for Elton John. That’s the power of well-written, emotionally driven music, though. The thing that was contributing towards Elton Johns’s addiction doubled up as being the thing that helped him through it. The song and the story embody the words, ‘Don’t Give Up’.
