The singer opened up on his mortality
Elton John has admitted ‘he might not have long left’ after opening up in an emotional interview in which the singer discussed his own mortality.
The Rocket Man singer revealed that he needed 45 minutes of comforting after he “lost it” following a new song that gave him a significant existential crisis.
The music icon made the confession on Friday night on the BBC’s The Graham Norton Show, appearing alongside collaborator Brandi Carlile.
The pair were promoting their new song ‘Who Believes In Angels?’ which is set to be released on 4 April.
Elton recalled how he was forced to confront his own mortality after reading the words to a song from lyricist Bernie Taupin.
The 77-year-old said: “Bernie Taupin gave me a lyric for a song called, ‘When This Whole World Is Done With Me’, and I’m writing the verse (music) quite quickly, and I think this is a really lovely verse.
“And then I get to the chorus, and I find that it’s about my death, my demise. And as a 76 year old man, which I was at that time, and having children and having a husband, mortality, and you think about, ‘How long have I got? How long? I hope I’ve got, much longer than maybe I’ve got.’.
“And so by the time I got to the chorus and suddenly realised that I started singing it (and) I lost it for 45 minutes. It was a very, very heavy moment for me,” he admitted.
Elton added: “After 45 minutes of being consoled, I was okay, but I recorded the next day…when you’re singing about being washed out to sea and the end of your life, it took me by surprise.”
He continued to talk about his new song.
The singer said: “It’s a really lovely song. I did it all in one take the next day. I just came in and did its vocal and piano at the same time.”
“And I put a brass band at the end of it, because I’ve always loved brass bands, colliery bands, because their music is rather sad, the sound of it. I always loved the Cup Final when they played ‘Abide With Me’ and I always used to cry no matter how old I was, because it was so beautiful.”
Reflecting on his earlier life, Elton spoke about the old footage used to make the music video for the single.
He said: “I don’t really like looking at myself and going back in time, but the second time I watched that, I was really moved.”
“It was a journey from unhappiness and fame to epiphany and happiness and family and children. It’s that the arc of my life, which went down a bit, a lot and then came back. It’s, it’s my life, and I was happy with it. Some of the footage I’d never seen.”
Elton has often been very candid with his thoughts and health as only last year he opened up on some of his health struggles, claiming “there’s not much of me left”.
The 77-year-old joked about his health issues at a screening for his new documentary, Elton John: Never Too Late, in New York last year.
The film gives a look back at the music legend’s 50-year career, and showcases the lead up to one of the biggest gigs of his life – his final concert in North America.
As well as archival footage, the film also features footage of the ‘Rocket Man’ singer with his family.
At a screening of the documentary, John opened up about his health issues.
It was recently revealed that the singer’s vision had been affected after a ‘severe eye infection’, and he has previously had a pacemaker fitted.
“To be honest with you, there’s not much of me left,” he jokingly told the audience.
“I don’t have tonsils, adenoids or an appendix,” he continued, via People.
“I don’t have a prostate. I don’t have a right hip or a left knee or a right knee. In fact, the only thing left to me is my left hip.”
Elton’s new song ‘Who Believes In Angels?’ is set to be released 4 April.
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