I saw Elton John in concert in Singapore last week. And he was a real trouper. He sang 30 songs from his vast repertoire before the audience let him go. (I try to imagine myself preaching 2 1/2 hours non-stop!) It was a special treat for me. I first heard his music in my late teens. With the help of his main lyricist, Bernie Taupin, he helped give words and music to the roller coaster feelings of young love.
YOUR SONG continues to be one of my all time favourites. Elton also warned me about women:
“there are women, women, some hold you tight, while some leave you counting the stars in the night…” COME DOWN IN TIME
His concert songs included some of his new stuff, but clearly the people were there to hear the classics. Perhaps its just me, but I think his most powerful songs are his sad songs and his love songs.
DANIEL, ROCKET MAN, CANDLE IN THE WIND, TALKING OLD SOLDIERS…they captured so well the pathos undertones of human existence. And always the cry for love:
“What do I have to do to make you love me…”
SORRY SEEMS TO BE THE HARDEST WORD,
I WANT LOVE, etc
A number of kind folks “warned” me that I was going to be watching a gay performer. But hey, isn’t homosexuality a form of “looking for love in all the wrong places…”? And weren’t we all looking for love in all the wrong places till Jesus found us?
Elton, you’ll probably never read this, but I want to thank you for contributing some key songs to the sound-track of my life. And I pray that one day, before your candle burns out, you will come to know the God who loves you, the God who is love (1 John 4:8b).