This is a series of posts about the music I play while writing. This time we’re up to Tiny Dancer. A song by Elton John, it’s one of his best songs of all times and now considered a classic. Originally released in 1971 on John’s album Madman Across the Water, it clocked in at just over six minutes long. The song didn’t get much air play due to the length and the record label declined to release it as a single. It did manage to reach number 41 on the pop charts, but it didn’t do well during the 70’s. John would sing it at live performances and as FM radio stations became more popular in the late 70’s the song did start to get more airplay.
The song got a boost in popularity in 2000 when it was featured in the movie Almost Famous. It was certified gold in 2005, platinum in 2011, and triple platinum in 2018. Rolling Stone magazine ranked it 397 on their list of the 500 greatest songs of all times. A music video for Tiny Dancer was released in 2017, which is where a lot of the younger generation encounter this song. It’s a great video and just fits the song perfectly. Here’s a link to that video on YouTube:
The music for Tiny Dancer was written by Elton John with Bernie Taupin writing the lyrics. This is one the great partnerships in music history. Taupin wrote most of the lyrics for Elton John songs including Rock Man and Candle in the Wind. Their working style was for Taupin to write lyrics and send them to John who then set them to music. They are described as working mostly independently of each other with Taupin rarely at the recording sessions. Whatever they did, it worked and together they created some great music.
Tiny Dancer is said to be inspired by Taupin’s First wife, Maxine Fibelman after they first moved to Southern California. Taupin later said that he was also thinking of Southern California women in general as was trying to capture their free spirit.
It’s the lyrics and story behind those that draws me into this song. The imagery is perfect and paints a clear picture of a free spirited woman who just seems to float from thing to thing effortlessly. Just take the first two lines:
“Blue jean baby, L.A. lady, seamstress for the band / Pretty eyed, pirate smile, you’ll marry a music man.”
Here we have a picture of a women who dresses casually, has a skill, is mischievous with a pirate smile – the things we can imagine a music man would want. Remember that this is written from a male perspective — we aren’t really told what the L.A. lady wants or feels. Still we get a reasonable idea of who this woman is.
John’s music is amazing as it build from a simple piano melody into a more complex progression. He just builds the intensity of feeling as he moves to a few repeats of the chorus. All of his musical skills are here. This has to be one of my favorite Elton John songs. I will say that I’m not a big fan of his, but he does have a few gems.
This song ends up on my playlist because of the lyrics and the story it tells. It’s not just a song about a feeling, but also about a person, a relationship and a place. In the music I can see where these people might be and can picture what they are doing. It’s one of those songs that gets me thinking about story telling and the power of poetry to build a picture in your mind. It never fails to put me into a contemplative space.
