I remember reading an interview with EJ’s lyricist, Bernie Taupin, where he commented that the meaning of Daniel - how he got injured, why the narrator is missing him, etc. - was all revealed in the missing third verse, which was cut to keep the length single-friendly.
I Googled to try to both find the interview I read and to find the missing verse and was unsuccessful. Anyone know about this - how about what the missing verse is and what it reveals?
Thanks!
(I also tried an SDMB search and the think locked up - sorry if this has been addressed already)
Elton often had to rearrange Bernie’s words, and often dropped complete stanzas. He (Elton) complained to Bernie repeatedly that music has timing and meter, and that his lyrics can’t be just free-form verse. But Elton can’t write a lyric to save his life, and often finds himself stuck with what Bernie gives him because the rest of the song is so good. That accounts for some of the rather bizarre phrasing that you find in some songs, like the 32nd note double triple in “Hollywoodcreateda super star, and fame was the price you paid.”
Hmm… In retrospect, my post above might have made it sound like Elton doesn’t like Bernie, or just puts up with him out of necessity. Nothing could be further from the truth. He’s had a crush on Bernie from the time they were young and struggling. (They lived together in Elton’s mum’s flat.) He adores Bernie, and considers him to be a great lyricist and poet. It’s just that one little thing about the meter.