As per the title.
It sounds like some kind of generalized rant against a lover, but the actual details of the lines seem rather vague and wide-ranging.
Is there a specific story behind this song?
I’ve always seen it as the story of a kept lover, by someone older, wealthier, more powerul… whatever. Sounds like it might have been inspired by Midnight Cowboy or similar story/events: country boy goes to the city, sees it as his big escape, but is no longer happy and wants to find a way back to simpler times.
They have a show on VH1 - “Classic Albums”. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road is one of the episodes. You should check it out. Interviews with Elton, Bernie, band members, engineers (I love when they fiddle with the original multitrack tapes to show how they did things), etc.
Anyway, from what I remember, the lyrics stemmed from Bernie Taupin basically being a farm boy (hence the farm imagery) who made it huge, then started pondering “Is this it?, How do I deal with this?” type questions.
Is the yellow brick road a reference to L. Frank Baum’s Wizard of Oz?
I always assumed so…the Yellow Brick Road is supposed to lead to somewhere fabulous and wonderful, but when disillusionment sets in and the Emerald City is not what you thought it would be…well, goodbye, yellow brick road! Gonna head back to the farm and get a real life.
I thought it was about Dick James, the music publisher who basically owned Elton and Bernie when they were starting out.