Talking Old Soldiers
Talking Old Soldiers is a song by Elton John with lyrics by Bernie Taupin. It was released on John's third studio album, Tumbleweed Connection in 1970.
| "Talking Old Soldiers" | |
|---|---|
| Song by Elton John | |
| from the album Tumbleweed Connection | |
| Released | October 30, 1970 (UK) April 1, 1971 (US) |
| Recorded | March 1970 |
| Studio | Trident, London |
| Genre | Piano rock, soft rock |
| Length | 4:06 |
| Label | |
| Songwriter(s) | Elton John & Bernie Taupin |
| Producer(s) | Gus Dudgeon |
Lyrics and meaning
The song tells the story of chance meeting of a young man and an old man inside a bar. The old man describes his loneliness and his former comrades "who've passed away". It is implied—"I've seen enough to make a man go out his brains"—that the old man has PTSD. The old man also thanks the young man for listening; no one else in the bar would.
In a Rolling Stone interview, John said that it "was a very David Ackles-influenced song."[1] The album was dedicated "with love to David."
Other performances
John performed the song live in many of his solo concerts notably the performance of this song at House of Blues in New Orleans in 1997 for VH-1 Storytellers. VH-1 broadcast the performance.
The song was covered by Bettye LaVette in 2007 on her album The Scene of the Crime.[2]
References
- Herbst, Peter (15 September 1989). Rolling Stone Interview. Rolling Stone Press. ISBN 9780312034863. Retrieved 28 April 2015.
- ""Talking Old Soldiers" from the Scene of the Crime by Bettye LaVette". anti.com. ANTI-. Retrieved 28 April 2015.
