Talking Old Soldiers
| "Talking Old Soldiers" | |
|---|---|
| Song by Elton John from the album Tumbleweed Connection | |
| Released |
30 October 1970 (UK) 4 January 1971 (US) |
| Recorded | March 1970 |
| Genre | Piano Rock, soft rock |
| Length | 4:06 |
| Label | DJM |
| Writer(s) | Elton John, Bernie Taupin |
| Producer(s) | Gus Dudgeon |
"Talking Old Soldiers" is a song by Elton John with lyrics by Bernie Taupin. It is the ninth track (fourth track on side two) of his third studio album, Tumbleweed Connection.
Orchestral arrangements were by Paul Buckmaster.[1]
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 died in combat. It is implied—"I've seen enough to have a man blow 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." [2] In fact, the album itself is dedicated "with love to David."
Other performances
John performed the song live at the House of Blues in New Orleans in 1997. VH-1 broadcast the performance.
The song was covered by Bettye LaVette in 2007 on her album The Scene of the Crime.[3]
References
- ↑ John, Elton. The Official Site of Elton John. eltonjohn.com http://www.eltonjohn.com/discography/tumbleweed-connection/?l=grid. Retrieved 28 April 2015. Missing or empty
|title=(help) - ↑ Herbst, Peter. "Rolling Stone Interview". https://books.googles.com. Rolling Stone Press. Retrieved 28 April 2015. External link in
|website=(help) - ↑ ""Talking Old Soldiers" from the Scene of the Crime by Bettye LaVette". anti.com. ANTI-. Retrieved 28 April 2015.