℗ 1969 Dick James Music Records DJLPS 403
Empty Sky is the first true solo album John recorded after leaving Bluesology; it also marked the beginning of his long and fruitful collaboration with lyricist Bernie Taupin. Empty Sky is quite indicative of the post-Sgt. Pepper era. With its ambitious arrangements and lyrics, it's clear that John and Taupin intended the album to be a major statement. Though it shows some signs of John's R&B roots, most of the album alternates between vaguely psychedelic rock and burgeoning pop songcraft, capped off by a bizarre reprise of brief moments of all of the songs on the record. There aren't any forgotten gems on Empty Sky, but it does suggest John's potential. |
(Bernie Taupin — Elton John)
I'm not a rat to be spat on locked up in this room Those bars that look towards the sun at night look towards the moon Everyday the swallows play in the clouds of love Make me wish that I had wings take me high above And I looked high and saw the empty sky If I could only, I could only fly I'd drift with them in endless space But no man flies from this place At night I lay upon my bench and stare towards the stars The cold night air comes creeping in and home seems oh so far If only I could swing upon those twinkling dots above I'd look down from the heavens upon the ones I love Hey the lucky locket hangs around your precious neck Some luck I ever got with you and I wouldn't like to bet That sooner or later you'll own just one half of this land By shining your eyes on the wealth of every man Just send up my love ain't seen nothing but tears Now I've got myself in this room for years I don't see no one, I never see anyone
(Bernie Taupin — Elton John)
The seadogs have all sailed their ships Into the docks of dawn While the sirens sit and comb their hair And twiddle with their thumbs Oh Thor above the mountain Look down upon your children This is their heaven where they're told To bring their galleons Seek you find your place with me Men of iron, men of steel Only the brave hear the hammers ring In the courts of the Queens, in the halls of the Kings You can come to Val-hala in your own time Come to Val-hala seek and you will find Val-hala Come to Val-hala in your own time Come to Val-hala seek and you will find Val-hala There's long boats in the harbor Which arrive there every hour With the souls of the heroes Whose blood lies on the flowers And this heaven is the home Of every man who loves his sword And he uses it for freedom To preach the word of Thor
(Bernie Taupin — Elton John)
It's hard to feel what's in your head Where the gas lamps grow And the garbage blows Around the paper stands And a baby cried And I saw a light And I wondered where And I wondered why There'd be a loss of life Down here tonight Down on Western Ford Gateway That's a place where the dead say That a man lives no more That his fair share of days Down on Western Ford Gateway It flowed upon the cobbled floor For the bottle's dead And they're drunk again By the tavern door
(Bernie Taupin — Elton John)
She chose the soft center And took it to bed with her mother And the ideal confusion Was just an illusion To gain further news of her brother And the comfort of mother Was just an appeal for protection For the cat from next door Was found later at four In surgical dissection And I don't want to be The son of any freak Who for a chocolate center Can take you off the street For soon they'll plough the desert And God knows where I'll be Collecting submarine numbers On the main street of the sea The Vicar is thicker And I just can't see through to him For his cardinal sings A collection of hymns And a collection of coins is made after And who wrote the Bible Was it Judas or Pilate Well one cleans his hands While the other one hangs But still I continue to stand