In regards to the meaning of this song:
Before a live performance on the EP Five Stories Falling, Geoff states “It’s about the last time I went to visit my grandmother in Columbus, and I saw that she was dying and it was the last time I was going to see her. It is about realizing how young you are, but how quickly you can go.”
That’s the thing about Geoff and his sublime poetry, you think it’s about one thing, but really it’s about something entirely different. But the lyrics are still universal and omnipresent, ubiquitous, even. So relatable. That’s one thing I love about this band. I also love their live performances, raw energy and Geoff’s beautiful, imperfectly perfect vocals. His voice soothes my aching soul.
Goodbye, Norma Jeane
Though I never knew you at all
You had the grace to hold yourself
While those around you crawled
They crawled out of the woodwork
And they whispered into your brain
They set you on the treadmill
And they made you change your name
And it seems to me you lived your life
Like a candle in the wind
Never knowing who to cling to
When the rain set in
And I would've liked to known you
But I was just a kid
Your candle burned out long before
Your legend ever did
Loneliness was tough
The toughest role you ever played
Hollywood created a superstar
And pain was the price you paid
Even when you died
Oh, the press still hounded you
All the papers had to say
Was that Marilyn was found in the nude
And it seems to me you lived your life
Like a candle in the wind
Never knowing who to cling to
When the rain set in
And I would've liked to known you
But I was just a kid
Your candle burned out long before
Your legend ever did
Goodbye, Norma Jeane
Though I never knew you at all
You had the grace to hold yourself
While those around you crawled
Goodbye, Norma Jeane
From the young man in the twenty second row
Who sees you as something more than sexual
More than just our Marilyn Monroe
And it seems to me you lived your life
Like a candle in the wind
Never knowing who to cling to
When the rain set in
And I would've liked to known you
But I was just a kid
Your candle burned out long before
Your legend ever did
Your candle burned out long before
Your legend ever did
Though I never knew you at all
You had the grace to hold yourself
While those around you crawled
They crawled out of the woodwork
And they whispered into your brain
They set you on the treadmill
And they made you change your name
And it seems to me you lived your life
Like a candle in the wind
Never knowing who to cling to
When the rain set in
And I would've liked to known you
But I was just a kid
Your candle burned out long before
Your legend ever did
Loneliness was tough
The toughest role you ever played
Hollywood created a superstar
And pain was the price you paid
Even when you died
Oh, the press still hounded you
All the papers had to say
Was that Marilyn was found in the nude
And it seems to me you lived your life
Like a candle in the wind
Never knowing who to cling to
When the rain set in
And I would've liked to known you
But I was just a kid
Your candle burned out long before
Your legend ever did
Goodbye, Norma Jeane
Though I never knew you at all
You had the grace to hold yourself
While those around you crawled
Goodbye, Norma Jeane
From the young man in the twenty second row
Who sees you as something more than sexual
More than just our Marilyn Monroe
And it seems to me you lived your life
Like a candle in the wind
Never knowing who to cling to
When the rain set in
And I would've liked to known you
But I was just a kid
Your candle burned out long before
Your legend ever did
Your candle burned out long before
Your legend ever did
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In "Candle in the Wind," Marilyn Monroe is not the focus of the song. The song is more about the pitfalls of life in the public eye. This song, as stated by Bernie Taupin, can be about any public figure who is tormented by the pressures and the standards that the press and fans make him or her life up to.
That was probably what Taupin said, or asserted, after Elton & he changed the song into a song about Princess Diana. I truly wonder if he would have said the same thing after the song's initial release. Sounds more like a rationalization to me.
I love this song (so beautiful!) and Marilyn Monroe. The lyrics should say "Norma Jeane" instead of "Norma Jean," though, since Marilyn's birth name was spelled with an E on the end of Jeane...
I think that while this definitely applies to Marilyn Monroe, Bernie Taupin is much more subtle than that. It can apply to anyone who was 'hounded by the press' or in other ways destroyed by their own fame, but that Marliyn was obviously in mind when the song was written. "your candle burned out long before your legend ever did" can be taken to mean that while her life ended very abruptly and tragically, she will endure as a legend for much longer than her life lasted. and that goes for other such legends as well.
The lyrics of the song are a sympathetic portrayal of the life of Marilyn Monroe (the song's opening line "Goodbye Norma Jean" refers to Monroe's real name).
Also
Taupin was inspired to write the song after hearing the phrase "candle in the wind" used in tribute to the late Janis Joplin.
i sort of prefer these lyrics to '97. These are more about empathy and maybe even grief, while the new version was just gushing and "oh yer so great."
The song doesn't necessarily imply that she committed suicide. And for every book out there that "demolishes" a theory, there is another book that does the same to the other theory. The only person who will ever know what truly happened to Norma Jeane is her (and, if she was killed, her killer).
It is a lovely song; as soon as I heard it I fell in love with it. It's amazing how Taupin and Elton John work together to produce such wonderful music. Taupin knows Elton's emotions, and puts them into words, while Elton will take his lyrics and put them to music and sing them.
Loneliness was tough The toughest role you ever played Hollywood created a superstar And pain was the price you paid Even when you died Oh the press still hounded you
Works Perfect for Michael Jackson too!
I was listening to this song on my ipod on the way back from work and I totally thought that too!!! I was thinking that rewriting this song for MJ would make lots of sense.... almost more sense than rewriting it for Princess Diana (that one felt too forced).
I agree, the reason I searched the meaning of this song is because it reminded me so much of Michael Jackson. Poor man <3
Did you say Whitney Houston?
I'm sure all of you know that this song is about Marilyn Monroe's life. It's about all of the difficult things she had to go through as an actress. The world made it hard for her to live, and she died because of it. "Your candle burned out long before your legend ever did" means that she just couldn't take it anymore and she died, but she will always be remembered.
why has only one person (2 now) postde a comment on this song? it's beautiful!
Your assumption is that if a song does not have many comments, people apparently don't find it a beautiful song" (or in other words: beautiful songs have many comments). I think this assumption is incorrect. This site is called 'songmeanings.com', not 'songbeauty.com', for a reason. People get here to find out about & discuss meanings of songs, particularly if there is something to be discovered or discussed that is interesting or ambiguous or mysterious or captivating or... you name it. <br /> <br /> The meaning of the song 'Candle in the wind' is pretty clear and self-explanatory. It is hard to miss what the song is about. This explains, to me at least, why not many people contribute to a discussion about its meaning.
The song is great, but contrary to popular belief, Marilyn Monroe did not commit suicide. Donald Wolfe's book "The Last Days of Marilyn Monroe" conclusively demolishes the suicide theory. It is on amazon.com, and if you are interested in Marilyn at all you owe it to yourself to read this book/