Razor Face

I really don't see why everyone assumes that every song by Elton John is about homosexuality. I mean come on, Elton didn't even write the lyrics and Bernie Topin was married to a woman.

I don't know what this song IS about, but for some reason it reminds me of a small town with a loveable hobo that everyone knows that comes in and out of the town in his travels and he's been gone for a while and is back now, getting on in his years.

when cd's first came out my dad bought mad man.when I was 19 he died. he was my best friend.I never got into elton while he was alive.I listened to my dads cd up to levon then shut it off. I didn't get why my dad dug him.one night I was so drunk I just let it play. Razor face will always be the coolest gift my dad gave me.I love elton and bernie. THANKS POP!

I think it's about a man who comes home from Viet Nam to his small town community and realizes that everyone has moved on. I don't think its about him being homosexual, but instead is told from the perspective of the last person left who actually cares about him. I could be totally wrong but that's what I think of when I listen to this

I totally agree with you rainbowDemon that,s exactly how i see this song,though hollywoodman,s observation about the song being sung from the perspective of the last person left etc.is neat.For myself i feel that whilst he,s an extemely lovable guy you might need to get rid of the wife for a couple of hours before you have him round to drink the booze and chew the fat.Its certainly not about homosexuality!.

I think it has multi levels. It can get air play because it seems to be about a loveable jazz musician who is homeless and the song has the popular "redneck" qualities that were popular with great music swelling. But I think it is about cocaine... because there is "though the looking glass" references ("Oh it must be hard for the likes of you to get by In a world that you just can't see through" ie mirror also "How does it feel that you cannot go home" which is also sort of a Dorothy reference) and when do cocaine you separate it with a razor! So when you look down in a mirror you have a razor face. Cocaine according to the song is the best thing apparently to an aging star because it gives you the ability to get up and get out. It makes you feel wonderful but when you get off you feel like Sh-t! Also the amazing grace thing is like he goes from being down in the dumps unable to walk to being like perhaps hit by 'god' like those :healers" changing a man who cannot walk to a man that can walk. He just needs a little snort and he is good. So then he needs to drink it off alla Elderberry wine when the high ends.I always thought it was about an aging homosexual man who was a star not just because of Elton john's lifestyle choices. But I have to say "he needs a young man to walk him around" and "You cannot go home"is probably what makes people think that...It could or could not mean that the aging star is homosexual. And If you ever kissed a man who has not shaved in a while it is like being kissed with small razors... He is hanging on by having young men around him but I do not think it is necesarrily about the act. In fact the song gives the idea that if it is about an aging homosexual man that he is not having sex and has young people around him because he has drugs and alcohol. He is saying that cocaine is his lover that protects him from realities and keeps him safe. But when the cocaine wears off he does not know why he loves cocaine because he is in hell and his realities flood back in...Constantly between two worlds like Alice where he is either too high or too low. He is between different parts of the looking glass...A lot of his songs appear to be about over indulging in booze and drugs...

What if Razorface is a homeless dog?

• He wanders around, comes back from time to time, looking for a place to get comfortable and rest;
• is getting old, maybe blind now;
• his 'people' disappeared and left him so he can't go home (happens more than you'd think);
• doesn't understand the world of people but lives in cities ('must be hard for the likes of you to get by in a world that you just can't see through);
• Maybe an 'aging star' knows of him and sings about him.

Just a thought

First, it shouldn't matter if Razor Face was about a gay relationship, but I agree with the general sentiment that just because a song is by Elton John it doesn't have to be about being gay, no more than a song written by a mother has to be about kids. No need for stereotypes.

I am of Elton's generation. I wore out "Madman Across the Water" when the album came out. Unlike young people today who do not have to deeply ponder the meaning of "We Will Never Ever Ever Ever Ever Ever Ever Ever Get Back Together," our generation had the opportunity to be literally overwhelmed by many, many good ballads with poetic depth. And we spent a lot of time pondering the meaning of those songs.

I've always imagined the song scenario as a younger man entering a neighborhood tavern asking if anyone has seen ol' Razor Face -- "heard he's back in town -- good Lord, he must be getting up in age, he needs a place to stay and a young man to help him out." I've always imagined Razor Face as a drifter -- not likely a Vietnam Vet, because most Vietnam vets were young men at the time this song came out.

"Razor Face" is the sort of name an old blues musician might have. Professor Longhair, at least in his later years, was essentially homeless, and he used to sleep on my husband's buddy's couch. So I've always pictured the young man, represented by Elton John, as someone who looks up to Razor Face as a mentor, and who's heard he is back in town and needs a place to stay.

"There's a bottle of booze in the back of my car" is likely a reference to the days when DUI laws didn't allow a driver to have an open container "within reach," so people would often keep their whiskey bottle in the back seat. I imagine the young man wanting to go driving around with Razor Face, re-living old times and passing a paper-bag-wrapped bottle back and forth. In the time when the album came out, the "truck stop inn" would not have been a convenient and clean Super 8 by the interstate ... it would have been a cheap and run-down place where an itinerant person could get a shower and a bed for the night.

"Amazing grace protects you like a glove" -- Razor Face, amazingly, has made it to the age he is with no home and little income, through nothing but, well, amazing grace and sheer luck. I would love Razor Face, too, if he were a real person and I knew him -- what stories he must have had to tell.

My guess would be that Razor Face is a fictional character and the situation is fictional but representative of countless old men with stories to tell, talent to share -- perhaps a piano riff or a blues lick to pass on to a younger generation -- and young men who admire them, however down on their luck they may be.

Hi! Hollywoodman, just a quick line from me-harmonee.I think that your(like mine and RainowDemons) interpretation of this song is actually more or less the same thing.It probably works in many different ways for many different folks with the one common thread that it is entirely NOTHING whatsoever to do with homosexuality!.

Yea, I agree with both of you guys, both good interpretations ^_^

I have always felt that "Razor Face" was an old jazz musician nickname.

"Heard he's back, lookin' for a place, to lay down" A reference to being notable, yet poor. Relying on friends for shelter.

"Must be getting on." He's not young

"Needs a man who's young to walk him round" He's old & needs help to walk around.

"Oh it must be hard for the likes of you" It really sucks being an aging musician without money.

I feel that the song is about a bond of friendship between performers of different ages, not about sodomy, but every ear hears a song a little differently.

Krotch Hamilton