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 died in combat. It is implied—"I've seen enough to have 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] 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.[2]
References
- Herbst, Peter. 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.
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