"Your Song" by Elton John and Bernie Taupin (cover)

[Glennwillow]

"Your Song" showed up on the air waves in October 1970, pretty much 50 years ago. I don't know if this was Elton John's first hit, but it's the first song I remember from him. This is a song written for piano, so playing this on guitar requires playing a lot of piano-oriented chords, such as the first chord in the chorus, the Asus2 with the C# in the bass rather than the root A note. Also the descending bass line off the Bm chord in the chorus (Bm, Bm/A, Bm/G#) is typical of the piano. Being a lousy piano player, my only choice was the guitar. I finger picked this song to make the guitar sound as piano-like as possible.

The background behind me is of the Olympic National Park rain forest near Lake Quinault not far from where I live. Bernie Taupin's image of kicking moss off the roof made me think of all the moss not just on the roofs around here but also in the rain forest.

The guitar is my Gerald Sheppard GA, Ave Maria, a beautiful guitar both visually and aurally.

I hope you like this -- thanks for listening!

- Glenn

[Brucebubs]

Great song and another superb cover Glenn.
Please don't make us wait 10 years for the follow up cover of Elton's 'Sixty Years On'.

[Glennwillow]

Originally Posted by Brucebubs

Great song and another superb cover Glenn.
Please don't make us wait 10 years for the follow up cover of Elton's 'Sixty Years On'.

Thank you Bruce!

I'm so pleased to know you are listening! Thanks very much for taking the time to comment here and provide support.

I didn't know Elton John's song, "Sixty Years On." I had to look it up. Funny... when you are young, 60 years old sounds pretty old.

I hope you and your wife are well Bruce!

- Glenn

[started with 1]

Another beautiful rendition. Vocals and guitar sound fantastic.

[Brucebubs]

Originally Posted by Glennwillow

Thank you Bruce!

I'm so pleased to know you are listening! Thanks very much for taking the time to comment here and provide support.

I didn't know Elton John's song, "Sixty Years On." I had to look it up. Funny... when you are young, 60 years old sounds pretty old.

I hope you and your wife are well Bruce!

- Glenn

The song '60 Years On' appears on the same 1970 self titled 'Elton John' album that also features 'Your Song'.



There are some great tracks on that early album but there was a murmur at the time that the heavy orchestration would make these songs difficult to play live.
I think I read somewhere that Elton silenced those critics by releasing a live album simply titled '17-11-70' featuring Elton accompanied by just drums and bass.
His live solo piano version of '60 Years On' is that album highlight and quite stunning.

Funny that I didn't really like anything he did after this 1970 album until 'Blue Moves' in 1976.

[Glennwillow]

Originally Posted by started with 1

Another beautiful rendition. Vocals and guitar sound fantastic.

Hi Started!

Thank you so much for taking the time to comment! I am so pleased that you appreciate the end result here! This song took a little practice to sing well; there are a lot of jumps, long notes, lots of space between the phrases. Elton John sang this, I believe, in the key of D. I put a capo on the first fret, so I am really playing this in Eb, a half tone higher than where Elton John sang this. I had an easier time with it pitched slightly higher keeping the song from going flat.

I appreciate your listening! Thanks so much!

- Glenn

[Glennwillow]

Originally Posted by Brucebubs

The song '60 Years On' appears on the same 1970 self titled 'Elton John' album that also features 'Your Song'.



There are some great tracks on that early album but there was a murmur at the time that the heavy orchestration would make these songs difficult to play live.
I think I read somewhere that Elton silenced those critics by releasing a live album simply titled '17-11-70' featuring Elton accompanied by just drums and bass.
His live solo piano version of '60 Years On' is that album highlight and quite stunning.

Funny that I didn't really like anything he did after this 1970 album until 'Blue Moves' in 1976.

Hi Bruce,

I found that I liked Elton John's earliest music, also. I never owned one of Elton John's albums, so my exposure to his music was off the FM radio. 1970 is the year my wife and I graduated from college and started working fulltime and when we got married. (We also celebrate 50 years of marriage this year. ) So, for whatever reason, Elton John's music from that period of my life is very vivid.

I'm so glad you got through the fires okay, Bruce.

- Glenn

[SalFromChatham]

Bravo! What a songwriting duo they were. I wore out Captain Fantastic and the brown Dirt Cowboy

and whatcha doing in them there woods? don't you know what bears do in the woods?

[Glennwillow]

Originally Posted by SalFromChatham

Bravo! What a songwriting duo they were. I wore out Captain Fantastic and the brown Dirt Cowboy

and whatcha doing in them there woods? don't you know what bears do in the woods?

Hi Sal!

Thank you for your comments! Elton John and Bernie Taupin were a great song writing team, for sure!

Yes, there are black bears in those woods. There are bears in very similar woods right behind my house, though the woods by my home are not virgin forests! Every once in a while a cougar comes out to look around, too! These are seriously deep woods! I really love the look of the woods in Olympic National Park because so much of the woods are virgin forest, this amazingly complex eco-system.

You take care, Sal! I'm doing great!

- Glenn

[rjathon]

Thank you very much Glenn your arrangement, singing, and playing is inspirational!

Russ

[Glennwillow]

Originally Posted by rjathon

Thank you very much Glenn your arrangement, singing, and playing is inspirational!

Russ

Thank you Russ!

How nice of you! Thanks so much! I'm so glad you appreciated my efforts on covering this great song! And thanks for taking the time to comment and let me know you appreciated my efforts!

I hope all is well for you!

- Glenn

[keith.rogers]

Well, that was great. I have to say you can really do those piano chords justice! Lovely playing and the simple(r) guitar + vocal is one of my favorites of yours I've listened to. Thanks.

[Glennwillow]

Originally Posted by keith.rogers

Well, that was great. I have to say you can really do those piano chords justice! Lovely playing and the simple(r) guitar + vocal is one of my favorites of yours I've listened to. Thanks.

Thank you Keith! I'm really pleased that you feel this came out okay.

I do think there are times when a more involved arrangement fits a song better, and there are times when simple guitar and voice is best. I thought "Your Song" worked best as a simple guitar and voice arrangement, very much like Elton John played this on a solo piano.

I really appreciate your listening and taking the time to comment Keith! Thank you very much!

- Glenn

[Rick Shepherd]

Hi Glen,

I may not often comment on your video posts, but I love listening to you and watching how you play. I particularly enjoyed this one, also noticing you are getting more visually creative. Very nice!

Rick

[MrEd]

Hi Glenn. Such a wonderful cover all around. I really appreciate your talents and "labor of love" you put into your videos. Great quality and so very enjoyable.

Thanks for sharing.

Mike