Elderberry Wine (song)

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"Elderberry Wine"
Single by Elton John
from the album Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player
A-side"Crocodile Rock"
Released27 October 1972 (UK)
20 November 1972 (USA)
RecordedJune 1972,
Château d'Hérouville, France
GenreRock
Length3:34
LabelMCA (US)
DJM (UK)
Songwriter(s)Elton John, Bernie Taupin
Producer(s)Gus Dudgeon
Elton John singles chronology
"Honky Cat"
(1972) 		"Crocodile Rock" / "Elderberry Wine"
(1972) 		"Daniel"
(1973)

"Elderberry Wine" is a song written by English musician

Mae McKenna
.

Music and lyrics

"Elderberry Wine"'s music evokes nostalgia, and it has been described as a "retro rocker."

Honky Chateau.[1] Author Joseph Murrells suggests that the song has "a new rhythmic sound."[4]

The lyrics are told by a man whose wife has left him.

elderberry wine he used to enjoy with her.[1][3] Mason suggests that the lyrics are "tongue in cheek silliness," and he considers the couplet:[3]

You aimed to please me
Cooked black-eyed peas me

the worst of Taupin's career.

All the Girls Love Alice" to the fully mature "Love Lies Bleeding."[1]

Reception

Although never released as an A-side, "Elderberry Wine" was popular on

Allmusic critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine calls "Elderberry Wine" "as strong as anything John had recorded."[6] Allmusic's Mason comments on the song's ongoing popularity.[3] Elton John biographer David Buckley picks it out as a "strong cut."[7] Mary Anne Cassata describes it as an "overlooked gem."[2]

Other appearances

"Elderberry Wine" was released as the B-side of "Crocodile Rock" in October 1972, prior to its appearance on Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player.[1][8] John played it live during his 1973 tour, and was the show opener at John's performance at the Royal Command Performance Variety Show on 7 September 1973, as well as his Madison Square Garden concert that same year.[1][5][7][9] Subsequent to its initial release on Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player, "Elderberry Wine" was released on several Elton John compilation albums, including Candle in the Wind in the UK 1978 and Your Songs in the US in 1986.[1][3] An extended live jam of the song is a highlight in the much-bootlegged Christmas 1973 BBC performance from Hammersmith Odeon (released officially in 2014 as part of the 40th anniversary version of the Goodbye Yellow Brick Road album).

Mae McKenna recorded a cover version of "Elderberry Wine" on her self-titled album in 1975.[5][10][11]

References

  1. ^
    ISBN 9780823088935
    .
  2. ^
    ISBN 9780806523224
    .
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Mason, S. "Elderberry Wine". AllMusic. Retrieved 12 March 2012.
  4. ISBN 9780713438437
    .
  5. ^
    ISBN 9780275956981
    .
  6. ^ Erlewine, S.T. "Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player". AllMusic. Retrieved 12 March 2012.
  7. ^
    ISBN 9781556527135
    .
  8. ISBN 9780671797294
    .
  9. ^ Sutherland, S. (13 October 1973). "Talent in Action". Billboard. p. 16. Retrieved 12 March 2012.
  10. ^ "Mae McKenna". AllMusic. Retrieved 13 March 2012.
  11. ^ "Mae McKenna". Discogs. Retrieved 23 March 2012.
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