Elton John published his long-awaited autobiography, Me, today (October 15th). The book was co-written by Alexis Petridis, and covers all aspects of the 72-year-old rock legend’s life and career. Some of Elton’s more famous friends and fans submitted questions to The Guardian about Elton’s songs with Bernie Taupin, with none other than Bob Dylan posing a very specific question to the “Rocket Man.”
Dylan asked: “In the song ‘Tiny Dancer,’ did you work your way up to the cathartic chorus gradually, spontaneously, or did you have it thought out from the start?”
Elton answered, “This is a very good question. ‘Tiny Dancer’ has a really long lyric, a very cinematic, California-in-the-early-70s lyric, so it had two verses and a middle eight before it even gets to the chorus, and it lent itself to a long buildup. The middle eight sets it up well, then it slows down for a moment — ‘when I say softly, slowly… ‘ That line suggested a big chorus. I don’t remember much about writing it, but I do remember trying to make it sound as Californian as possible…”
