Shininger 1

David Shininger

Dean Leonard

Eng 1201.540

16 February 2020

Your Song

In 1970, Elton John released his hit track, “Your Song.” With simplistic but meaningful

lyrics, the song became very well-known. The song portrayed a man who was expressing his

deep feelings of love toward a significant other, emphasizing the importance of them in John's

life. Since then, the song has yet to lose its popularity, as many different versions and remixes

have been produced. In fact, in 2001 John’s song was used in the movie Moulin Rouge. This

remix by Ewan McGregor highlighted Elton John’s same message of “How wonderful life is

while you're in the world,” but executed the song in a different manner. Ewan McGregor’s

version of “Your Song” shares a similar overall theme as Elton John’s original but differs in its

intended audience and visuals.

Like most of Elton John’s songs, the lyrics were written by Bernie Taupin. Since John

was not the best at writing lyrics and Taupin could not write melodies, they made the perfect

duo. When “Your Song” was created in 1967, Taupin was only seventeen years old. This

explains why the lyrics were perceived as naive and childish in certain contexts. Despite the

superficial lyrics, the song showed what teenagers experience and feel during years of change.

Love is a common theme in adolescence and carries with people throughout their entire life. This

made the song relatable to all audiences, as everyone has experienced love at some point in time.

With that being said, it is obvious why “Your Song” was recreated in the movie Moulin Rouge.
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Featuring Ewan McGregor, a man who has fallen in love with Nicole Kidman, this remix song

exemplified what it meant to have someone special in your life.

While the lyrics for both songs are the same, the music video's overarching message is

intended for different people with different lifestyles. Elton John begins the music video walking

around the woods singing the lyrics, “It's a little bit funny this feeling inside. I'm not one of those

who can easily hide. I don't have much money but boy if I did I'd buy a big house where we both

could live.” These opening lyrics show how although John does not have a lot to give, the love

he has for this person is very strong. Furthermore, John is describing how this song is intended

for them, for this is their gift. These lyrics signify that John wishes he had the money for certain

luxuries, but instead made a song to express his feelings. In contrast, the Ewan McGregor

version starts in a luxurious room with McGregor in a suit, singing to Nicole Kidman in a

glamorous red dress. The man starts by singing, “My gift is my song. And this one's for you.

And you can tell everybody this is your song.” Although these lyrics overlap in both songs,

McGregor purposely did not include the first verses of the song that John did. He specifically left

out the part of not having enough money because the video portrays him as wealthy. Instead, he

wrote this song because it would be more meaningful to sing to Kidman, expressing his love for

her.

The two music video’s visuals differ drastically, as McGregor’s version is more eventful

and John’s is more simple. In McGregor's version, the couple is initially in a nicely decorated

room, featuring a variety of delicate furniture. The video then transfers outside, where McGregor

and Kidman fly onto the rooftop of a brightly lit city and their bodies enlarge. While this is going

on, the tempo of the song picks up and background singers begin to hum along. This gives the

song a contemporary feeling of love and really brings to life McGregor’s genuineness towards
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Kidman. These different types of visuals attract the younger generation, especially because this

version is more upbeat. John’s version is more simplistic because it solely features him walking

around the woods, singing “Your Song”. The entire video is one shot, with no other visuals than

John singing the song through a microphone. Although there are some people seen walking in

the background, they have no significance to the video. The woods was a unique place to shoot

the video because it could have been in relation to the significant other, if this was their first date.

Although the song can be related to by almost anyone, the original version is much slower. With

that being said, this version would appeal more to the older crowd.

Both of these songs utilize pathos to evoke a feeling of sincerity and intimacy among the

audience. In McGregor’s version, McGregor is seen singing the lyrics face-to-face with Kidman.

For example, when McGregor sings “While I wrote this song, it's for people like you that keep it

turned on” you can see Kidman smiling and becoming intrigued by McGregor’s words of

endearment. While this is happening, the viewer can see the positive emotions felt by both the

man and the woman. This causes an emotional response among the audience because they can

visually see how happy they are together. In a similar manner, John’s version appeals to pathos

especially when he sings “It may be quite simple but now that it's done.” While singing this part,

he has a subtle smile and a serious look on his face, making it apparent this is coming from his

heart. This appeals to the audience’s emotions because it is evident he is being honest and it

catches their attention.

Both versions of “Your Song” share a similar theme of expressing love but portray this

message differently through their targeted viewers and music videos. McGregor was able to take

John’s original hit and add his own variation by adding a more upbeat rhythm and visually

appealing video. While John’s music video was not as eventful as McGregor’s, his individuality
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enhanced the fact that this song was intended for someone special. Whether one listens to Elton

John’s version or Ewan McGregor’s, there are a variety of different aspects to enjoy. With the

introduction of different versions, “Your Song” has continued to grow in popularity, as anyone

can relate to the heart felt lyrics of this moving track.

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Works Cited

John, Elton. Your song. YouTube, 30 March 2016, https://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=CrznwpD-2tk. Accessed 6 Feb. 2020.

McGregor, Ewan. Your song. YouTube, 27 June 2014, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkxj-

FBEH1w. Accessed 6 Feb. 2020.