Caleb Ramos

English 1201

Professor Workman

2/8/2020

Comparison of Elton John’s and Ewan McGregor’s “Your Song”

The two different renditions by Elton John’s and Ewan McGregor’s “Your Song” were

written at two different times for two different purposes, and yet remain constant in the message

given and its appeal to the audience. The original version was written by a 17 year old by the

name, Bernie Taupin, in 1967. Elton John, who was also 17, collaborated with the young

songwriter and officially published the song in 1970. A few decades later, Ewan McGregor’s

version was released for the musical Moulin Rouge, in 2001. In the film, the main character

Christian, played by Ewan McGregor, sings “Your Song” to Satine, his romantic interest.

The original version was described by Elton John as “childish and naive” in an interview

with Music Connection magazine in the late 1980s. He later stated that the lyrics were exactly

how he was feeling when he was a 17-year-old kid whose encounter with love was both new and

naïve. No one knows whom the song was written for, Taupin wouldn’t say, but the childish

lyrics give insight on what a young mind thinks about love. It’s new, impulsive, and so real. For

this reason, the song was very popular. It allowed people who have felt love, connect with lyrics

that resembled their inclined thought processes on life and romance.

The version sung in the musical, Moulin Rouge, has a more classical feel, one that would

fit well inside a musical film and it plays an intricate part in the story told. The film stars Ewan

McGregor and Nicole Kidman. Kidman’s character, Satine, is a prized courtesan of the Moulin

Rouge who believes McGregor’s character is a rich man who can make her dreams come true if
she plays her cards right. In reality, he is an innocent and poor poet who is head over heels for

Sartine and will recite any bit of romantic literature in order to win over her heart. This piece of

love literature just so happens to be Elton John’s “Your Song”. McGregor sings the song in a

different sequence of verses than the original, but the story “Your Song” tells only adds to the

emotion of the scene. It was a perfect choice for the film. The song emphasizes the feelings of

McGregor’s character, who has fallen for a girl who at the start never actually liked him. You

can see and feel the desperate cry for love.

Though these two renditions are different in many ways, they appeal to the audience very

similarly. Both versions emphasize and highlight desperate and young love. Clues of a 17 year

old mind litter the lyrics and verses of the song, entertaining the desires of many to feel that kind

of way. And as with any romantic musical, the film attempts to create a desire in the audience to

experience and feel the same way McGregor’s character does, lost and blinded by love. Though

many fear it, all the more desire it. It is ingrained in our human nature; the desire to feel loved

and to be in love. These two versions simply pluck at the heart strings of unaware people,

cultivating the desire for love. Planting seeds that take root in the depths of the human heart. The

audience may not even be aware of this happening, but the process certainly transpires. There is

a reason why the original song was so popular and remains to be. And there is a reason why

Moulin Rouge ranks 53rd in greatest films since the 2000s.

These two versions, yet different in time, style, and presentation offer the same

perspective of love. They were published almost 30 years apart and yet still remain cohesive to

their times, and arguably even now as well. They are designated to relate to people and their life

situations. The innate desire to love is written in everyone’s heart. People want to feel it and live

it. When forced, it blinds us, breaks us down, discourages us, and leaves us hopeless and
heartbroken. But when found true, it’s beautiful. Our desire to force beauty is what creates the

identity of young love. The song sings it, the musical shows it. Although it worked out in the end

for Ewan and Elton, real life, and most of the time, real love doesn’t play out like that, but that

doesn’t stop “Your Song” from making us think otherwise.

Work Cited:

“Elton John - Your Song (1970 Original Video) (HD 720p).” YouTube, YouTube, 30 Mar. 2016,

www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrznwpD-2tk.
“Ewan McGregor Your Song with Lyrics from Moulin Rouge.” YouTube, YouTube, 27 June

2014, www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkxj-FBEH1w.

Eames, Tom. “The Story of... 'Your Song' by Elton John.” Smoothradio, Smoothradio, 15 Nov.

2018, www.smoothradio.com/features/the-story-of/your-song-elton-john-lyrics-meaning-facts/.

Shelton, Jessica. “Meaning of ‘Your Song’ by Elton John.” Song Meanings and Facts, 15 July

2018, www.songmeaningsandfacts.com/meaning-of-your-song-by-elton-john/.