Nicole Erickson

Professor Kathryn Sandy-Smith

English Composition II

October 31, 2020

“Your Song”

I hope you don’t mind that I put down words, how wonderful life is while you're in the

world,” are the written words that seventeen-year-old, Bernie Taupin, wrote with Elton John to

initiate their spot as songwriting legends. When asked about writing “Your Song,” they recalled

that they wrote it in 1970, upon a grubby piece of paper, on Elton’s mother's kitchen table.

Bernie handed him the words with coffee stains all over it and Elton incorporated the music in

twenty minutes. It was one of those moments where they both knew they had a hit. The lyrics

are iconic enough that artists from Ellie Goulding to Lady Gaga have remade the song to

illustrate the naive and optimistic message of love that can withstand the test of time. The

appeal of the song inspired Baz Luhrmann to use it as a focal point, sung by Ewan Mcgregor, in

his romantic musical, Moulin Rouge! Ewan McGregor's version of "Your Song" is a reimagined

version of Elton John's original version that personifies the romantic wording Elton was trying to

illustrate in a larger than life version while still catering to all the hopeless romantics in the world.

Elton John has performed the “Your Song” more than two thousand and thirty times over

the course of his long music career. It was even awarded UK’s favorite Elton John song. The

message behind the song mesmerizes. Elton was even asked to perform “Your Song” at Prince

Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding in 2018. Bernie Taupin says “it’s real. It’s not somebody

pretending to write a song that is simple and naive. It is a simple, naive song. And it still stands
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up.” When they wrote the song at seventeen, they had an optimistic look at love. “Your Song”

illustrates the happily ever after thought that a seventeen year old thinks love can be. Ewan

McGregor capitalizes on that romantic love aspect in his version but turns it into a huge

spectacle.

“Your Song” punctuates the climax in the movie Moulin Rouge! When Ewan Mcgregor

sings “Your Song” to Nicole Kidman, it can melt even the most cynical person's heart. A little

back story on the movie, Ewan McGregor plays a poor poet pretending to be an archduke full of

money infatuated by Nicole Kidman’s character. Nicole Kidman plays the headlining showgirl in

1890s Paris, France. She believes that MsGregor can make her rich and save her. Her

attraction to him is completely superficial and calculated. “Your Song” is a turning point in their

relationship where both of their feelings turn into actual love.

Ewan McGregor starts by singing the song accapella as a poem to his potential love.

She is laying on the bed mesmerized by the words he is saying. Slowly, the music comes in and

starts to crescendo. As the music builds, so does their love simultaneously as a symbolism and

parallel to the music. There is a choir in the background and even an epic opera sounding voice

singing backup to Ewan McGregor’s ballad. The couple is overwhelmed with love and goes out

on the rooftop and dances under the stars and the moon displaying one of the most romantic

moments in cinematic history. The whole entire scene is extravagant and used to show a larger

than life appeal, whereas Elton John’s version is simplified.

Elton’s whole idea behind the song was to keep it sweet and simple. The lyrics speak

out for themselves in Elton’s version. The video’s concept is simple. They went to a park and
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Elton just sang the song in one take. The video was created in a sepia view without dancers or

anything else. The concept wanted to allow the music to speak for itself without a misleading

message from other distractions. The simplicity allowed the viewer to imagine anybody as the

subject of the song. The video is just a clean but intimate interpretation of the classic song, even

though Elton nor Bernie have either admitted who the song is about. The simple video is just

Elton singing to whoever that special person is. The love interest does not have to be only

romantic. The possibility for each individual’s interpretation is endless when Elton used simple

visuals. As long as there are people in the world, the deep optimistic love “Your Song” displays

will always stay evident with both versions.

Ewan Mcgregor’s version aims for a musical enthusiast. The target audience is most

likely someone over the age of sixteen because Moulin Rouge! is raunchier than other

wholesome classic musicals like The Sound of Music or The Wizard of Oz. The “showgirls” are

essentially prostitutes from the 1890s. The target audience has to be someone who is not easily

offended by sex and rock and roll. The musical is based in the 1890s but all the music is

modern. Ewan McGregor appeals to the hopeless romantic as well by the use of pathos. Having

the two characters clearly fall in real love together during this song illustrates that, whereas

Elton John’s version hits a wider audience.

Even though Elton John’s version uses pathos to cater to the hopeless romantic as well,

the target audience reaches to a wider range. The song is for anyone that is in young

love.There is a wider target audience since Elton’s version is much more simplified. That does

not mean it is not as grand and epic. It is just that Elton likes to make the music speak for itself.
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When you are listening to it, you feel like you and whoever your subject of love are the only two

people in the world. Keeping the visuals simple allows a broader interpretation for the consumer

to imagine anyone. This continues Elton’s hopes of hitting a wider audience.

Both versions of “Your Song” illustrate that a beautiful love song does not have to be

over thought out. Sometimes the simplest of words express more because the pure love

illustrated in “Your Song” is simple. The power comes from behind the intent of the words.

It's a little bit funny, this feelin' 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.

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Works Cited:

Edwards, Briony. “Your Song by Elton John: The Story behind the Song.” Classic Rock

Magazine, Louder, 29 May 2019, www.loudersound.com/features/your-song-by-elton-

john-the-story-behind-the-song.

Joseph, Chan.”Ewan McGregor Your Song with Lyrics from Moulin Rouge” Youtube. 27

June 2014, https://youtu.be/jkxj-FBEH1w.

NVNCBL. “Elton John - Your Song (1970 Original Video).” Youtube. 30 March 2016,

https://youtu.be/CrznwpD-2tk.

O'Keefe, Meghan. “'Moulin Rouge!': Ewan McGregor's ‘Your Song’ Is The Most Romantic

Moment In Cinematic History!” Decider, Decider, 30 Aug. 2018,

decider.com/2018/08/29/moulin-rouge-your-song/.