BERNE TAUPIN: A Gifted Lyricist

Anyone who has followed Bernie Taupin’s career for the past 25 years knows he is a gifted lyricist. The man who writes the words for Elton John is a lot like his musical collaborator, yet the two are very different. For millions of ardent fans worldwide, Bernie Taupin is every bit the living rock legend as his renowned songwriting partner.Anyone who has followed Bernie Taupin’s career for the past 25 years knows he is a gifted lyricist. The man who writes the words for Elton John is a lot like his musical collaborator, yet the two are very different. For millions of ardent fans worldwide, Bernie Taupin is every bit the living rock legend as his renowned songwriting partner.

Together, the John/Taupin team have co-written some of the most memorable hits in the history of pop/rock music. For anyone who’s ever owned a radio, such immortal songs as “Your Song,” “Daniel,” “Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me,” “I’m Still Standing,” and the countless others are etched into our hearts and have become a part of our lives.

At forty-six, Taupin now lives on a cattle/horse ranch, a far cry from the glamour of Beverly Hills he once knew. He waited years to simplify his life and music to create the kind of songs that had influenced him in childhood years: songs by Leadbelly, Woody Guthrie, and Marty Robbins to name a few. (Taupin credits Robbins’ “El Paso” as the song that sparked his interest in songwriting).

Over a year ago, the diminutive English-born lyricist/poet (now an American Citizen) joined forces with some longtime Los Angeles-based musician friends and formed the group Warm Dogs. Their country/roots-oriented debut CD Last Stand In Open Country (Discovery Records) hearkens back to Taupin’s early musical influences of country/folk/blues.

Aside from his prolific work with Elton John, Taupin has always maintained a strong interest in other songwriting projects. In fact, he was recently in Nashville looking into future co-writing possibilities.

AS: When did you first decide that you wanted to be a songwriter?

BT: I had always loved to write poetry. I never really thought of myself as a songwriter. I didn’t think about writing songs until I saw the famous ad in New Musical Express – the one that brought Elton and I together. I never thought I could make money writing songs. I just didn’t think it was possible. But it wasn’t until I met Elton that I decided to take writing seriously. As I’ve said before, I was really into Americana and the American West. One of the reasons why I wanted to write songs was hearing “El Paso” by Marty Robbins. When you write, you really have to go straight for the heart.

AS: What is your writing process?

BT: Many people write in many different ways. As most people know, the way Elton and I write is very different from the way anybody else does. We don’t sit down side by side. We work very quickly because we both enjoy writing. I write the lyrics and give them to Elton and he writes the music. Our best work comes when it’s straight out – fast. It’s simple. Don’t let anyone ever tell you it takes a long time to write a song, because it doesn’t. I don’t think you’ll find anybody more diverse than Elton and myself. We’ve written everything – country, blues, reggae – not just these pure pop sure. We’ve done it all.

AS: Just what inspires you to write these days?

BT: Oh, lots of different things. I’m inspired by titles mostly. I find titles to be very interesting. I find inspiration in everything I do. Inspiration is all around us. When I write, I use a guitar. I feel much better writing with a pencil and paper. I squall it all down and then throw it into the word processor and play around with it for a while. I think it’s important to always strive to find something interesting to write about. I’m pretty much drawn to the darker side of things. I’m under the ground at times. That’s where I find my ideas. To me, the dark side is much more interesting.

AS: What do you think are some of your best written songs?

BT: That’s such a hard question for me to answer because my feelings always change. My feelings sort of fluctuate with the mood I’m in. It’s hard to say. As a writer, there’s a barrier put in front of you. I would really have to sit down and think about all the albums we’ve done together. There’s so many songs. Well I think my favorites right now are “Sacrifice” and “The One.” You know “The One” is extremely personal to me. I like “Candle In The Wind” too. It’s sort of a great marriage of lyric and music. Sometimes when you hear the same songs so often, you tend to forget about them. You also get tired of hearing of them.

AS: You were recently in Nashville. Are you thinking of writing songs for country artists?

BT: Absolutely. I’ve always been a big fn of country music, but right now, I’m a bit side-tracked with The Farm Dogs. But I have managed to write a couple of songs recently. I met up with some great people like Rodney Crowell and Marty Stuart to name a few. We’re talking about doing some writing together. It was a very successful meeting. You know, Rodney has written some really great songs I wish I had written myself. He is definitely someone I’d love to do some writing with. We’ll have to see what happens.

AS: Now that you’re a Farm Dog, how does your songwriting differ from working with Elton?

BT: It was the first time I sat in a room and wrote a song with someone. It was really a great situation to be in – I mean to be able to create songs in a way I never did before.

AS: Such as?

BT: Well, my melodic ideas were allowed to come out. We would compose in the round. I had fifty percent of the lyrics written beforehand and had ideas of how I wanted them to sound musically, so we sat in a circle and worked out the music. I would put a lyric down and would say, “This is how I hear it.” I would start singing and the other guys immediately would pick it up. It was very exciting for me to work that way. The Farm Dogs songs are very personal to me. I’ve discovered that writing in the round is a great way to write songs.

AS: I know you’re not comfortable giving advice to aspiring songwriters, but what do you feel you can share with us?

BT: I don’t think I’m the best qualified person to give advice, but I’ve always believed that if you have the talent, it will work for you. If you don’t have it, you just don’t have it. If you are good at it, you’ll discover it for yourself.

AS: What you’re basically saying is the talent has to be there in the first place.

BT: Yes, you can not manufacture talent. Some people have a God-given talent and are able to write songs. That’s for the public to judge. Either the talent is there or it’s not. If you’ve got talent, it will pour out of you. There will be no stopping it. I do what I do in a very bizarre way and it works for me. I work on my own terms and rules. What works for me may not work for someone else.

AS: What about those aspiring songwriters who don’t know how to get started?

BT: If you have the goods and the talent, you will know how to get started. You will know what to do, and where to go. It’s the people that need to be told what to do, that probably don’t have the goods at all. It’s like this, some people can build a treehouse, and other people can’t even comprehend climbing a tree. I don’t want to be that person who might sort of crush people’s dreams or ideas of greatness or stardom. Everybody in this business has their opinions and I have mine. I wish everybody the best.

AS: Talk about your early songwriting days in England. Didn’t you and Elton work as a staff songwriters for Dick James Music?

BT: Yes, but I wouldn’t call it the Brill Building (laughs). Elton and I were signed as songwriters. We were getting paid a weekly minimum, and I do mean minimum, to write songs for other people.  We were like staff writers in a sense. We were pretty terrible at writing those kind of songs for artists like Tom Jones and Englebert Humperdinck. Back then, recording artists of that era really depended on songwriters. It’s different now.

AS: With the Farm Dogs CD, Last Stand In Open Country,  and the way you scaled down your life, has Bernie Taupin returned to his true roots?

BT: Yes I have. I always believed in simplifying one’s life. I was always talking about getting back to the country, and here I am. I grew up on a farm. I believe I’ve come full circle. The songs I write for myself are indicative to the lifestyle I led. I guess it took all this time to fulfill my dream of becoming a cowboy.