There’s a joke and I know it very well
It’s one of those that I told you long ago
Take my word I’m a madman, don’t you know
But is it in your conscience that you’re after
another glimpse of the madman across the water…
– Songwriters: Bernie Taupin / Elton John
– Performed by: Elton John
NO, WE’RE not talking about President Rodrigo Duterte. Far from it, although the usual suspects, the “devotees to the cult of the yellow ribbon”, “wokes” and the trendy social climbers, would like to think that we are.
But as I said, I’m not, so just be disappointed and wake up tomorrow morning with Duterte still the president.
If I must talk about a politician, then the closest would be that nincompoop Nonoy Aquino. But as far as I am concerned, he comes across as “The Lunatic is on the Grass” and that’s another song, another band and another story.
Madman Across the Water is about music, particularly the music of Elton John and it is his fourth studio album, released in 1971. The album contains nine tracks, each composed and performed by John and with lyrics written by songwriting partner Bernie Taupin.
The album was included in Robert Dimery’s 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. It comes after Tumbleweed Connection, Elton John’s third studio album. It was recorded at Trident Studios, London, England in March 1970, and released in October 1970 in the United Kingdom and January 1971 in the United States.
Madman Across the Water is a concept album based on country and western/Americana themes. All songs are written by John and Bernie Taupin, with the exception of “Love Song” by Lesley Duncan.
Now I’m sure that most people who are into music – and I mean real music, not the trash churned out by today’s so-called musicians – are quite aware that Elton John has recorded more and still is recording but these two ones I mentioned are the only ones I care about and probably the only ones when Elton John was still true to his roots as a progressive rock musician and not the flamboyant pop diva that he is more known today.
Anyway back to the music…the album’s title song was initially set to be released on Elton John’s previous album Tumbleweed Connection, however, it was set aside and was re-recorded for this album.
Dispelling rumors that the song’s lyric referred to then US President Richard Nixon, Bernie Taupin had this to say:
“Back in the ‘70s when people were saying that ‘Madman Across the Water’ was about Richard Nixon, I thought, that is genius. I could never have thought of that.”
From an AllMusic Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine:
Trading the cinematic aspirations of Tumbleweed Connection for a tentative stab at prog rock, Elton John and Bernie Taupin delivered another excellent collection of songs with Madman Across the Water. Like its two predecessors, Madman Across the Water is driven by the sweeping string arrangements of Paul Buckmaster, who gives the songs here a richly dark and haunting edge. And these are songs that benefit from grandiose treatments. With most songs clocking in around five minutes, the record feels like a major work, and in many ways it is. While it’s not as adventurous as Tumbleweed Connection, the overall quality of the record is very high, particularly on character sketches “Levon” and “Razor Face”, as well as the melodramatic “Tiny Dancer” and the paranoid title track. Madman Across the Water begins to fall apart toward the end, but the record remains an ambitious and rewarding work, and John never attained its darkly introspective atmosphere again.
And from www.songfacts.com/facts:
A very dark song with a Leon Russell influence, Bernie Taupin made up the story about a lunatic ranting on visiting day at the asylum. Predictably, it wasn’t chartworthy, but it did provide the album title as well as plenty of speculation that Elton was singing about United States president Richard Nixon. Taupin says that wasn’t the case, although he was quite amused by the interpretation. He says the lunatic in the song wasn’t based on anyone in particular.
Aside from the title track there’s another song in the album that I particularly like, “Tiny Dancer”. If you’re familiar with the film “Almost Famous”, this song is prominently featured in one of the movie’s scenes.
I ‘d like to think that Madman Across the Water is not about any particular politician but about Elton John himself. He is the “madman” as he struggles with his inner demons in his early years in the 1970s he was not the flamboyant pop diva that he is today. He was a straight-ahead rock and roll musician./PN
