Elton John Quotes & Sayings

I suspected my homosexuality, but I'd never acted out on it because I was afraid of sex. It's awful to be afraid of sex. — Elton John

From the day we arrive on the planet
And blinking step into the sun
There's more to be seen than can ever be seen
More to do than can ever be done
Some say, eat or be eaten
Some say, live and let live
But, all are agreed as they join the stampede
You should never take more than you give
In the circle of life
It's the wheel of fortune
It's the leap of faith
It's the band of hope
Till we find our place
On the path unwinding
In the circle
The Circle of Life — Elton John

I rarely wear tennis shoes. I'm 5' 8', I hate being short. — Elton John

I knew about AIDS. My friends were dying right, left, and center. I did a record with Dionne Warwick, Stevie Wonder, and Gladys Knight. I did a couple of benefits. — Elton John

I'm a very wealthy man. — Elton John

It's like trying to drink whisky from a bottle of wine. — Elton John

Some men kneel and pray, I like women and I like wine. — Elton John

I think religion has always tried to turn hatred towards gay people. Religion promotes the hatred and spite against gays. But there are so many Christian people I know who are gay and love their religion. — Elton John

I've always been dead set against festivals - really suspicious and wary. — Elton John

Holy Moses, let us live in peace. Let us strive to find a way to make all hatred cease. There's a man over there, what's his colour I don't care, he's my brother, let us live in peace. — Elton John

I'm cold as a razor blade, inches from madness. — Elton John

I've never had a writer's block, but still I think: 'Is it going to happen this time?' You never know what you're going to get; you just put your fingers on the keys and hope. — Elton John

Daniel is traveling tonight on a plane. I can see the red tail lights heading for Spain and I can see Daniel waving goodbye. God it looks like Daniel, must be the clouds in my eyes. They say Spain is pretty though I've never been, well Daniel says it's the best place that he's ever seen. And he should know, he's been there enough. Lord I miss Daniel, oh I miss him so much. — Elton John

So excuse me forgetting, but these things I do
You see I've forgotten, if they're green or they're blue
Anyway, the thing is, what I really mean
Yours are the sweetest eyes, I've ever seen. — Elton John

I'm so proud to be on a Kate Bush record; she's always marched to the beat of her own drum. — Elton John

And I agreed with that, and I couldn't wait to change my name anyway, because I'm not too fond of the name of Reginald. It's a very kind of '50s English name. — Elton John

Loneliness was tough, the toughest role you ever played. Hollywood created a superstar, and pain was the price you paid. — Elton John

The AIDS disease is caused by a virus, but the AIDS epidemic is not. The AIDS epidemic is fueled by stigma, by hate, by misinformation, by ignorance, by indifference. Science has accomplished miracles over the past 20 years, and science can now end this disease - but it cannot end the epidemic. We need more than medicine. We can do something about these things. We need to speak out about the changes we need to make in our society. — Elton John

It turned out so well because it was the first album that I could identify with in terms of lyrics. ("Captain Fantastic") It was passionate ... I could associate myself with every song ... It's a unique album in our history. This was the story of us ... "Curtains", the lyrics to that are so beautiful because it sums up our friendship so much, and our relationship. — Elton John

I've never been jealous of anybody's success. I've been flummoxed by it because I don't understand it, but I'm not jealous of it. — Elton John

The work became like the drug addiction, the clothes, anything in my life. It became - it's become an addiction. I'm addicted to working. — Elton John

When we started, I was delivering meals to people in Atlanta. We were a direct-care organization. And it was - people needed meals, they needed transport, they needed medication, they needed buddy systems. They had a death sentence. There was AZT, and that was just prolonging the agony, basically. Now people, of course, if they are on antiretrovirals, they face a lifetime of health, basically. I mean, it doesn't - it's I would say in the 99 percent certainty bracket that if you are on that medication, you will have a healthy life. — Elton John

Don't let the sun go down on me. — Elton John

I went up to Prince and said 'I'm a big fan of your stuff' and he looked at me and just walked off ... left me standing there like a ****. He's a prat, but a clever prat. — Elton John

How dare you refer to my beautiful children as 'synthetic'. And shame on you for wagging your judgemental little fingers at IVF - a miracle that has allowed legions of loving people, both straight and gay, to fulfill their dream of having children, your archaic thinking is out of step with the times, just like your fashions. I shall never wear Dolce and Gabbana ever again. — Elton John

If you write great songs with meaning and emotion, they will last for ever because songs are the key to everything. Songs will outlast the artist and they will go on for ever if they are good. — Elton John

I don't have a computer. I am the Luddite of rock'n'roll, I don't have a portable phone. I write things down. — Elton John

And I talked to my doctor, and I must admit, you know, I'm sometimes quite renowned for my outbursts and I was just very frustrated, maybe a little frightened. — Elton John

Only take as much as you give, in the circle of life. — Elton John

I could never go onstage in denims. — Elton John

Sweet freedom whispered in my ear, you're a butterfly, and butterflies are free to fly, fly away, high-away, bye-bye. — Elton John

But until we get rid of that shame, then people are going to stay underground, they are not going to get tested, and we're facing an uphill battle [with AIDS]. — Elton John

The world is near escalating to World War Three and where are the leaders of each religion? Why aren't they having a conclave; why aren't they coming together? — Elton John

I used to get my money at the end of the week, buy my mum something, or buy a record, and that was it. — Elton John

I mean, in some cases with libel laws, you know, they can write things about people who have no course of action, because they can't afford to take legal action against them. — Elton John

I love drag queens and I love going to see them perform because those people have got so much character and bravery. Such balls! I love people with balls. — Elton John

And I trusted someone to look after me on the business side of life. — Elton John

Until I can visualise what the lyrics are about and see the story or whatever, I can't hear the melody. — Elton John

I guess that's why they call it the blues, time on my hands could be time spent with you. — Elton John

Religion promotes the hatred and spite against gays. From my point of view, I would ban religion completely. Organised religion doesn't seem to work. It turns people into really hateful lemmings and it's not really compassionate. — Elton John

You get the same equal rights that we do when we have a civil partnership. Heterosexual people get married. We can have civil partnerships. — Elton John

It took a child. It took a child with a blood transfusion not only to wake me up, but to wake America up, basically. I mean, I read about his plight in a doctor's office in New York in a magazine. I was so outraged about it that I contacted the family. We became friends. I helped them move to another place in Indiana. And we became constant friends. — Elton John

Anyone who lip-synchs in public on stage when you pay 75 pounds to see them should be shot. — Elton John

You can call me a fat, balding, talentless old queen who can't sing, but you can't tell lies about me. — Elton John

I've watched other people singing, I've become a much better singer. I've become a singer that plays the piano instead of a piano player that sings. — Elton John

Love is the key we must turn, truth is the flame we must burn. — Elton John

I've always wanted to smash a guitar over someone's head. You just can't do that with a piano. — Elton John

I'm 57, I can't look like a 30-year-old. You try to hold age at bay, but there comes a point when you just have to give up gracefully. — Elton John

Take me to the pilot of your soul. — Elton John

There is such a thing as good interference from your record label. I don't think I get enough interference from my record label. — Elton John

I can't think of anything until I've got printed words in front of me. I never wake up in the middle of the night with a song in my head. — Elton John

I just think you shouldn't expect people to pay money to see someone sing live and then lip-synch. — Elton John

And now South Africa has finally woken up and it is doing great things. And if South Africa becomes the template to what AIDS is in the sub-Saharan continent, then all the other countries are going to follow suit. And Michel Sidibe, who spoke at the breakfast meeting this morning, was saying that there is so much hope for Africa now that South Africa has got its house in order. — Elton John

Tina Turner gave me the highway blues. — Elton John

I'm not bored with my life. I'm not just making the records and touring, I would find that boring. — Elton John

I had a little Richard and that black piano, oh that sweet Georgia Peach, and the boy form Tupelo. — Elton John

Instead of more violence why isn't there a meeting of religious leaders. It's all got to be dialogue - that's the only way. Get everybody from each religion together and say 'Listen, this can't go on. Why do we have all this hatred?' — Elton John

Your eyes have died, but you see more than I. — Elton John

Once I'd heard 'Modern Times' by Bob Dylan, it really changed the way I wanted to make records. — Elton John

I love the way the American trade magazines never give anybody a bad review because they're afraid the advertising will be taken out. It's so hysterical. — Elton John

Drunk all the time, feeling fine on elderberry wine. — Elton John

The Backstreet Boys can sing their asses off. I'm not so sure about those other boy bands. But Backstreet Boys have my ultimate respect. — Elton John

If there's a God in heaven, what's he waiting for? If He can't hear the children, then he must see the war. — Elton John

I became successful and within five years conquered the world and had the most amazing run. I had so much momentum and adrenaline going, but then it ends and you have to find what level you're going to be on, how enthusiastic you're going to be. — Elton John

I'm very relaxed. I have a family, I have a partner of 20 years, I have a wonderful life; nothing could be better. — Elton John

When I say I don't have to write pop songs anymore, there's no way I'm going to get on the radio at 60 years of age unless I'm doing a duet with Gaga or I was on 'All of the Lights,' which was a Kanye West record that managed to get on the radio. — Elton John

We have a society where every hit maker and TV presenter is gay. — Elton John

At heart I've always been a music fan. That part of me has never changed since I was a little kid, sitting in a room watching a record go round, looking at the colour of the labels. — Elton John

They're [[harmaceuticals companies] just making a killing out of people's death. And they're benefiting by people's suffering. And I find that obscene. I find it ridiculous in this day and age, that that would happen. And it took President Clinton to go to rogue pharmaceutical companies to copy the antiretroviral drugs for a fraction of the cost. — Elton John

Ever since I had that interview in which I said I was bisexual it seems twice as many people wave at me in the streets. — Elton John

Sometimes you can't see the wood for the trees as an artist. — Elton John

I mean, Sting is one of my great buddies and I love him to death. — Elton John

I'll not complain about your boring life, if you just leave me to mine — Elton John

When President Mbeki said, if you get AIDS, you can have a shower and it goes away. It's like, oh, come on. Or it's caused by poverty. We faced those kind of issues. But now, with the new regime, they have really woken up, paid attention. And when South Africa speaks, then the whole of Africa will listen. And I have got great hopes for that. — Elton John

There's a lot of hate in the world. — Elton John

But actually, my drug addiction thing, I was so stubborn. — Elton John

It was Saturday late, have you seen my mates, can you tell me when the boys get here? Well, it's seven o'clock and I want to rock and get a belly full of beer. — Elton John

Like a candle in the wind, never knowing who to cling to until the rain set it. — Elton John

Talk to each other. Never go to bed when you're angry with each other. Lady Antonia Frasier who was married to Harold Pinter said they never went to bed on an argument. — Elton John

People say, "You should write lyrics" and I say I'm quite happy not to, because I like being part of that process where you write your version of what someone else's lyrics are saying to you, and that enjoyment has never changed. — Elton John

I'm lucky enough and wealthy enough to be able to buy photographs and buy art that inspires me from day to day. I don't want a Picasso on my wall; it's great art, but it's dead art to me. I'd rather have a photograph by someone I've never heard of that really inspires me. — Elton John

For me, music is so passionate, I have to give it my all every time I go onstage. Onstage, it was always comfortable for me, because that's where I felt at home. — Elton John

Dave and I as a couple seem to be the acceptable face of gayness, and that's great. I've got to use that power to try and do what I can - or we have - to try to make the situations in Russia and Poland better. — Elton John

On Keith Richards: He's like a monkey with arthritis. — Elton John

Rock and roll came in and changed my life and changed the whole music scene forever, and then I grew to love R&B and Motown and all black music, gospel music. But I never dismiss any form of music. I listen to everything. — Elton John

I think performers are all show-offs anyway, especially musicians. Unless you show off, you're not going to get noticed. — Elton John

I've got to do something to make up for all those self-absorbed and selfish years when I just, you know, was taking drugs, sitting in my room, doing bad things, whatever. — Elton John

The ugliest woman you'll ever meet, but she's mine and she's ugly. — Elton John

The thing about Vegas is, I don't have to fly anywhere, and that really helps. It means I stay in one place for three weeks at a time instead of flying backwards and forwards. — Elton John

I hate to say this, but I always listen to the music and the instrumentation first, and then grab on to the lyrics later. — Elton John

It'll take you a couple of vodka and tonics to set you on your feet again. — Elton John

I love people who expect me to wear great, feathery costumes- and I do it. It's like an actor getting into his costume for his part. I don't really feel that part until I'm into whatever I'm going to wear. — Elton John

I hope you don't mind,
I hope you don't mind,
that I put into words,
how wonderful life is,
now you're in the world. — Elton John

I wasn't involved in anything. I wasn't out - you know, I know I wasn't in ACT UP. I wasn't with Larry Kramer. I wasn't by his side. I wasn't saying what I should do, because, by all accounts, I was a drug addict and an alcoholic. And I was living in a complete bubble of self-absorption. — Elton John

I'm going to fight for human rights, whether I do it silently behind the scenes or vocally so that I get locked up. I can't just sit back; it's not in my nature. I can't sit back and blindly ignore it, and I won't. — Elton John

Hold me closer tiny dancer, count the headlights on the highway. Lay me down in sheets of linen, you had a busy day today. — Elton John

My mum always used to buy a record every Friday. — Elton John

But we came for the Kennedy Center Awards, which was an incredible honor. Being a British person, I was bestowed this honor. And my partner and I, David, came. And we were so pleasantly surprised by George Bush and his knowledge of AIDS. He really - he treated David and I - and Laura - treated us like - they were so friendly and so courteous. — Elton John

I'd walk a million miles to give her what she needs. But she would walk a million more to do what she believes. — Elton John

Well, I'm a huge fan of Ryan Adams, who's from North Carolina. And he's beginning to break really quite big. — Elton John