Talking Old Soldiers

"Talking Old Soldiers" is a song by Elton John with lyrics by Bernie Taupin. It is the ninth track (fourth track on side two) of his third studio album, Tumbleweed Connection.

"Talking Old Soldiers"
Song by Elton John
from the album Tumbleweed Connection
Released1970
GenrePiano rock, soft rock
Length4:06
LabelDJM
Songwriter(s)Elton John, Bernie Taupin
Producer(s)Gus Dudgeon

Lyrics and meaning

The song tells the story of chance meeting of a young man and an old man inside a bar. The old man describes his loneliness and his former comrades who died in combat. It is implied—"I've seen enough to have a man go out his brains"—that the old man has PTSD. The old man also thanks the young man for listening; no one else in the bar would.

In a Rolling Stone interview, John said that it "was a very David Ackles-influenced song." [1] In fact, the album itself is dedicated "with love to David."

Other performances

John performed the song live at the House of Blues in New Orleans in 1997. VH-1 broadcast the performance.

The song was covered by Bettye LaVette in 2007 on her album The Scene of the Crime.[2]

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References
  1. Herbst, Peter. "Rolling Stone Interview". https://books.googles.com. Rolling Stone Press. Retrieved 28 April 2015. External link in |website= (help)
  2. ""Talking Old Soldiers" from the Scene of the Crime by Bettye LaVette". anti.com. ANTI-. Retrieved 28 April 2015.
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