September 15, 1997 – Elton John’s “Candle In The Wind” sold a record 600,000 copies in one day

SEPTEMBER 15, 1997 – Elton John’s “Candle In The Wind” (rewritten and rerecorded with new lyrics paying tribute to the recently-deceased Princess Diana), sold a record 600,000 copies in one day in Britain alone. It would go on to become the second biggest-selling single of all time.
The original version in the key of E major appeared on John’s 1973 album “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” recorded in May 1973 and released in 1974. The lyrics of the song were a sympathetic portrayal of the life of Marilyn Monroe. The song’s opening line “Goodbye, Norma Jean” refers to Monroe’s real name, Norma Jean Baker. In the Eagle Vision documentary on the making of “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road,” lyricist Bernie Taupin said the song was about “the idea of fame or youth or somebody being cut short in the prime of their life. The song could have been about James Dean, it could have been about Montgomery Clift, it could have been about Jim Morrison … how we glamorize death, how we immortalize people.” Taupin was inspired to write the song after hearing the phrase “candle in the wind” used in tribute to Janis Joplin.
The single release of the original song reached # 11 in the UK charts in 1974. At the time, it was not released as a single in the US (“Bennie and the Jets” was chosen instead). On December 14, 1986, a live version of the song was recorded in Sydney, Australia. It was released in 1987 on the album “Live in Australia” with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and as a single. In 1988, it reached #5 on the UK Singles Chart and #6 on the US Billboard Hot 100.
The 1997 version with the title “Candle In The Wind 1997”, with the new lyrics and the line “Goodbye Norma Jean” replaced with “Goodbye England’s Rose” is ranked #347 on Rolling Stone’s list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, and is officially being listed as the second best-selling single of all time (33 million copies worldwide), behind Bing Crosby’s “White Christmas” (100 million copies worldwide).
ORIGINAL LYRICS:
Goodbye Norma Jean
Though I never knew you at all
You had the grace to hold yourself
While those around you crawled
They crawled out of the woodwork
And they whispered into your brain
They set you on the treadmill
And they made you change your name
And it seems to me you lived your life
Like a candle in the wind
Never knowing who to cling to
When the rain set in
And I would liked to have known you
But I was just a kid
Your candle burned out long before
Your legend ever did
Loneliness was tough
The toughest role you ever played
Hollywood created a superstar
And pain was the price you paid
Even when you died
Oh the press still hounded you
All the papers had to say
Was that Marilyn was found in the nude
And it seems to me you lived your life
Like a candle in the wind
Never knowing who to cling to
When the rain set in
And I would liked to have known you
But I was just a kid
Your candle burned out long before
Your legend ever did
Goodbye Norma Jean
Though I never knew you at all
You had the grace to hold yourself
While those around you crawled
Goodbye Norma Jean
From the young man in the twenty second row
Who sees you as something as more than sexual
More than just our Marilyn Monroe
And it seems to me you lived your life
Like a candle in the wind
Never knowing who to cling to
When the rain set in
And I would liked to have known you
But I was just a kid
Your candle burned out long before
Your legend ever did
The candle burned out long before
Your legend ever did
REVISED LYRICS:
Goodbye England’s rose, may you ever grow in our hearts
You were the grace that placed itself where lives were torn apart
You called out to our country and you whispered to those in pain
Now you belong to heaven and the stars spell out your name
And it seems to me, you lived your life like a candle in the wind
Never fading with the sunset when the rain set in
And your footsteps will always fall here along England’s greenest hills
Your candle’s burned out long before your legend ever will
Loveliness we’ve lost, these empty days without your smile
This torch we’ll always carry for our nation’s golden child
And even though we try, the truth brings us to tears
All our words cannot express the joy you brought us through the years
And it seems to me, you lived your life like a candle in the wind
Never fading with the sunset when the rain set in
And your footsteps will always fall here along England’s greenest hills
Your candle’s burned out long before your legend ever will
Goodbye England’s rose, may you ever grow in our hearts
You were the grace that placed itself where lives were torn apart
Goodbye England’s rose, from a country lost without your soul
Who’ll miss the wings of your compassion more than you’ll ever know
And it seems to me, you lived your life like a candle in the wind
Never fading with the sunset when the rain set in
And your footsteps will always fall here along England’s greenest hills
Your candle’s burned out long before your legend ever will
Your footsteps will always fall here along England’s greenest hills
Your candle’s burned out long before your legend ever will