Extras

Candle in the Wind 1997
"Candle in the Wind 1997" is a rewritten and rerecorded version of Elton John's own 1973 hit "Candle in the Wind" that was released as a tribute single to the late Diana, Princess of Wales.

According to the Recording Industry Association of America, with certified sales it is "the best-selling single of all time." The Guinness Book of World Records 2009 states that the song is "the biggest-selling single since UK and US singles charts began in the 1950s, having accumulated worldwide sales of 33 million copies," and is the best-selling single worldwide of all time.

On release in September 1997, "Candle in the Wind 1997" entered number one in the UK, John's fourth UK number one single, and became the best-selling single in UK Chart history. In October it became John's ninth U.S. number one single, where it topped the Billboard Hot 100 for fourteen weeks, and is the best-selling single in Billboard history, and the only single ever certified Diamond in the U.S.

"Candle in the Wind 1997" topped the German Singles Chart for seven weeks, the Australian ARIA Charts for six weeks, reached number one in Japan, Canada, France and music charts around the world.

The 1997 version won John the Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance at the 40th Grammy Awards ceremony in 1998. The lyrics of the earlier version of "Candle in the Wind", written by Bernie Taupin, were a tribute to Marilyn Monroe. The opening lines of the 1973 version, "Goodbye Norma Jeane, though I never knew you at all," were adapted to "Goodbye England's rose, may you ever grow in our hearts." In fact, most of the lyrics were adapted to suit the circumstances of Diana's life and death, but a notable and poignantly ironic omission was the line, "Even when you died, the press still hounded you..." which was replaced with the lyric, "Even though we try, the truth brings us to tears..."

Background
On 31 August 1997, Diana, Princess of Wales was killed in a car crash in Paris, France. The news immediately shocked Elton John, as he and the Princess had been very good friends: he had also lost another good friend, the fashion designer Gianni Versace, earlier in the summer, and had attended his funeral with Diana where she was seen comforting him.

As a result of these deaths, John sank into a deep depression, and to cope with grief quickly decided he wanted to pay a tribute to Diana. With that in mind, he contacted his veteran writing partner, Bernie Taupin, asking him to write lyrics for a song similar to "Candle in the Wind". However, Taupin misunderstood and thought he was being asked to revise the lyrics of the 1973 song "Candle in the Wind" to honour Diana. As a result, Taupin rewrote the song accordingly. George Martin was contacted to help produce the song, and added a string quartet, (Peter Manning, Keith Pascoe, Levine Andrade and Andrew Shulman), and woodwind (Pippa Davies, flute) to help balance the recording. Elton John met Martin at Townhouse Studios in West London to record the song.

John publicly performed "Candle in the Wind 1997" only once, at the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales in Westminster Abbey on 6 September 1997. Though he continues to sing the original 1973 version of the song at his concerts, John has repeatedly turned down requests to perform the 1997 version. He refused even when asked to do so for the memorial Concert for Diana in July 2007, having vowed never to perform it again unless asked by Diana's sons. The song has never been released (or re-released) on any of his other albums or compilations, not even on the 1997 Diana Princess of Wales: Tribute album (an official 2-CD release sanctioned by Diana's family that included other artists such as Eric Clapton, Paul McCartney, Queen, Celine Dion and Rod Stewart).

Informations from Wikipedia

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 our 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 you footsteps will always fall here
Along England's greenest hills
Your candle's burned out long before
Your legend ever will